Free Republic

THE Kremlin has been accused of covering up the death of a sacked Russian minister after signs of torture were allegedly found on his body just 24 hours before his apparent suicide. Roman Starovoit, who was Vladimir Putin's transport minister for less than a year, was dismissed from his post on July 7 - just hours before he was found dead. Telegram channels with links to the Russian security forces reported Starovoit's cause of death as suicide - claiming the minister was found dead with gunshot wounds. However, an independent Russian media outlet now reports that he had been beaten...

NATO chief Mark Rutte has chillingly warned that World War III will start with simultaneous invasions from Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. Secretary-general Rutte suggested the combined attacks from the Chinese and Russian leaders could trigger a World War nightmare and bring the planet to the brink of Armageddon. According to the NATO chief, China would start by seeking to grab Taiwan - while ensuring the Kremlin dictator simultaneously attacks NATO territory, amid fears Putin is anyway eyeing the Baltic republics Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, formerly part of the USSR.

Hardliners close to Vladimir Putin have demanded Russians "take up arms" in a furious response to the US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. US President Donald Trump sanctioned the bombings of three nuclear sites in Iran overnight, escalating the Middle East crisis further. Missiles were dropped from American B-2 stealth bombers, including on Iran's Fordow nuclear site, which has caused some Russian oligarchs to demand military support for Tehran. Oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, who runs propaganda empire Tsargrad, demanded: “It's high time we helped Tehran with satellite intelligence, air defence, and missiles.” He accused Trump of mocking Putin by “pretending to...

Ukraine's military launched another attack on a Russian airbase, thousands of miles from the frontlines. The attack took place overnight and targeted Savasleyka airfield in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The airbase is home to a number of fighter jets, including the MiG-31 K, which can fire lethal Kinzhal ballistic missiles. Ukraine’s army said the attack had wiped out a MiG-31 K and a SU-30/34 aircraft, which are regularly used to launch aerial bombardments on the country. The airbase is home to a number of fighter jets, including the MiG-31 K, which can fire lethal Kinzhal ballistic missiles. Ukraine’s army said...

A senior official who dismantled the US government’s Russian disinformation unit is married to a Russian woman with links to the Kremlin, The Telegraph can reveal. Darren Beattie has provoked alarm within the State Department since being appointed in February for his ardent pro-Russian views. He has been noted for his focus on destroying the agency tasked with tackling Kremlin propaganda. Mr Beattie, the acting under-secretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, is married to a woman whose uncle has taken several roles in Russian politics and once received a personal “thank you” message from Vladimir Putin.

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 United States has reportedly encouraged intelligence agencies to ramp up spying efforts in Greenland amid President Donald Trump repeatedly floating the idea of taking over the Arctic island.... The Wall Street Journal reported, citing two sources, that high-ranking officials working under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Habbard sent a "collection of emphasis message" to the heads of various intelligence agencies last week. Intelligence agencies have been directed to learn more about the independence movement on the island and the general attitude of the Greenlanders towards American resource extraction, the Journal added. The agencies have been asked to use tools...

A Democratic congressman from the South is in hot water after claiming he did not defend migrants getting deported, 'because I'm not a Latino at the Home Depot.' 'First, they came for the Latinos outside of the Home Depots trying to get work so that they could feed their families,' Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., said during a congressional hearing on Wednesday. 'I didn't say anything about it, because I'm not a Latino at the Home Depot,' the Democrat continued. The lawmaker appears to have been making his own version of a poem by a Martin Niemöller. The work, titled 'First...

Russia’s defence ministry may believe its forces are “defeating” Ukraine’s counter-offensive in the Kursk region, but Vladimir Putin clearly doesn’t.He has sent one of his toughest generals to organise the fight back against Ukraine’s surprise Sunday morning counter-offensive.General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, promoted in December 2024 by Putin and trusted to run Russia’s border defences and Africa mercenary projects, arrived in Kursk less than a couple of hours after Ukrainian tanks started rumbling towards Russian positions.By sending Gen Yevkurov to Kursk, Putin has shown his hand.Although it is still unclear how successful the Ukrainian counter-offensive will be, he is clearly worried.

VLADIMIR Putin has mysteriously demolished one of his most beloved palaces amid claims the paranoid tyrant is scared of being targeted by a Ukrainian drone. Satellite images show how Putin's pricey Bocharov Ruchey palace which overlooks the Black Sea in Sochi has been bulldozed with just a patch of empty land left behind. An investigation by the Russian opposition news site Proekt has revealed that the palace may have torn down because Vlad is “truly afraid” of being killed in a kamikaze drone strike. It is believed it was decimated by the dictator back in February or March of this...

THIS is the dramatic moment a Russian stealth drone is shot out of the sky by Vladimir Putin’s Su-57 warplane. The £11.5 million S-70 Okhotnik stealth drone can be seen exploding in the air in the extraordinary footage. Video of the incident shows two Kremlin military aircrafts speeding across the sky over eastern Ukraine when the trailing plane fires a missile which hits the one in front. Russian pro-war Z channels initially claimed that a Ukrainian war plane had been hit by a Russian aircraft. However, the burnt wreckage on the ground near Ukrainian-controlled Kostiantynivka had distinct Russian insignia on...

Cronies of Vladimir Putin are reportedly plotting a coup against him, while another trusted aide is lying low and preparing to act as kingmaker, according to new reports. In a further blow to Mad Vlad, there are claims his whisky-loving foreign minister Sergei Lavrov is “drinking because he is depressed” and is suffering “health problems". On top of this, there are recurring rumours of the dictator's poor health, with some believing he may have cancer. According to insiders, there were two key meetings on Thursday (December 15) where he had to stay in the same position and sit on a...