Free Republic

Donald Trump issued a stunning threat to NATO allies for holding up his negotiations to end the Russia - Ukraine war and warned against 'wasting my time' in a blistering social media post. Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday morning to rebuke NATO allies for buying oil from Russia despite their opposition to Vladimir Putin's invasion, saying it 'greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia'. 'I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM...

The payments no longer attracting Russians like they did before. Foreigners from Africa and Asia, however, are now making up half of all applicants at the Moscow center, Verstka reports. Sources from the mayor’s office say there is no evidence that the foreigners are being purposefully shipped into the capital as part of a deal between Russia and other nations. Instead, the foreigners appeared to be lured by other fighters who boasted about the payments and the ability to gain combat experience fighting with Russia. One man, who said he was from Bangladesh, said he went to the recruitment center...

The walls are closing in on Ukraine’s President Zelensky. In a meeting with allies in Germany this week, the embattled leader requested NATO troops on the ground in Ukraine. “Our goal is to find as many instruments as possible to force Russia into peace. I believe that such deployment of partners’ contingents is one of the best instruments. Let’s be more practical in making it possible.” Nothing about this proposal is “practical”. Even if Zelensky is speaking about peacekeeping troops as part of a settlement, which isn’t clear, it’s still a fundamentally crazy idea. Simply put, it would bring us...

The first significant Russian strategic defeat as a direct consequence of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine is the loss of its Mediterranean outpost. Vladimir Putin’s obsession with Ukraine has led Russia to channel virtually all its military forces and resources into the Ukrainian conflict. Russia has suffered massive losses, stretching its military thin and making it increasingly difficult to defend the country’s geopolitical interests elsewhere. Not only has the Kremlin pulled its military forces from vast stretches of Russia’s enormous territory and thrown them into the Ukrainian meat and metal grinder, but Moscow has also neglected other areas where the...

On November 27, a powerful force led by Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched an offensive in northern Syria. Taking advantage of the dysfunctional Assad regime forces – the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) – and Russia’s preoccupation with its grinding war in Ukraine, HTS and its Turkish-supported allies advanced to the south – and swiftly liberated the city of Aleppo from Syrian strongman Bashar Al-Assad, his SAA and his Russian backers. (snip) The Russians know Tartus is in trouble. On December 3, commercial satellite imagery revealed that every major Russian warship known to operate from Tartus – three missile...

The Constitutional Court in the European Union (EU) and NATO member state Romania has canceled its presidential elections just days before a scheduled vote, claiming a Russian interference campaign is the reason a pro-Trump candidate populist was the favorite to win the race.Romanian judges annulled the second round of the presidential elections as polls suggested populist, NATO-critical candidate Călin Georgescu, who won a surprise victory in the election’s first round, was likely to win Sunday’s vote. According to the court, Georgescu benefits from an influence campaign on social media platforms like TikTok, similar to some run by the Russian government.

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that new technologies like Bitcoin and digital currencies cannot be effectively banned and will continue to evolve and grow in popularity. “We see processes with the use of other instruments. For instance, Bitcoin. Who can prohibit the use of it? No one,” said Putin, speaking during a keynote speech at the 15th VTB ‘Russia Calling’ Investment Forum in Moscow on Wednesday. “Or the use of other electronic ways of settlement. No one can ban the use of them,” Putin stressed. “These instruments will continue to develop because everyone will try to reduce costs and make...

The budget for 2025, which was published Sunday, allocates about $126 billion (13.5 trillion rubles) to national defense – amounting to 32.5% of government spending.

Vlodymr Zelensky said he is willing to cede territory to Russia to end the war for the first time. He added that Kiev could later negotiate “diplomatically” the return of the territory in the east that is currently under Russian control after a ceasefire is agreed.