Free Republic

Regardless of why Putin might have held off on this for so long, he’s now arguably motivated at least in part by the tantalizing possibility of reaching big-ticket resource deals with the US after the conflict ends, the details of which his and Trump’s envoys have been negotiating for over a year already. The New York Times cited allegedly intercepted Russian communications to report that Russia plans to obliterate Ukraine’s power, heating, and water systems this winter. While their claim can’t be confirmed, it aligns with Putin mildly “escalating to de-escalate” over the summer in response to Zelensky’s strike campaign,...

A growing number of Chinese parts have been found in Russian weapons, Ukraine told Reuters. Chinese-made parts have been found in Russian aerial drones and tanks, the outlet reported. China has repeatedly denied sending military equipment to Russia. Ukraine said it has found Chinese parts in captured Russian weapons, a senior advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Reuters on Monday. Vladyslav Vlasiuk, who is also a sanctions expert, told the outlet that Ukraine "continues to find different electronics" in Russian weapons that have been used in Ukraine. "We're picking [up] a lot of different stuff, China-made," Vlasiuk said. "The...

German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel has criticized leading U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as a right-wing populist whose political views pose a threat to peace and prosperity. The comments by Gabriel, economy minister and leader of the Social Democrats, are the clearest sign yet that ruling politicians in Europe are increasingly worried about the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections. "Whether Donald Trump, Marine le Pen or Geert Wilders - all these right-wing populists are not only a threat to peace and social cohesion, but also to economic development," Gabriel told Welt am Sonntag newspaper in an interview published...