Free Republic

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday slammed U.S. President Donald Trump's trade policies and sweeping tariffs, saying they harm multilateralism as he met with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow. -snip- "The latest decisions by the U.S. president to unilaterally put tariffs on trade with all countries in the world undermine the great idea of free trade and strengthening multilateralism," Lula said during a bilateral meeting with Putin. The leftist leader said he intends to strengthen Brazil's strategic partnership with Russia, citing "political, commercial, cultural, scientific and technological interests" as he sees room to increase trade.

Russia Victory Day 2025 LIVE: Putin Leads Russia's Largest Military Parade in Moscow to commemorate 80th anniversary of Russia's famous victory over Nazi Germany in WW II. 39 world leaders at this parade including Chinese leader Xi. Very impressive..

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping sat for one-on-one talks over tea on Thursday as they continued meetings in Moscow. The Kremlin released a video of Putin serving the drink to Xi after wider talks with their delegations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told Russia's Vladimir Putin on Thursday their two countries should be "friends of steel", as they pledged to raise cooperation to a new level and "decisively" counter the influence of the United States. At talks in the Kremlin, the two leaders cast themselves as defenders of a new world order no longer dominated by the U.S. In a lengthy joint statement, they said they would deepen relations in all areas, including military ties, and "strengthen coordination in order to decisively counter Washington's course of 'dual containment' of Russia and China". -snip- Xi, whose country is currently...

Chinese President Xi Jinping has told Russian leader Vladimir Putin that his country will stand with Moscow against “unilateralism and hegemonic bullying” during a visit to the country to commemorate the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. -snip- “In the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying behaviour, China will work with Russia to shoulder the special responsibilities of major world powers,” Xi told Putin. -snip- Xi said that China and Russia would jointly defend the “correct view” of the history of WWII, protect the “authority and status” of the United Nations, and defend the...

Vice President JD Vance lambasted Russia Wednesday, saying the Kremlin was “asking for too much” in exchange for ending its 38-month-old invasion of Ukraine. “I wouldn’t say that the Russians are uninterested in bringing this thing to a resolution,” the VP said at an event put on by the organizers of the annual Munich Security Conference. “What I would say is, right now, the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much.”

Ukraine launched a devastating drone attack on Russia overnight as Vladimir Putin prepares to welcome foreign leaders to celebrate VE Day. The strikes hit Moscow and surrounding Russian regions ahead of a large military parade in the capital on Friday, May 9, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of WW2 in Europe. One target hit by Ukrainian drones was Kubinka military airfield in the west of the city, from which aircraft will launch in a scheduled Red Square flypast. The airfield holds Russian MiG-29 and Su-27 fighter jets as well as Putin’s aerobatic team and is often used for...

President Donald Trump on Monday said he held a "productive" call with Turkish President Recep Erdogan on a range of topics, including the war between Russia and Ukraine. Trump shared details of the call in a post on his TRUTH Social platform. "I just had a very good and productive telephone conversation with the President of Turkey, Recep Erdoğan, concerning many subjects, including the War with Russia/Ukraine, all things Syria, Gaza, and more," Trump wrote. The president added that he is looking forward to working with Erdogan to end the "ridiculous, but deadly" Russia-Ukraine war.

Ukraine said it hit a drone command unit in the Kursk region, amid reports of fresh attempts to cross into Russia. Sunday's attack on the unit was located near the Russian village of Tyotkino, according to the Ukrainian general staff. Multiple Russian military bloggers also reported that Ukrainian forces had attempted to cross into the village, posting images - as yet unverified by the BBC - of vehicles breaking through tank traps on the border. The reports come after Moscow claimed in April to have regained control of the entire region, nine months after a Ukrainian forces launched a surprise...

Shortly after Russia’s unprovoked invasion, Putin put his military’s nuclear forces on high alert. Putin formally reduced the requirements for the Kremlin to deploy its nuclear weapons last year following Ukrainian attacks on the western Russian city of Kursk. That cleared the way for Russia to use nukes against any nation that attacks its territory and has the backing of a nuclear power. Recently, Trump has begun to sound more glum about the prospects of getting a deal done between the two sides. “Maybe it’s not possible to do,” Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an interview that aired...

