Free Republic

Prosecutor General's Office hasn't established Ukraine's involvement in the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, prosecutors said on July 9, adding that the investigation and evidence collection are still underway. The statement comes a week after Germany's federal prosecutor filed charges against a Ukrainian national suspected of sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022. The suspect is Serhii Kuznietsov, Ukrainian veteran who was extradited to Germany in November 2025. Ukrainian law enforcement is investigating the case as part of criminal proceedings into Russia's war against Ukraine and other alleged offenses. Investigators are reviewing information...

Ukraine still controls the strategically important eastern city of Kostiantynivka, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the General Staff said on Saturday, rejecting Russian claims that it has been captured. Russia's military told President Vladimir Putin on Friday that its forces had taken control of Kostiantynivka, a target that Moscow has long sought in its advance through the Donetsk region. "Of course, that is not true. It is just another Russian lie, an attempt to generate some kind of a news story," Zelenskiy said on X. "If Kostiantynivka were under Russian control, then perhaps (Russian President Vladimir) Putin would have no problem...

Russia has begun using a new autonomous version of its Molniya strike drone in Ukraine, adapting the cheap fixed-wing attack UAV to hit targets without the control antenna that made earlier models vulnerable to electronic warfare, Defence Blog reported, citing an advisor to the Ukrainian Defense Minister Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov on July 3. The new variant was identified after a Russian Molniya struck a Ukrainian facility and was later found without the usual antenna used for operator control. Ukrainian radio technology specialist Beskrestnov said the drone carried only a camera and an onboard computer, suggesting a different strike profile. Instead...

A Ukrainian woman has been identified as the main suspect for a parcel bombing in Monaco that seriously wounded a sanctioned Ukrainian multi-millionaire and two others. An Interpol Red Notice has been issued for Anastasiia Berezovska, 39, who speaks German and is wanted for attempted murder, placing an explosive device on a public road with criminal intent, and criminal conspiracy. Police are looking into identifying any possible accomplices as they continue to search for the named suspect. The suspect, pictured on CCTV cameras wearing a dark bucket hat, was then seen fleeing towards the French commune of Beausoleil.

At 4:14 a.m., Russia’s Voronezh missile production plant was engulfed in flames. This facility was described as a key link in the production chain for Kh-101 cruise missiles and Iskander-K missile systems — weapons Russia has used to threaten Ukrainian cities from hundreds of miles away. But in this operation, Ukraine did not wait for those missiles to be launched. Instead, the strike targeted the place where they were being assembled, stored, tested, and prepared. According to the scenario covered in this video, the operation began with two F-16s, electronic decoys, and 16 low-flying FP1 drones. While Russian air-defense systems...

A Russian military commander has appealed directly to Vladimir Putin to threaten an armed uprising with help from top military brass if the country isn’t told the “truth” about the war. In an Instagram video that quickly racked up millions of views Thursday, Alexander Lunin addressed the Russian president to warn of “very serious consequences” if his demands were ignored. The 39-year-old father of two went on to say he’d been asked to “deliver a message” to Putin by unnamed military officials and members of the security services. They told him to demand a meeting with Putin at the Kremlin...

Keir Starmer announced on June 22 that he would resign as the U.K. prime minister and Labour Party leader, a step that follows months of mounting internal pressure. The departure is likely to trigger a leadership contest and deepen political uncertainty in one of Ukraine's most vital allies. Andy Burnham, Starmer's Labour Party rival, has been discussed as the likely next prime minister after securing a seat in parliament in last week's by-election. During his resignation speech, Starmer listed "standing with Ukraine" and rebuilding relations with European allies as one of his government's main achievements. "Every decision I've taken has...

There has long been a worry that Russian escalation or miscalculation might see the Ukraine war widen into a broader European one. But what if it’s Kyiv, not Moscow, that starts this process? The flashpoint is Belarus. Minsk’s dictatorial leader, Alexander Lukashenko, is beholden to Vladimir Putin, but not a helpless vassal. On the one hand, he has refused to join Putin’s war directly, saying that he won’t allow Belarusians to become ‘mincemeat.’ On the other, he has been willing to let Russian troops use facilities in his country, and fly drones and missiles through his airspace. There is growing...

WASHINGTON, DC: A blockbuster upcoming account of the second Trump administration has exposed deep, profane fractures within American foreign policy, revealing that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent privately launched an aggressive campaign to block Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy from entering the White House.The explosive details surface in 'Regime Change', a forthcoming book by The New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, which alleges that Bessent repeatedly used highly derogatory nicknames to describe the wartime leader to close associates before a disastrous Oval Office summit. (snip) The Treasury chief reportedly harbored deep frustrations over a stalled, high-stakes critical minerals agreement,...

June 21 (UPI) -- The Russian government on Sunday halted fuel sales to civilians and businesses not considered vital to functioning and security in Crimea. Sergey Aksyonov, the governor of Crimea, announced people would be turned away from gas stations amid a fuel shortage and logistical difficulties related to the war with Ukraine, the BBC reported. "Further decisions regarding the current situation in the republic's fuel market will be announced at a later date," he said in a post on Telegram. The announcement came amid new attacks by Ukraine on energy and transportation infrastructure on the Crimean Peninsula, Politico reported....

Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, advised Donald Trump not to host Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, having called the Ukrainian president a “little f**ker”, a “special-needs child” and “Mr Bean on crack”, according to a new book. The suggestion that a US cabinet official described a world leader in such terms is included in Regime Change, a blockbusting account of the second Trump administration by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, set to be published worldwide on Tuesday. News of Bessent’s alleged remarks may embarrass the Trump administration, although the meeting that did take place...