Free Republic

A Los Angeles news station went viral after its news anchor characterized the anti-ICE riots as "just a bunch of people having fun watching cars burn" on Sunday. During its live coverage of the violent demonstrations rocking downtown LA, ABC7 Los Angeles anchor Jory Rand cautioned law enforcement from escalating tensions by interfering. "It could turn very volatile if you move law enforcement in there in the wrong way, and turn what is just a bunch of people having fun watching cars burn into a massive confrontation and altercation between officers and demonstrators," he said

Ukraine's air forces shot down a Russian Su-35 fighter jet on Saturday morning, the Ukrainian military said. "This morning, on June 7, 2025, as a result of a successful Air Force operation in the Kursk direction, a Russian Su-35 fighter jet was shot down," the military said on the Telegram messenger. It gave no more details. Russian forces have not yet commented on the matter while Reuters could not independently verify the report.

Vice President JD Vance on Thursday reportedly warned that the U.S. wouldn’t rule out tough sanctions or even potential military action against Russia if President Vladimir Putin didn’t come to the negotiating table on a deal that would guarantee peace for Ukraine. In speaking with The Wall Street Journal, which was the first to report on Vance’s comments, the vice president said sending U.S. troops to Ukraine was "on the table" if Russia failed to negotiate in good faith. Vance said there are "economic tools of leverage [and] there are, of course, military tools of leverage" that the U.S. could...

Donald Trump's incoming national security advisor Mike Waltz suggested during an interview on ABC's "This Week" that if Ukraine expects "the entire world to be all-in" on supporting them, they should lower their draft age from 26 to 18. MIKE WALTZ: I will say, the other thing that we're going to need to see is really stabilizing things on the battlefield. And one of the things that we'll be asking of the Ukrainians is they have real manpower issues. Their draft age right now is 26 years old, not 18. I don't think a lot of people realize that they...

Fatemeh Mohajerani, the spokesperson for the Iranian government, announced that a 20-year cooperation agreement between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia will be signed soon. She stated, “We hope to witness the signing of the comprehensive cooperation document between the two countries on January 18th of this year.” On Wednesday, January 8th, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported that Fatemeh Mohajerani confirmed detailed discussions about this cooperation document had taken place. While the details of the agreement have not been disclosed, it is believed that Iran has accepted the changes Russia requested in the agreement. Ismail Baghaei, the spokesperson...

The world must return to a policy of "maximum pressure" against Iran to turn it into a more democratic country, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's incoming Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg told an Iranian opposition event in Paris on Saturday. Trump has vowed to return to the policy he pursued in his previous term that sought to wreck Iran's economy to force the country to negotiate a deal on its nuclear programme, ballistic missile programme and regional activities. "These pressures are not just kinetic, just not military force, but they must be economic and diplomatic as well", Retired Lieutenant-General Kellogg, who is...

Russia has expressed support for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's willingness to resolve issues through dialogue, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. He reaffirmed Russian President Vladimir Putin's readiness to engage in talks with Trump, News.Az reports, citing Reuters. -snip- Peskov said Putin had repeatedly stated his willingness to hold talks with international leaders, including Trump. "No conditions are required for this, (only) a mutual desire and political will to conduct a dialogue and resolve existing problems through dialogue is required," he said. "We see that Mr. Trump also declares his readiness to resolve problems through dialogue, we welcome this." Peskov...

US President-elect Donald Trump said that a meeting was being set up between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. "He wants to meet, and we are setting it up," Trump said in remarks before a meeting with Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

Russia is closely monitoring Donald Trump’s territorial claims to Greenland, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said, after the US president-elect refused to rule out the possibility of using military force to acquire the Danish territory. “We are following this rather dramatic development closely. Thankfully, for now, it remains at the level of statements,” Peskov told a news conference in Moscow on Thursday. -snip- “The Arctic zone is an area of our national and strategic interests. We are present in the Arctic and will continue to be. Maintaining peace and stability in the region is paramount, and we are open to...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his generals have an artful knack for keeping the Russian military bear off-balance. On Sunday, they renewed their offensive in the Russian Kursk Oblast, once again catching the Russian high command, Kremlin, and many pundits by surprise. Reports of a demoralized Ukrainian army fighting to retain terrain captured during the August Kursk offensive — of which at least 40 percent has been lost — have circulated among western media and Russian milbloggers since November. So too reports that Ukraine’s 155th Mechanized Brigade — trained and equipped by France — was under-resourced in “first person view...

A state of emergency has been declared in the Russian city of Engels after a Ukrainian drone strike hit an oil depot that supplies Russia's nuclear bomber planes. Saratov regional governor Roman Busargin said that two firefighters had been killed while tackling the blaze. A huge fire exploded at the “Kristal” oil complex, as well as multiple explosions, in the city of Engels after long-range strikes, said Ukraine’s military. It added that the oil depot supplied fuel to the “Engels-2” military airfield, where Russia’s nuclear bomber fleet is based. “The strike of the oil depot creates serious logistical problems for...

Vladimir Putin has today been seen with red eyes and a mystery bruise on his hand, fuelling further speculation of his deteriorating health. The Russian despot, today seen calling a 15-year-old girl from Ukraine's Donetsk region called Arina Porkhal as part of the New Year Tree of Wishes nationwide charity campaign, was seen with weary eyes and bruise on his hand. It is not known why the 72-year-old Russian leader has this bruise, but he is believed to have long been in ailing health. In November, strange footage showed Putin's legs twitching uncontrollably at a public event yesterday amid rumours...

Something struck a group of Russian troops in Lgov, a town of 21,000 in western Russia’s Kursk Oblast, late Sunday or early Monday. “It’s terrible,” a bystander cried. “The guys are all in the bunker,” they added as the bunker burned. A Ukrainian official insinuated the fire was the result of a Ukrainian raid, which would make sense. Lgov lies just 30 miles north of the town of Sudzha, the anchor of the 250-square-mile salient that Ukrainian forces carved out of Kursk back in August. It’s a key road and rail node for troops and supplies supporting the two-month-old Russian...

Russian President Vladimir Putin seemingly took a page out of President Biden’s book and is offering to write off debts for new recruits enlisting in the country’s military for one year. In November, Putin signed a law allowing anyone who joined the Russian military after Dec. 1, 2024, to have debs of up to 10 million rubles, or about $96,000, written off. -snip- The move appears to be similar to one from Biden’s own playbook, though the latter does not connect loan handouts to military recruitment. Earlier this month, the Biden administration announced $4.28 billion in student loan handouts as...

Chinese nationalists are calling for Russia to return land they claim was stolen by the Kremlin in the 19th century. A video on Chinese social media has called on Beijing to take advantage of Moscow's weakened position to seize large parts of Siberia and Russia's Far East. The clip has gone viral in China and has racked up millions of hits among viewers on TikTok. -snip- The Treaty of Aigun in 1858 forced China to cede much of Manchuria to the Russian Tsar Alexander II. The territory, comprising some 600,000 square kilometres, is part of Russia's Far East and includes...

Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Michael Steele criticized the New York appeals court’s decision to pause enforcement of the multimillion-dollar judgment against former President Trump and his company over deceitful business practices. In a terse order on Monday, a five-judge state appeals court panel said it would delay the enforcement of the $464 million judgment against Trump, the Trump Organization and top executives, plus interest, if they post bond within 10 days. The bond amount was also slashed by more than half. “Yet again, @realDonaldTrump gets special treatment with his own private system of justice,” Steele, a regular critic...