Free Republic

Russia appears to be preparing to test its new nuclear-armed, nuclear-powered cruise missile, according to two U.S. researchers and a Western security source, even as Russian President Vladimir Putin readies for talks on Ukraine with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday. Jeffrey Lewis of the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and Decker Eveleth of the CNA research and analysis organization, based in Virginia, reached their assessments separately by studying imagery taken in recent weeks until Tuesday by Planet Labs, a commercial satellite firm. They agreed the photos showed extensive activity at the Pankovo test site on the Barents Sea...

President Trump agreed with European leaders including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to red lines for the coming talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and said he hoped to follow up quickly with a trilateral summit with the two warring leaders. -snip- “President Trump was very clear that the American desire was to obtain a cease-fire at this meeting in Alaska,” Macron told reporters after the meeting. -snip- While Trump’s decision last week to meet Putin on American soil worried Europeans, trans-Atlantic relations have since warmed. In a flurry of calls and meetings, senior U.S. officials—including Trump, Vance and...

President Donald Trump threatened "very severe consequences" for Russia if President Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to end the war in Ukraine after their meeting in Alaska on Friday. -snip- Trump later appeared to cast doubt on whether he could convince Putin to stop bombing Ukrainian civilians. "I'll tell you what. I've had that conversation with him. I've had a lot of good conversations with him then I go home and I see that a rocket hit a nursing home or a rocket hit an apartment building, and people are laying dead in the streets," Trump said. "So, I guess the...

Daniel Richard Martindale, a U.S. citizen accused of aiding Russian military operations inside Ukraine, has been granted Russian citizenship by decree of President Vladimir Putin. The announcement was made Tuesday in Moscow, where Martindale was shown on state television receiving his Russian passport. Martindale, who reportedly transmitted Ukrainian military coordinates to Russian forces during the war, was praised by Russian officials for his loyalty and direct support of Kremlin objectives in eastern Ukraine, News.Az reports, citing Reuters. Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader in occupied Donetsk, handed Martindale his new citizenship documents and expressed personal gratitude, stating: “This is a sign...

President Zelensky has an unlikely ally in the White House: Melania Trump. The first lady, who grew up in the former Yugoslavia, has been reminding her husband of the deadly toll of Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian cities and is thought to have played a role in convincing the president to sign off the delivery of Patriot air defence missiles to Kyiv this week. -snip- Her interest in the Ukraine war can be explained by her background. Born behind the Iron Curtain in 1970, in the former Yugoslavia, Melania has previously described her admiration for Ronald Reagan, the president who helped...

US President Donald Trump’s fresh tariff threat for Russia’s allies has not gone down well with China, with the latter hitting out at America’s ‘coercion’ tactics. China has expressed strong disapproval on Tuesday regarding the United States' pressure tactics, following President Donald Trump's warning of "very severe" tariffs against Russia's remaining trade partners if the Ukraine conflict remains unresolved within 50 days. "China firmly opposes all illegal unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction. There are no winners in a tariff war, and coercion and pressure will not solve problems," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian has said according to an AFP...

Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to keep fighting in Ukraine until the West engages on his terms for peace, unfazed by U.S. President Donald Trump's threats of tougher sanctions, and his territorial demands may widen as Russian forces advance, three sources close to the Kremlin said. -snip- "Putin thinks no one has seriously engaged with him on the details of peace in Ukraine — including the Americans — so he will continue until he gets what he wants," one of the sources said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation. -snip- a second source familiar with...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday downplayed US President Donald Trump's threat to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Russia and its trading partners, asserting that Moscow is well equipped to withstand additional sanctions. -snip- "We would like to understand what is behind this statement after about 50 days. Earlier, there were also deadlines of 24 hours and 100 days; we’ve seen it all and really would like to understand the motivation of the US president," he said. Lavrov also said the SCO countries have reiterated their commitment to Iran’s legitimate right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy. "We...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to publicly respond to the 50-day ultimatum President Donald Trump issued him, though one top official on Tuesday suggested that Moscow "didn’t care." Deputy Chair of Russia’s security council and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev took to X to express the Kremlin’s first reaction to the joint announcement by Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte that Putin has 50 days to end its war in Ukraine or face 100% tariffs.

NATO scrambled its war planes today in self defence amid Vladimir Putin’s heaviest strikes on Ukraine in months, leading to multiple civilian deaths including three children. Russia was also hit hard with Ukrainian strikes, leading to the Kremlin’s air defences firing in panic - but missing - an Airbus A320-251N packed with its own tourists from Turkish resort Bodrum, according to reports. At least 10 Russian government aircraft used for high-ranking state and military officials fled Moscow flying east. It was not immediately clear if the exodus was a drill for an emergency evacuation or the real thing amid an...