Free Republic

Ukraine’s most heavily fortified region has become the center-point for peace talks to end the war with Russian leader Vladimir Putin reportedly demanding that Kyiv cede the entire territory to Moscow. But the Donestk oblast — which is smaller than Massachusetts and home to about 4 million people — has been at the center of some of the most brutal fighting of the war, and the Kremlin has not been able to take the entire region after more than three and a half years. A source familiar with Friday’s meeting between Putin and President Trump described negotiations over the fate...

US President Donald Trump called Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to address his obstruction of Ukraine's EU membership, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. The conversation emerged from Monday's White House discussions between Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders. European officials requested that Trump leverage his relationship with Orban to convince him to abandon his opposition to Ukraine's EU bid, the news outlet reported, citing those familiar with the matter. Orban maintains opposition During the call, Hungary expressed a willingness to host future negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy. Trump said there would be a meeting between Putin and...

Russian reporters are whining about having to sleep on cots and being served old tuna for breakfast while covering the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska — but their own country may actually be to blame. The Kremlin journalists griped that they’ve had to rough it on portable beds with no sheets set up at the Alaska Airlines Center sports arena in Anchorage, where they were hardly able to make phone calls. They — gasp — even had to get by without bottled water. “After being assigned for [Thursday] night to what appeared to be a disaster evacuation zone, Russian journalists were...

-snip- “The Russian demand that Ukraine give up parts of the Donbas would be, just to illustrate the scale, comparable to asking the United States to give up Florida,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters after the White House meeting. During the closed-door meeting, Finnish President Alexander Stubb called the eastern Ukrainian cities of Kramatorsk and Slovyansk “a bastion against the Huns,” a description that appeared to impress Trump, according to the officials. Zelensky didn’t reject land swaps out of hand during the discussions with Trump, but he said it would be difficult to move populations and override Ukraine’s constitutional...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, will attend President Trump’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, according to two senior Defense Department officials. Hegseth isn't joining with Trump on Air Force One, instead flying separately, the officials said. Caine has already arrived in Alaska, a third DOD official said.

The White House revealed on Friday the team that will accompany US President Donald Trump to the Alaska summit on Friday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Luntick, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe are among the top US officials who will join Trump for his highly anticipated meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his delegation. Additionally, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, among others, are expected to travel with the US president...

United States President Donald Trump mentioned on Thursday that he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "will make peace." "We will see if they can get along. And if they can, it will be great ... I thought the easiest [war to solve] would be this one, [but] it's actually the most difficult," he commented during a press conference. He reiterated that the potential second meeting will outweigh the importance of the one taking place tomorrow in Alaska. Trump revealed that this meeting could potentially involve both Putin and Zelensky, himself, as well as potentially some...

United States President Donald Trump commented on Thursday that he is unsure whether he will hold a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Speaking on Fox News radio, Trump explained that everything depends on how their meeting goes. The US head of state detailed that if discussions go well, the two will appear together and address the press. On the other hand, should talks not go well, the joint press conference will not happen. Trump further added that if negotiations go badly, he would hold a solo press briefing and head right back to...