Free Republic

Mr. President, we know you understand that the primary obstacle to peace in Ukraine is Russia’s aggression. You said you were “disappointed” in the conversation with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and that you “don’t think he’s looking to stop.” Putin again insisted he was unwilling to commit to a ceasefire until the “root causes” of the conflict were addressed. For Vlad, the “root cause” is the existence of Ukraine. He followed your call with the largest drone and missile strike of the war, killing at least one. So why, Mr. President, is your administration punishing Ukraine? The Pentagon has halted...

US President Donald Trump said Ukraine would need Patriot missiles for its defence, after speaking to President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 4, and voiced frustration over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s failure to end the fighting. Mr Trump told reporters on board Air Force One that he had a good call with Mr Zelensky, repeating that he was “very unhappy” about his call with Mr Putin a day earlier, given what he called the Russian leader’s refusal to work on a ceasefire. When asked whether the US would agree to supply more Patriot missiles to Ukraine, as requested by Mr Zelensky,...

US President Donald Trump voiced strong criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressing deep frustration over their latest conversation about the ongoing war in Ukraine. Calling the situation “no good", Donald Trump said he was “very unhappy" with the call, as he accused Vladimir Putin of wanting to “keep killing people." “It’s a very tough situation," Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding, “He wants to go all the way- just keep killing people. It’s no good." The US president also suggested that additional US sanctions on Moscow could be imminent, saying sanctions were a recurring topic in...

President Trump expressed dismay with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin early Friday, admitting that the Kremlin tyrant has no interest in stopping his bloody war on neighboring Ukraine anytime soon. “I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had [Thursday] with President Putin because I don’t think he’s there. I’m just saying, I don’t think he’s looking to stop, and that’s too bad,” Trump told reporters after returning to Washington following a pre-Independence Day event in Iowa. “It’s [former President Joe] Biden’s war, and I got stuck in the middle of it, just like I did with immigration and a lot of...

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on the phone on Thursday about arms deliveries to Ukraine, a spokesperson for the German leaders told Reuters. Merz initiated the call with Trump, the spokesperson said on Friday. Spiegel magazine first reported on the call.

A top Russian oil executive was killed after falling from a window in a Moscow tower block. His demise is just the latest in a string of high-profile and unexplained deaths among senior executives in Russia's energy sector. Andrey Badalov, 62, was confirmed dead after falling from his penthouse on Rublyovskoye Highway. He was the vice-president of Transneft - Russia's state oil pipeline operator and the largest such company in the world. The company transports 82% of the oil produced in the country through its pipelines. -snip- Transneft confirmed Badalov’s death but did not comment on the circumstances. The company...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Friday he spoke with his United States colleague Donald Trump on the phone, stating that he discussed potential joint defense programs with Washington, as well as recently Russian strikes on his country. "We spoke about opportunities in air defense and agreed that we will work together to strengthen protection of our skies. We have also agreed to a meeting between our teams," the Ukrainian leader wrote on X. He stated that Kiev is ready for "direct projects" with the US "especially when it comes to drones and related technologies." The two presidents also considered...

President Trump told Ukrainian President Zelensky in a call on Friday that the U.S. wants to help Ukraine with air defense, due to escalating Russian attacks, a Ukrainian official and a source with knowledge of the call said. Why it matters: Earlier this week the Pentagon paused a weapons shipment, including air defense interceptors and ammunication, to Ukraine's army. The decision caught Ukraine and many Trump administration officials surprise. Behind the scenes: The two sources said the call between Trump and Zelensky lasted around 40 minutes, with a major focus on Ukraine's air defense needs. One source said Trump was...

Russia pounded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and missiles on Friday in the largest aerial attack of the three-year war — just hours after President Trump admitted he was “disappointed” with his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A total of 539 drones and 11 missiles were fired at Kyiv over a seven-hour onslaught — injuring at least 23 people and damaging scores of buildings across the capital, Ukraine’s Air Force said.

Vladimir Putin has taken a thinly-veiled swipe at the USA as the nation gears up to celebrate its Independence Day on July 4. The Russian President couldn't resist pointing out that he considers Russia to have played a key role in helping the much younger country achieve statehood during a call with his American counterpart on Thursday. Putin said: "Russia played an important role in the formation of American statehood, including through the War of Independence 250 years ago, and then during the Civil War, which ended 160 years ago." Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov added: "Of course, he congratulated Trump...

