Free Republic

Vladimir Putin’s top security official has vanished during efforts to end the war in Ukraine, amid swirling health rumours and claims he could be caught up in a corruption probe. Sergei Shoigu, 69, is a Russian army general and currently the secretary of the powerful Russian Security Council. He served as defence minister for most of the war in Ukraine before being replaced one year ago, and is a very well-known member of Putin's entourage. Speculation is swirling in Moscow after he missed the Red Square parade on Friday amid claims his absence was health-related. But an explanation that he...

Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg was also scathing about Russia's military record in Ukraine. -snip- He also issued a blunt assessment of Russia’s military record in Ukraine, arguing that Mr Putin’s forces had failed to achieve any decisive victories. Mr Kellogg said: “Russia's not winning this war. Russia has not made any major advances in the last year and a half. "They haven't taken the city of Kyiv, the capital, they haven't pushed to the west of the Dnipro river (which is the major river obstacle), they haven't taken Odesa. “They've lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers and they haven't really...

Russia's economy is facing further turmoil as the price of its flagship Urals crude oil plummets to its lowest value since early 2023. On Friday, Russian Urals oil prices fell to about £43 per barrel ($53), with projections suggesting they could dip to £40 ($50) if the downward trend in global oil prices continues. -snip- The oil price crisis comes just as Russia faces rising domestic inflation, with everyday goods, such as food and fuel, becoming increasingly expensive. Ordinary Russians feel the impact, with the cost of basic goods, including bread, milk, and potatoes, rising dramatically. The country now finds...

Donald Trump has issued his most explicit threat to Vladimir Putin so far, telling the Russian President he can do "very bad things" to Russia financially if he does not accept a US-brokered ceasefire. Mr Trump told reporters in Washington: "There are things that wouldn't be pleasant in a financial sense. I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia. I don't want to do it that because I want to get peace."

Several explosions were reported in Russia overnight as a result of a massive drone attack, with extraordinary images showing the night sky being lit up by fierce flames. Astonishing footage circulating online shows huge blazes enveloping the Ryazan Oil Refining Company as well as the nearby Novo-Ryazan Thermal Power Plant. Regional Governor Pavel Malkov confirmed a drone attack had targeted the region in the early hours of Friday, and added that a private home in Ryazan caught fire due to an air strike. He said the fire has already been extinguished, and there are no casualties. The governor added drones...

Furious Russians have been shown bitterly complaining about the soaring cost of groceries in a revealing clip which underlines the parlous state of the nation’s economy almost three years in Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. And the clip, uploaded to X by a Russian blogger and shared by among others former Ukrainian Interior Ministerial adviser Anton Geraschenko, demonstrated that ordinary Russians are feeling the pinch. In it, the narrator says: “Oh my God! Shaving foam costs 570 rubles [£4.39] already. What a horror. A couple of months ago I bought it for only 250 rubles [£1.77].” He then asks one...

Vladimir Putin has been alerted that Russian military personnel and equipment are now "stranded" in Syria following the dramatic downfall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. The dictator escaped Damascus over the weekend and was flown to Moscow at Putin's personal request. However, Anastasia Kashevarova, a Russian blogger known for her criticism of her country's military leadership - but not Putin himself - warned the President about the precarious situation left behind. In a post on Telegram, she detailed: "Bashar al-Assad is in Moscow, and our military is stuck and blocked in Syria, Libya, Africa." She added: "Our bases have been completely...

A BARRAGE of Ukrainian missiles has hammered the strategically crucial Antonovsky Bridge in the east of Ukrainian in another massive blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin. News website Visegrad 24 tweeted: "The Antonivsky bridge near Kherson looks very crisp this morning. Reports say that up to 10 Ukrainian missiles have hit the bridge." Another poster shared a different image, commenting: "RIP, Antonovsky Bridge!" A third suggested heavy casualties were inevitably, posting: "Ukraine hit the Antonovsky bridge just as nine Russian ammunition trucks drove onto it." Twitter user Eric Korsas said: "Seems that during the night #Ukrainian #HIMARS have visited #antonovskybridge...

FULL TITLE: World War 3: ‘Resistance axis’ of Iran, Syria and Hezbollah ‘planning for war with Israel’ HEZBOLLAH has warned it could team up with Iran and Syria to bomb Israel, and is already planning for “the next war”, the Lebanese group’s leader has said, ramping up tensions in the region still further. Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said Hezbollah made his comments as he responded for the first time to Israel's discovery of tunnels dug into Israeli territory from Lebanon by claiming his organisation had "for years" been able to enter Israel. Israel's unveiling of what it called Hezbollah "attack tunnels"...