Russia has reported that it repelled a drone attack on Moscow as the capital city prepares to host a major military parade with foreign leaders in attendance. Russia’s air defence systems intercepted “four drones flying towards Moscow”, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Monday. The attack appears intended to unsettle Moscow’s preparations for events marking the end of the Great Patriotic War, commonly known as World War II elsewhere, on May 9. -snip- The Kremlin has branded Putin’s declaration of a three-day unilateral ceasefire a humanitarian gesture. Military operations will be paused during the truce, according to Russian authorities, as world...

"The Victory Day parade will not be held in Sevastopol," said Governor of the city of federal importance Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev, APA’s Russia bureau reports. According to him, the decision was made due to security concerns.

DICTATOR Vladimir Putin has showed off his private chapel and his favourite drink in a bizarre tour of his Kremlin apartment. The Russian tyrant gave the public a glimpse into his home in an interview marking the 25th anniversary of his first inauguration as president. The bizarre footage shows Putin giving his favourite interviewer, Pavel Zarubin, a tour of the apartment while answering his questions. When asked about his grandchildren from daughters Maria, 39, and Katerina, 37, Putin says they occasionally visit him unexpectedly in his austere apartment. He said: “They can, they can. “But still everyone understands that I...

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.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in comments broadcast on Sunday said that the need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine had not arisen, and that he hoped it would not arise. In a fragment of an upcoming interview with Russian state television published on Telegram, Putin said that Russia has the strength and the means to bring the conflict in Ukraine to a "logical conclusion."

The Kremlin said on Saturday it wanted a definitive response from Ukraine to Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer of a three-day ceasefire next week, criticising the reaction so far as ambiguous and historically wrong. Putin on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany in World War Two. The Kremlin said the 72-hour ceasefire would run on May 8, May 9 - when Putin will host international leaders on Moscow's Red Square, including Chinese President Xi Jinping - and May 10. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy...

An unmanned Ukrainian sea drone shot down a Russian SU-30 fighter jet near the port of Novorossiysk - home to the Kremlin's Black Sea Fleet. The downing of the £38 million jet was carried out by Group 13 on May 2, a special unit within Ukraine's military intelligence. The sea drone was reported to be equipped with a R-73 air-to-air missile, which struck the jet in midair. The SU-30 crashed into the sea. Reports suggest that the crew were able to eject from the stricken jet and were later picked up by a civilian cargo ship. In a statement confirming...

US President Donald Trump's misplaced tariff policies are hurting America's allies but will fail to tank the Chinese economy, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday. -snip- In a tongue-in-cheek post on Telegram on Labor Day, Medvedev, who serves as deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, argued that Trump deserved an "exemplary labor" award for "starting the tariff battle." The US's neighbors, as well as its allies in Europe, were "suffering" and "crying" from the duties imposed by Washington, he wrote. "They are all in a really bad position, facing the need to bow down in a ritual known...

THE brutal torture prison where sick Putin's pawns mutilated a Ukrainian journalist has been revealed. -snip- Upon arrival many receive a “welcoming” procedure known as “reception”, where guards punch, kick and beat them relentlessly with batons. The chief medic of a Ukrainian marine brigade who arrived at the prison in 2022, Volodymyr Labuzov, said: “This is a sacred ritual for them. "Blindfolded, with your hands tied and your head bowed low, you are ordered to walk, and every dog standing there considers it necessary to hit you with something.” But Labuzov said this was just the start of a string...

An airfield belonging to Russian forces in occupied Crimea has been left in flames after a devastating Ukrainian drone strike, according to reports. Footage shared online purportedly shows the fire at Kacha airfield following a huge round of strikes from Kyiv's forces. Reports suggest Ukraine launched a massive aerial bombardment overnight on the Ukrainian peninsula, which has been occupied by Russian forces since 2014 and illegally annexed by Moscow. Loud explosions were heard near the Saky airfield in Novofedorivka, as well as at the Belbek air base near Sevastopol. A missile base in the Hvardiiske area was also reported to...