Free Republic

This week, South Korea's intelligence services offered a glimpse of the upgraded alliance between Russia and North Korea in action. North Korea has been sending vast shipments of artillery ammunition to Russia, a lifeline in the invasion of Ukraine that has isolated it from much of the world. Citing an intelligence report, a South Korean lawmaker said that since 2022 North Korea had sent more than 13,000 shipping containers to Russia that may contain up to 6 million shells. .... A new use for old gunsOld-fashioned munitions have become vital once more in Ukraine, where fighting often resembles the grueling...

North Korea's supreme leader has reiterated his country's support for Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and expressed his intention to foster closer ties between the two regimes. "I express firm belief that the strong and brave Russian people will firmly defend the sovereign right and security interests of the state and surely win victory in the sacred war for regional peace and international justice," Kim Jong Un said on Thursday, according state news agency KNCA.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday congratulated Nicolas Maduro on winning the disputed Venezuelan election, and the Kremlin said it was deepening cooperation in all areas - including sensitive ones - with Caracas. -snip- "Russian-Venezuelan relations have the character of a strategic partnership," Putin said in a message to Maduro, the Kremlin said. "I am confident that your activities at the head of state will continue to contribute to their progressive development in all directions." -snip- Putin ended his message to Maduro: "Remember that you are always a welcome guest on Russian soil."

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, the Kremlin press service said. "At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin will pay a state visit to the People's Republic of China on May 16-17 as his first foreign trip after taking office," the statement said. Following the talks, it is planned to sign a joint statement by the heads of state and a number of bilateral documents, the statement read, adding that the leaders will determine the directions for further development of cooperation and...

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) announced Friday she is endorsing former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in the GOP presidential primary against former President Trump. “I’m proud to endorse Gov. Nikki Haley,” Murkowski said in a statement. “America needs someone with the right values, vigor, and judgment to serve as our next President—and in this race, there is no one better than her,” she continued. “Nikki will be a strong leader and uphold the ideals of the Republican Party while serving as a President for all Americans.” Murkowski, the first GOP senator to endorse Haley in the race, was among seven Republican...

A long courtship President Vladimir Putin repeatedly invited Hamas’ political and military leadership back to the Russian capital. Hamas officials and commanders secured high-level meetings with then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Russia’s special envoy for the Middle East, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, among others. Bogdanov’s role in the link between Russia-Hamas is central. He has been in charge of the relationship on a day-to-day basis for many years, regularly meeting its leaders in Moscow and Qatar. Bogdanov has also been entrusted by Putin to undertake sensitive diplomatic missions with China, among other major actors, to...

Hamas representatives are in Moscow, according to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. “I can also say and confirm that representatives of the relevant Palestinian movement are on a visit to Moscow,” she says in a briefing, reported by the Russian RIA Novosti outlet. The outlet had earlier reported that Hamas politburo member Moussa Abu Marzuk was leading the delegation. Zakharova says that Iranian deputy foreign minister Ali Bagheri Kani is in Moscow as well.

#BREAKING Russian President Putin to meet China's Xi in Beijing on Wednesday: Kremlin pic.twitter.com/ingo4DM3Vy— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 16, 2023

Palestinian group Hamas early Saturday hailed Russia’s rejection of an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip. “We appreciate Russian President Vladimir Putin’s position on the ongoing aggression against our people and his rejection of the Gaza siege, cutting off relief supplies, and targeting safe civilians there,” Hamas said in a statement. The group also welcomed Russian efforts “to stop the barbaric and systematic aggression against our Palestinian people in Gaza.” Putin warned on Friday that civilian casualties will be "absolutely unacceptable" in case of an Israeli ground operation in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to visit Moscow, Russian news media quoted the Palestinian envoy to Moscow as saying late on Monday. “We are awaiting an official statement from the Kremlin, from the Russian side, about when the visit will take place,” Russia’s RBC news outlet said, citing Ambassador Abdel Hafiz Nofal as saying. “An agreement has been reached that Mr. Abbas will come here to Moscow.”

