Free Republic

TWO Russian airfields housing Putin's nuke bombers have reportedly been blitzed in an extraordinary drone strike - wiping out at least 40 aircraft. A Ukrainian security official told Reuters that the SBU conducted a large drone attack on Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers - which Russia uses to fire long-range missiles at Ukraine. The source did not specify where the drone attack took place, but Ukrainian media said that Olenya airbase - home to Russia’s Tu-95 strategic bombers - had been targeted. The second base under fire is understood to be the Belaya nuclear airbase in eastern Siberia’s Irkutsk region...

Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has urged Washington’s chief negotiator with Moscow, Steve Witkoff, to consult European leaders before placing trust in Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Witkoff has been part of U.S. delegations leading talks with Moscow and Kyiv since February, after Trump tasked members of his administration to help negotiate an end to Russia’s three-year war in Ukraine. However, he has faced criticism from Kyiv for peddling Russian narratives, including a suggestion to hand over four partially occupied eastern Ukrainian regions to Moscow. In March, Witkoff said that Putin has no intention to “take all of...

United States President Donald Trump commented on Friday that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, are both "stubborn." "I have known [Putin] very well. I have gone through a lot of things with him ... [But] I have gotten to see things that I was very surprised at: rockets being shot into cities like Kiev, during a negotiation that I felt was maybe very close to ending. We were gonna solve a problem, and then, all of a sudden, rockets got shot into a couple of cities," the US head of state said during a...

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Friday dismissed the idea of Turkey or any other country acting as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine during the proposed negotiations in Istanbul on June 2. Zakharova thanked Turkey for its hospitality and for creating a negotiating platform, noting that the first round of discussions was held in "comfortable conditions." Kiev has not yet confirmed its participation in the new round of talks, although Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said the negotiations must "yield results." Additionally, the country's President Vladimir Zelensky said Moscow had not sent a peace memorandum to Kiev, despite...

Vladimir Putin is demanding urgent potato imports from Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, while he delays supplying the ally with promised notorious Oreshnik horror missiles. Putin has made the shameful admission that he has run out of spuds - one of his country’s leading food staples - amid economic meltdown during his war with Ukraine. It now appears Belarus will not get the lethal missiles until after Lukashenko supplies Putin with new exports of potatoes which have spiralled in prices in Russia. The Minsk tyrant has even cancelled sanctions against imports from the EU to stock up to supply Russia. -snip-...

The Kremlin has not yet disclosed what conditions it will propose for a ceasefire with Ukraine, nor whether those terms will appear in a draft memorandum, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. Peskov noted that there is no need to publicly discuss the contents of the draft documents, News.Az reports, citing TASS. "We won’t publicly discuss the contents of the draft documents that [the parties] are supposed to exchange. The reason is because talks should always be held behind closed doors rather than in public," the Kremlin spokesman added.

Satellite images have revealed how Moscow is bulking up its military presence on the Finnish border - in a chilling echo of pictures taken of Russian bases before Putin launched his war in Ukraine. Moscow is building troop accommodation, aircraft deployment infrastructure and refurbishing old facilities at key military bases, analysts have said, in a sign it is seeking to reinforce its capabilities in the border region. The pictures, which were obtained by Swedish broadcaster SVT from Planet Labs, suggest there has been activity at four locations inside Russia - Kamenka, Petrozavodsk, Severomorsk-2, and Olenya. In Kamenka, which is around...

Donald Trump issued an ominous warning to Vladimir Putin after accusing him of deliberately drawing out the fragile peace process in Ukraine. The US president was asked whether he thought it was "disrespectful" of his Russian counterpart to accuse him of being overly emotional. A reporter questioned: "Do you believe the Russians are being disrespectful when they say that your criticisms of Putin are simply an emotional response? And do you still believe that Putin actually wants to end the war? Mr Trump responded: "I can't tell you that, but I'll let you know in about two weeks. Within two...

The developments come after a whirlwind weekend of diplomacy from Trump where he told reporters on Saturday that he was 'absolutely' considering imposing new sanctions on Russia. The next day, Trump launched into a blistering attack on Putin where he said the Russian leader has gone 'absolutely crazy.' Trump condemned the Russians for escalating their strikes on Ukraine while negotiations were ongoing, which he said was resulting in the 'needless killing of a lot of people.' In a chilling warning about the future of the former Soviet nation if the bloodshed continues, Trump said Putin's war 'will lead to the...

Russia’s former President Dmitry Medvedev has issued a sobering warning to Donald Trump after the US leader accused Vladimir Putin of “playing with fire”. US President Mr Trump, writing on his Truth Social platform, said: “What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD. He’s playing with fire!” The remark drew a sharp response from Mr Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and one of Mr Putin’s most outspoken allies. Posting on X, formerly Twitter, he said: “Regarding Trump's...

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev warned on Tuesday United States President Donald Trump to the possibility of World War III. "Regarding Trump's words about Putin 'playing with fire' and 'really bad things' happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing - WWIII," Medvedev posted on his X account, regarding Trump's earlier remarks, and added "I hope Trump understands this!"

Kyiv endured a night of hell as Vladimir Putin unleashed new terror on the Ukrainian capital. Apocalyptic scenes unfolded during more than seven hours of bombardment which saw missiles and drones hit until 5.10am today. Explosions and fires broke out across the capital city - as a senior Moscow military figure and hardline politician insisted Putin's aim is to unite Russia, Ukraine and Belarus into a single state.

HUMILIATED KIM Jong-un has vowed to hunt down the traitors responsible for the disgraceful launch of his new warship - and they face potential execution. North Korean state media said a group of "relevant experts" were being gathered for a probe to find those responsible - after Kim branded the spectacle a "criminal act". New satellite images showed the extent of the damages, with the not-so-menacing destroyer lying on its side and blue sheets covering it up. Part of the vessel, thought to be built with help from Russian despot Vladimir Putin, still appeared to be on the shipway while...