Free Republic

Europe is drawing up “pretty precise plans” for a multinational troop deployment to Ukraine as part of post-conflict security guarantees that will have the backing of US capabilities, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times in an interview published on Aug 31. “President Trump reassured us that there will be (an) American presence as part of the backstop,” Dr von der Leyen told the FT, adding that “That was very clear and repeatedly affirmed.” -snip- European leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte and von der Leyen are...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised the strengthening cooperation between Russia and China within the BRICS group, stating that the two countries are actively working to enhance the bloc’s influence as a core mechanism of the international architecture. In an interview with China’s Xinhua News Agency, a partner of TV BRICS, Putin said the two nations are jointly promoting initiatives aimed at expanding the economic development opportunities of member states. “We are actively cooperating with China within BRICS to enhance its influence as one of the core mechanisms of the international architecture. Together, we are promoting initiatives aimed at expanding...

Russia and China jointly oppose "discriminatory" sanctions in global trade that hinder the world's socio-economic development, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a written interview with China's official Xinhua news agency. The two countries will continue to work to reduce mutual trade barriers, Putin said in the interview published on Saturday on the eve of a visit to Russia's biggest trading partner. Putin will be in China from Sunday to Wednesday, in a four-day visit that the Kremlin has called "unprecedented."

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with President Xi Jinping in China next week, attend a security summit, and be the "main guest" of Xi's at a military parade on Beijing's Tiananmen Square, the Kremlin said on Friday. -snip- Ushakov said Putin would be attending as "the main guest" and be seated on Xi's right, while North Korea's Kim Jong-Un would sit on Xi's left.

Moscow on Friday, August 29, slammed Emmanuel Macron for what it called "vulgar insults," after the French president called Russian leader Vladimir Putin a "predator" and "ogre." Macron warned European leaders not to trust Putin in an interview with the LCI broadcaster last week. "For his own survival, [he] needs to keep eating (...) That means he is a predator, an ogre at our gates," Macron said. He made the comments after a landmark meeting with US President Donald Trump along with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and European allies in Washington. Russia's foreign ministry slammed the remarks. "They cross the...

Russia's domestic fuel market is fully supplied and the situation is under control, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. On a daily conference call with reporters, he said there were various reasons for fuel price swings. The government was taking active measures to ensure gasoline and energy prices remain stable, he said. Some Russian regions have reported gasoline shortages and long queues at fuel stations following recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries.

President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is set to meet in New York on Friday with senior members of the Ukrainian government, sources told Newsmax on Thursday. “Two sources familiar with the matter tell me, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to meet Ukrainian delegation - Andriy Yermak & Sergiy Kyslytsya - in New York tomorrow," Newsmax's Nana Sajaia first reported of the planned meeting on X. Andriy Yermak is the head of the Office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Sergiy Kyslytsia is Ukraine's deputy foreign minister and former envoy to the United Nations.

Russia is on the verge of political turmoil as its economy teeters on the brink of collapse and its war in Ukraine stumbles, warns a leading nationalist figure. Russian nationalists have been among the staunchest supporters of the Kremlin's war in Ukraine. Figures like Aleksandr Dugin have even argued that Ukraine's destruction is crucial for Russia's survival. In his 1997 book "The Geopolitical Future of Russia", he expressed his views bluntly, writing: "The existence of Ukraine within its current borders, and with its current status as a 'sovereign state,' is tantamount to delivering a monstrous blow to Russia's geopolitical security."...

According to a military and security analyst, Russia's summer offensive in Ukraine has utterly collapsed. Julian Röpcke, a journalist for the German news outlet Bild, has been closely following the war since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. In a recent column, he outlined four primary reasons why he believes Putin's summer campaign in Ukraine has crumbled. One of Russia's main objectives in the east was to capture the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region - a crucial logistical hub for Ukraine's army. Despite positioning troops at the city's gates since January, Röpcke contends that all attempts to storm it...

In the last 30 months, an estimated 17 Russian officials, politicians, businessmen and leading figures in the arts have died after falling from high windows. The window on the fifth floor of a building in the historic city of Petrozavodsk in northwestern Russia was wide open when the figure of a man appeared briefly, before plunging to the ground. This was followed by Putin enforcing a "blanket ban" on social media apps from enemy countries. The mangled body of former police colonel, Artur Pryakhin, head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service in the republic of Karelia, was hauled off to the...

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong-un will attend a military parade in Beijing, marking the first public appearance of the two leaders alongside President Xi Jinping in a show of collective defiance amidst Western pressure. No Western leaders will be amongst the 26 foreign heads of state and government attending the parade next week except for Robert Fico, prime minister of Slovakia, a European Union member state, according to the Chinese foreign ministry on Thursday. Against the backdrop of China's growing military might during the "Victory Day" parade on September 3, the three leaders will project a...

