Free Republic

The Kremlin responded Monday to remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on possible Iranian regime change, issuing a condemnation of the "actions" that have led to escalated tensions between the two Middle Eastern nations. Netanyahu told Fox News on Sunday that regime change in Tehran "could certainly be the result" of Israel's strikes targeting Iran. The Israeli leader described the Iranian government as "very weak." Speaking at a Monday press briefing, Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson, was asked about Netanyahu's comments. "We have certainly seen this statement, we've heard and read [it]," Peskov said. The Kremlin condemns "the...

An ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin has said that "a full-scale war" in the Middle East is possible following Israel's airstrikes on Iran. -snip- Konstantin Kosachev, vice-speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament, made clear that Russia would stand by its ally, Iran. "Israel's actions cannot be justified from a legal, political, military or moral point of view. The only hope, albeit illusory, of avoiding a full-scale war is a consolidated condemnation of this operation by the international community," he said, according to Russia's official TASS news agency. "We can and must hope for another demonstration of restraint from...

Ukrainian drones struck two major facilities supplying Russia's military on Monday, dealing a double blow to President Vladimir Putin's war machine. The facilities struck in early morning attacks were a plant in the Chuvash Republic, which produces navigation systems for Russian drones and missiles, and a gunpowder factory in Kazan, according to local reports.

Dmitry Novikov, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, made the comments to Russian state news outlet TASS. "I think that Musk has a completely different game, [so] he will not need any political asylum, although if he did, Russia, of course, could provide it," Novikov said, in remarks translated from Russian. Musk and Trump, who had been political allies over desired cuts to federal spending, have publicly clashed recently with the feud escalating on June 5 in a series of exchanges across social media and in comments to reporters.

Liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the Supreme Court is allowing the government "to do what it wants" in a scathing dissent, after justices allowed the Trump administration to strip temporary legal protections from hundreds of thousands of immigrants. Supreme Court justices lifted a lower-court order that kept humanitarian parole protections in place for more than 500,000 migrants from four countries: Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. The court has also allowed the administration to revoke temporary legal status from about 350,000 Venezuelan migrants in another case. Jackson said the decision "allows the government to do what it wants to do...

A claim by the Russian Defence Ministry that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin was "in the epicentre of a drone attack" has turned out to be a staged performance by the Kremlin. Russian state media claimed earlier this week that when Putin visited Kursk Oblast for the first time since the hostilities began in the area, his helicopter came "under fire from Ukrainian drones". In reality, this was not a combat incident but a meticulously staged event. Four sources within the government and the Kremlin told The Moscow Times that security officials promoted this shocking and "risky" episode in the media...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has proposed a trilateral meeting between himself, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Russian President Vladimir Putin to break the deadlock on ending Moscow's invasion. Fighting continues between Russia and Ukraine, and Trump has expressed increasing frustration with the lack of progress towards peace, threatening to walk away from brokering the process entirely if he does not see a deal ahead. "We are ready to meet at the level of leaders. Both the American side knows this, and the Russian side knows this," Zelensky said on Tuesday, ahead of his visit to Germany on Wednesday. Zelensky said...

President Donald Trump's social media attacks on Vladimir Putin have prompted derision and a warning from Russian state media. Trump took to Truth Social to condemn Putin following last weekend's Russian missile and drone barrage on Ukraine which he followed up with a post that said the Russian leader is "playing with fire." But the state-run propaganda outlet RT said Trump changes his opinion frequently, while a Russian state television anchor warned that the U.S. president should keep in mind that Moscow can "destroy the world several times over."

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has addressed swirling rumors about his declining health with a cryptic message on mortality. -snip- In a video published Tuesday, Kadyrov said in a voiceover that he "increasingly hears gossip about my illness," but didn't confirm or deny whether his health was deteriorating. "They say that I am dying, I have little time left," the Chechen leader said. "Firstly, illness and death are the path of every person. No one living has passed this road. Secondly, it is not illness or threat that shortens life. Its length is determined only by the one who gave breath."...