Vladimir Putin has claimed in a phone call with Donald Trump that Russia played a role in the formation of the United States. Speaking a day before America celebrates Independence Day, the Russian leader reportedly congratulated Mr Trump about its national holiday, held on July 4. According to a report by Tass, a state-owned news agency, Yury Ushakov, the Russian presidential aide, said during the call “it was noted from our side that Russia played an important role in the formation of American statehood including during the War of Independence 250 years ago, and then during the Civil War, which...

President Trump spoke by phone Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine but made no headway on halting the fighting. “I didn’t make any progress with him today at all,” Trump said of Putin, speaking to reporters as he left Washington to deliver a speech in Iowa. According to a Kremlin briefing on the call, Trump urged Putin to quickly end the war in Ukraine but Putin refused. It was the two leaders’ first conversation since U.S. officials said this week they had paused a series of weapons shipments for Ukraine. Trump indicated the U.S. hadn’t...

The Kremlin has doubled its funding in 2025 for Yunarmiya ("Youth Army"), the state-sponsored youth organization that combines ideological indoctrination with military training for children and teenagers. According to documents reviewed by the independent Mozhem Obyasnit news outlet, Yunarmia is receiving 1 billion rubles (approximately $11 million) in funding this year, the largest amount since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This year, Yunarmiya is set to receive 800 million rubles ($9.7 million) in state subsidies through the Youth and Children national project, which was launched in 2024 by presidential decree to create “advanced schools” across Russia’s regions. The funds will...

Russian President Vladimir Putin swiftly exited an interview to speak with U.S. President Donald Trump. A video that emerged online shows Putin amid a panel interview with a packed crowd, informing them that he needs to leave to speak with Trump or risks upsetting him. "Please don't be angry, I understand that we could talk more, but it's so awkward to make [Trump] wait, he could get offended. Thank you very much, good luck," Putin told the crowd.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump told him he would attend potential peace talks between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia in Turkey, if Russian President Vladimir Putin also agreed to take part. On his return flight from the NATO summit, where he met Trump for the first time since he returned to office, Erdogan said he told the U.S. president Ankara aims to bring the Russian and Ukrainian leaders together in Turkey for peace talks. "He (Trump) said, 'if Russian President Vladimir Putin comes to Istanbul or Ankara for a solution, then I will also...

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his United States counterpart Donald Trump held a phone call lasting over an hour on Thursday, during which the two leaders addressed the ongoing war in Ukraine as well as the situation in the Middle East. According to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, Putin reaffirmed Russia's stance, insisting Moscow would not abandon its aims of addressing what he called the "root causes" of the conflict. Trump, for his part, again emphasized the need for a rapid cessation of hostilities. Despite speculations, Ushakov said the issue of halting US arms supplies to Ukraine was not brought up....

United States President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky are expected to speak over the phone tomorrow and discuss Washington's unexpected pause in arms deliveries to Kiev, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. Pentagon's decision to stop supplying some advanced weapons systems to Kiev, including munitions and missiles, prompted Ukraine to summon the acting US envoy, fearing the move would jeopardize the country's defense amid the ongoing conflict with Russia. Furthermore, sources familiar with the matter indicated that Zelensky will press the topic of potential new US arms sales. Trump's last meeting with his Ukrainian colleague came during...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he will speak on the phone with United States President Donald Trump later in the day. He made the remark while visiting a Russian business fair and did not elaborate on the topics he will discuss with Trump. More to come...

Major General Mikhail Gudkov, the deputy head of the Russian Navy who also led a brigade fighting against Ukraine, has been killed in Russia's Kursk region, Oleg Kozhemyako, governor of a far eastern Russian region, said on Thursday. Unofficial Russian and Ukrainian military Telegram channels had earlier reported that Gudkov had been killed along with 10 other servicemen in a Ukrainian attack on a command post in Korenevo in the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine. He is one of the most senior Russian military officers to have been killed by Ukraine since Moscow launched its full-scale war against Ukraine in...

In a landmark case highlighting a deepening purge within Russia's defense and security establishment, a court in Moscow sentenced former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov to 13 years in prison. The Moscow City Court on July 1 found Ivanov, the most visible figure in a massive probe into alleged military corruption that also targeted several other top officials close to former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, guilty of large-scale embezzlement and money laundering. In addition to the prison sentence, Ivanov was fined 100 million rubles ($1.1 million), and stripped of his state honors, including the prestigious Order "For Merit to the...