Drone attacks have been carried out on the Afipsky oil refineries in Russia's Krasnodar Territory and the Kuibyshev oil refineries in the Samara region, APA reports, citing Russian media. Large fires broke out at the oil refineries after the drone attacks. According to the governor of the Samara region, Dmitry Azarov, the airport and mobile internet use in the city of Samara have been temporarily restricted due to the threat.

Donald Trump has imposed a hefty 50% tariff on Indian goods, a move prompted by India's continued purchase of Russian oil. This action endangers over half of India's exports to its biggest market. According to New Delhi, the tariffs that come into effect today (Wednesday, August 27) will impact £35.8billion ($48.2bn) worth of exports. Initially, the US President announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods. However, earlier this month, he signed an executive order for an additional 25% tariff in response to India's purchases of Russian oil. This brings the total tariffs levied by the United States on its ally...

The deputy governor of a Russian region bordering Ukraine has been detained as part of a criminal case involving the embezzlement of 1 billion roubles (S$15.8 million) earmarked for defensive fortifications, the Tass state news agency reported. The office of Deputy Kursk Governor Vladimir Bazarov, who previously worked as deputy governor in the neighbouring Belgorod region, was being searched, Tass reported. The detention of Bazarov was confirmed by Kursk Governor Alexander Khinshtein, who said the case related to his work in the Belgorod region. He gave no further comment. Reuters was unable to contact Bazarov or his lawyer. Since Ukrainian...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday he and U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg had held a good meeting and discussed exerting pressure on Russia to hold "real talks" on ending more than three years of war, APA reports citing Reuters. "A good meeting with the special U.S. presidential envoy Keith Kellogg," Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "We discussed how to exert influence on Russia, oblige them to hold real talks on ending the war ... We are ready to talk in a format with leaders. This is needed to resolve key issues." Zelenskyy said Ukraine valued the "readiness...

Ukrainians are hunting down Russian drones armed with nothing more than shotguns and rifles while dangling out of prop lanes as part of a low-tech solution to Moscow’s high-tech aerial assassins. Although Kyiv has some of the West’s most advanced air-defense systems, including US-made Patriot missiles and F-16 jets, the nation has been forced to deploy such unconventional tactics to counter Russia’s ever-escalating drone bombardments because of the sheer number of devices being deployed. Pilots and gunners in Ukraine’s 11th Army Aviation Brigade have been tapped to take the Soviet-era Yak-52 prop planes to the skies, with the two-person aircraft...

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took to X on Sunday to accuse United States President Donald Trump, whom he described as "the man who is now in office" in Washington, of wanting to have Tehran obedient to the North American country. "The Iranian nation feels deeply offended by such a grave insult, and they will stand with all their might against anyone who has such an illegitimate expectation," Khamenei wrote. He praised his nation for its response to Israel and the United States' recent strikes on Iran. Furthermore, Khamenei accused the US of interfering in Iran's internal affairs in...

A fire at Russia's Novoshakhtinsk refinery was burning for the fourth day on Sunday after a Ukrainian drone strike, the acting governor of the region said. A fire was reported at in Novoshakhtinsk on Thursday. The refinery there sells fuel mainly for export, and has annual capacity of 5 million metric tons of oil, or around 100,000 barrels per day. Yury Slyusar, the acting governor of the Rostov region, said he had a meeting in Novoshakhtinsk. "The fire area at the Novoshakhtinsk oil products plant has now been reduced," he said on Telegram. "Since August 21, firefighters have been fighting...

US President Donald Trump joined other world leaders in sending messages of support to Ukraine on Sunday as it celebrates Independence Day at a time when there is little hope for peace despite intense diplomatic efforts. Trump sent a letter to Ukraine on the country’s 34th Independence Day – which marks the anniversary of declaring itself free of Soviet rule – praising its courage and saying the United States believes in its future as an independent state. -snip- In the letter, Trump wrote: “The people of Ukraine have an unbreakable spirit, and your county’s courage inspires many. As you mark...

U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Keith Kellogg visited Kyiv on August 24 to take part in the celebrations marking Ukraine’s Independence Day. Kellogg attended the ceremony on Sophia Square in central Kyiv, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered an address, Caliber.Az cites Ukrainian media. Alongside Kellogg, representatives and officials from other countries also joined the celebrations, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Foreign guests also included the defence ministers of Sweden, Denmark, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, and Canada, as well as the UK’s Minister for Veterans’ Affairs. Ukraine celebrates its Independence Day on August 24, marking the anniversary of the 1991 declaration...