Arab League Chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit headed to Moscow on Sunday for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the situation in Gaza after Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years. Aboul Gheit, who served as Egypt’s foreign minister during the final seven years of Hosni Mubarak’s rule, will discuss the "ongoing escalation in the Gaza Strip," said a spokesman for the Cairo-based league of Arab states. -snip- Moscow said that a proper negotiation was necessary to provide for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the borders of 1967 with a capital...

In late 2020, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) met with Philip Sellinger, a private practice lawyer and former fundraiser for the senator, to assess his potential fit as the next U.S. attorney for the state of New Jersey - and to discuss one case in particular. If appointed, Sellinger would assume control of one of the largest prosecutor’s offices in the country, a post that comes with the power to bust mob bosses and go after corrupt public officials. But Menendez, federal prosecutors say, was fixated on a less consequential matter: ensuring the future prosecutor would act sympathetically toward a friend...

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un reportedly arrived in Russia Tuesday ahead of an expected meeting with President Vladimir Putin, officials said. The two leaders, flanked by their top military officials, are set to negotiate a potential arms deal to help resupply Moscow’s military drained by its war in Ukraine. North Korea may have tens of millions of artillery shells and rockets that could give a boost to the Russian army, analysts say. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency previously said Kim boarded his personal train Sunday afternoon en route to Russia, accompanied by unspecified members of the country’s ruling...

Biden kissed John McCain's memorial in Vietnam

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has set off for Russia aboard a special train, a South Korean source said, as Pyongyang and Moscow on Monday (Sep 11) confirmed a summit with President Vladimir Putin amid Russia's deepening isolation over the war in Ukraine. Kim will visit Russia in the coming days at the invitation of Putin, the Kremlin said, while North Korean state news agency KCNA said the two would "meet and have a talk", without elaborating. US officials have said the pair would discuss possible arms deals to aid Russia's war in Ukraine and provide North Korea with...

A new economic outlook revealed that Russia expects to sell gas to China at a steeply discounted rate over the next three years, far below the price European buyers will pay, according to a Bloomberg report.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has claimed that nations who are willing “to join the Union State of Russia and Belarus” will be given nuclear weapons, days after confirming the transfer of some tactical nuclear weapons from Moscow to Minsk had begun. Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, made the comments in an on-camera interview released Sunday on the state-run Russia 1 channel. During the interview, Lukashenko said, “no one minds Kazakhstan and other countries having the same close relations that we have with the Russian Federation.” “It’s very simple,” he added. “Join the Union State of Belarus...

According to The Daily News Giuliani’s representative said he dated Dunphy for a while, but denied she was employed by him or his entities.” On Wednesday morning, The Gateway Pundit obtained Mayor Giuliani’s first statement regarding the lawsuit. “I dated Noelle for approximately 2 months in early 2019. I found out she was kicked out of several luxury hotels for suspicion of prostitution. I also found out that she scammed, elderly men by claiming rape. I broke up with her, and she continued to try to reach out to me. Even following me to several events and asking to take...

A shaky-looking Vladimir Putin praised his 'dear friend' President Xi Jinping while he gripped the arms of his chair during the Chinese leader's visit to Moscow today. Putin appeared to be trembling and clutching his seat as he welcomed Xi to the Kremlin today for a three-day visit in a sign that the 70-year-old's health is continuing to deteriorate. The Russian despot said he was willing to discuss Beijing's plan to end the war in Ukraine - a move that has been met with scepticism in Kyiv and the West, with world leaders questioning the real motive behind Beijing's plan...

President Alexander Lukashenko said on Friday that Russia, which has already decided to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, could if necessary put intercontinental nuclear missiles there too. In an annual address to lawmakers and government officials, Lukashenko said Moscow's plans to station nuclear arms on the territory of its close ally would help protect Belarus, which he said was under threat from the West. (snip) "I am not trying to intimidate or blackmail anyone. I want to safeguard the Belarusian state and ensure peace for the Belarusian people," Lukashenko said. Although Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that...