Free Republic

President-elect Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday, the first phone conversation between the two men since Trump won the election, said several people familiar with the matter. During the call, which Trump took from his resort in Florida, he advised the Russian president not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminded him of Washington’s sizable military presence in Europe, said a person familiar with the call, who, like others interviewed for this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. The two men discussed the goal of peace on the European...

Ukrainian officials expect a counteroffensive in western Russia to begin in the coming days as North Korea’s troops train with Russian forces. -snip- The Russian military has assembled a force of 50,000 soldiers, including North Korean troops, as it prepares to begin an assault aimed at reclaiming territory seized by Ukraine in the Kursk region of Russia, according to U.S. and Ukrainian officials. -snip- North Korea has sent more than 10,000 troops to fight with Russia in Kursk, American officials say. The troops are wearing Russian uniforms and have been equipped by Moscow, but they will probably fight in their...

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed a treaty on the country's strategic partnership with North Korea which includes a mutual defense provision, enacting it into law. The accord, announced by Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June after a summit in Pyongyang, calls on each side to come to the other's aid in case of an armed attack.

DONALD Trump could "face a JFK-style assassination" if he tries to end the brutal war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin's crackpot crony has warned. -snip- Mad Vlad's puppet Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday claimed Trump may face the same fate as John F Kennedy in 1963 should he win the presidential race. On his Russian Telegram Channel, the ex-Russian president and longest-serving Prime Minister, said: “A tired Trump, issuing platitudes like ‘I'll offer a deal’ and 'I have a great relationship with…’ will also be forced to follow all the system's rules. “He won't be able to stop the war. “Not in...

Russian President Vladimir Putin met North Korea's foreign minister in the Kremlin on Monday at a time of mounting concern in the West that North Korean soldiers are about to enter the Ukraine war on Moscow's side. Video of the meeting showed the pair shaking hands for a full minute as Putin greeted Choe Son Hui. Putin noted that they were meeting on Russia's National Unity Day, a public holiday, and Choe conveyed "sincere, warm, comradely greetings" from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Russia is facing a "butter armageddon" as prices for the staple food product continue to rise sharply. By the end of October, prices for dairy products in Russia had risen by an astonishing 25.7% compared to December 2023. The steep hike in cost has led to a spate of thefts from shops around the country, forcing management to keep the product under lock and key. Images have circulated on social media, showing butter locked in fridges and signs telling customers to contact staff if they want to buy some. A CCTV video posted online also allegedly shows a Russian man...

Ukrainian forces foiled a massive Russian armoured assault in the Donetsk region, inflicting heavy casualties and loss of equipment. The ferocious battle took place near Vyymka in the Bakhmut district on the Siversk sector of the front and involved Ukraine's 10th Mountain Assault Brigade. The Russian assault group comprised over 120 soldiers and 22 armoured vehicles, including tanks. They were spotted by aerial reconnaissance and came under sustained and heavy artillery fire and drone attacks. Video images of the battle show Russian armoured vehicles being targeted and destroyed by kamikaze drones. As Putin's troops abandon their vehicles, a second wave...

Russia is importing butter from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Turkiye, in response to soaring butter prices, which have been attributed to rising demand for ice cream and cheese. The agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor announced that deliveries from the UAE began on October 18, marking the first shipments of butter from that country to Russia. Higher production costs, coupled with increased consumer interest in ice cream and cheese, have significantly impacted butter prices, according to dairy producers. Artyom Belov, chief of the national dairy producer association Soyuzmoloko, told a local news outlet that these product segments are major factors contributing...

RUSSIA is ready to use nuclear weapons and trigger World War Three if provoked, Putin puppet Dmitry Medvedev has warned. -snip- "If the new [US] leader is going to be fiercely dedicated to adding fuel to the fire of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, it will be a very bad choice. "Because this is the road to hell. "It's really a road to World War Three. "Whoever decides to continue the war will be making a very dangerous mistake."

North Korea has confirmed that dictator Kim Jong Un “gave the order” to bail out Vladimir Putin by sending North Korean troops to fight in Putin’s “holy war” against Ukraine. The troop deal was confirmed at a meeting between North Korean foreign minister Choe Son Hui and the Kremlin’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. More than 10,000 North Korean troops are reported to be deployed to Russia, with some already in the area of operations. The Pyongyang envoy said: “From the very beginning of the special military operation, respected comrade Chairman of State Affairs Kim Jong Un gave the...

Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor) announced Wednesday that the country has commenced butter imports from Türkiye. According to a statement Rosselkhoznadzor made to Russian media, Türkiye began exporting butter to Russia on Oct. 27, with a total of 20 tons imported as of Oct. 29. The Russian Ministry of Agriculture previously noted it would be implementing several measures to address rising butter prices in the domestic market. Soaring dairy costs, along with increased logistics and packaging expenses, have driven up butter prices, impacting consumers nationwide. In response, the "Russian Union," an organization representing food producers and...

KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Wednesday that he asked the United States for Tomahawk long-range missiles to help defeat Russia — and slammed the White House for leaking secrets to the American media.

Vladimir Putin has admitted that sanctions on Russia and worker shortages have contributed to economic turbulence in the country. The Russian president made the comments days after Russia's Central Bank raised its key interest rate to a record 21 percent—higher than the emergency 20 percent level introduced in the aftermath of Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine when facing Western sanctions and isolation from the global financial system. -snip- Russia's economic growth has been fueled by record levels of military spending but a lack of workers exacerbated by troop losses in Ukraine and a brain drain of those avoiding the draft,...