Russia criticized the U.S. for its Golden Dome anti-missile system, announced recently by President Donald Trump, saying it undermines strategic stability. Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Washington to abandon the deployment of weapons in space. Her comments came at a press briefing on Tuesday morning and were reported by TASS, a Russian state news agency. -snip- Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a press briefing: "This highly offensive system violates the principle of peaceful use of outer space. It will exacerbate the risk of turning outer space into a battlefield and...

Russia is going after TV series Game of Thrones, Sex and the City, and the Harry Potter franchise in an effort to purge what it claims is the promotion of "childfree ideology." The development comes months after Russia passed a bill banning what state-run news wires describe as the "public propaganda of the ideas of voluntarily choosing not to have children." It comes as Russia grapples with a dwindling birth rate and as President Vladimir Putin scrambles to encourage women to have children.

The Kremlin said oil prices do not affect its national security decisions after U.S. President Donald Trump linked lower prices to Russia wanting to settle the Ukraine war. Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, responded to Trump's remarks during a press briefing on Tuesday morning. Peskov said Russia will continue to work within the OPEC+ format on managing oil prices, the state news agency TASS reported. -snip- Trump had told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday: "I think Russia with the price of oil right now, oil has gone down, we are in a good position to...

Two European allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin have fallen ill, according to reports, days before they were set to attend a Victory Day parade in Moscow. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico have had their trips to Russia questioned amid reported health scares.

Just months into Donald Trump's second term, a new round of polling has delivered a jolt to Democrats, revealing that Trump is more trusted than them in Congress. Why It Matters Recent polls have shown Trump's approval ratings declining and his popularity at an all-time low. Despite this, polls still seem to show that Trump is commanding more trust than his main opposition party. This dynamic not only strengthens Trump's hand as he advances his second-term agenda but also signals a daunting challenge for Democrats heading into the 2026 midterms—one that could further erode their influence at both state and...

A senior Iranian military official has accused President Donald Trump of stoking domestic unrest and destabilizing the global order through what he called aggressive policies, warning that the United States is speeding toward international decline under his leadership. Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi described Trump's conduct as "destructive and unlawful"—a sharp rebuke delivered just as critical nuclear talks between Tehran and Washington face fresh delays. Newsweek has reached out the U.S. State Department and Iran's foreign ministry for comment. -snip- Safavi, top military adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Friday that Trump's conduct is fueling America's...

In a majority of states across the union, gas prices are now higher than they were on the day of Donald Trump's return to the White House on January 20, while in a handful they are exactly the same and only in a few they have fallen, according to AAA data. The numbers show that, after more than 100 days in office, the U.S. president is still struggling to keep his promise to lower prices at the pump for American drivers, especially as his administration's tariffs threaten further turmoil in the global markets. Gas prices surged under Joe Biden, driven...

Tucker Carlson bashed Russian President Vladimir Putin's justification for invading Ukraine, claiming that the "denazification" of the country was "one of the dumbest things I'd ever heard." -snip- Carlson also described his first impression of Putin as someone who "seemed nervous," telling Fridman that the Russian president "went into [the interview] like an over-prepared student." Fridman specifically asked Carlson for his opinion on Putin's justification for continuing the war in Ukraine, which in part is to achieve the "denazification" of the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, has repeatedly dismissed the Kremlin's claims that Kyiv's government is openly...

The Washington Post Co. is putting Newsweek up for sale in hopes that another owner can figure out how to stem losses at the 77-year-old weekly magazine. The publishing industry has been struggling as businesses cut back on ad budgets during the recession. But Newsweek, along with Time magazine and U.S. News & World Report, faces a particular challenge finding a relevant niche in the age of up-to-the-second online news. Once handy digests of the week's events, they have been assailed by competitors on the Web that pump out a constant stream of news and commentary. Despite staff cuts, Newsweek...