Free Republic

The 17-year-old son of Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov, Adam, has been married to a local girl named only as Medni, reportedly a relative of Adam Delimkhanov, an MP from Chechnya and close ally of Ramzan Kadyrov. The large-scale wedding took place over three consecutive days, from Thursday to Saturday, in the village of Akhmat-Yurt (formerly Tsentoroy), the ancestral home of the Kadyrov family in Chechnya. According to unconfirmed reports, Adam Kadyrov married the daughter of Chechen Senator Suleiman Geremeev, who is a close ally of Ramzan Kadyrov and is a cousin of Russian MP Adam Delimkhanov. The ceremony was preceded...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has refrained from providing military support to Iran amid its recent 12-day standoff with Israel and the United States, despite years of defense cooperation between the two nations. Observers say this calculated distance, particularly during Iran’s time of need, signals a shift in Moscow’s foreign policy priorities — one that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is likely watching with unease. On June 23, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited Moscow amid the conflict, seeking at least diplomatic backing. Putin’s response was limited to describing the airstrikes as “acts of aggression.” There was no mention of...

Vladimir Putin has announced plans to scale back military spending after Kremlin officials warned that Russia is “on the brink of recession”. The Russian leader said he would reduce defence spending “next year and the year after, over the next three-year period” at an economic summit of five post-Soviet states in Minsk on Friday. Responding to Nato’s plans to raise defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP, Putin said the alliance’s members would spend on “purchases from the USA and on supporting their military-industrial complex”. “So who is preparing for some kind of aggressive actions? Us or them?” he...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that the country was dismissed regarding its concern about NATO expansion. "We emphasized that the security of one nation or a group of nations cannot come at the expense of another's security. This principle is enshrined in international agreements that all parties have ratified," Putin said. "Yet, in practice, what transpired?" Putin continued. "One NATO expansion after another. We were consistently reassured, 'there's nothing to fear; it doesn't pose a threat to you.' When we expressed our concerns, asserting that we believed it did threaten us, what was the response? Nothing at all. We...

Russian President Vladimir Putin shared on Friday that Moscow is ready to start a new round of talks with Ukraine. More to come...

United States President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that "it is possible" Russian President Vladimir Putin might have "territorial ambitions" beyond Ukraine. "I know one thing. He would like to settle. He would like to get out of this thing. It's a mess for him. He called the other day [and] said: Can I help you with Iran? I said no, you can help me with Russia," Trump told reporters while attending the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) summit. The US head of state remarked that he believes Putin is a "misguided" person, adding that he thought the settlement between...

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (June 24) that he would “probably” meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump confirmed the possibility when asked about a meeting. “Yeah probably I’ll see him,” he said. When asked what he intended to say to the Ukrainian leader, Trump replied, “I’ll say ‘how you doing?’ He’s in a tough situation, should never have been there.” Zelensky team confirms meeting preparations Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, also confirmed that talks were under way to...

Russian TV presenters have urged Vladimir Putin to consider dropping nuclear bombs on a NATO country to "solve" the world's problems "at once". In a chilling diatribe hawkish presenter Vladimir Solovyov raged that Russia should move nuclear weapons into Iran, under Kremlin control, and even attack NATO member Poland with an atomic weapon. Speaking on Russian state TV, Solovyov said Russian should use tactical weapons against Ukraine and "just in case, also drop one into Poland", adding: "No one will say a word. They will impose sanctions, so what?". Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) it...

U.S. President Donald Trump said he rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer to help with the Israel-Iran conflict during a recent call, turning the focus back to the unresolved war in Ukraine. -snip- "I'd like to see a deal with Russia," Trump said on Tuesday morning as he headed to the NATO summit in the Netherlands, Fox News reported. "As you know Vladimir called me up. He said, 'Can I help you with Iran?' I said, 'No, I don't need help with Iran. I need help with you.' "And I hope we're going to be getting a deal done with...

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday took aim at the recent U.S. strikes on Iran, calling them a “completely unprovoked act of aggression.” “You are visiting Russia during a challenging period, marked by a significant escalation of tensions both in the region and surrounding your country,” Putin told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to an English transcript from the Kremlin. “Russia’s position on the current developments is well known. It has been clearly expressed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is reflected in the stance we’ve taken at the United Nations Security Council, with which you are already...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia is stepping up production of its Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic missile, which it launched for the first time against Ukraine last November. "Serial production of the latest Oreshnik medium-range missile system is under way," Putin told a graduating class of military cadets in televised comments. The system has "proven itself very well in combat conditions," he added. -snip- Putin has boasted that the Oreshnik is impossible to intercept and has destructive power comparable to a nuclear weapon, although some Western experts have cast doubt on those claims. In December, a U.S. official...

Did I hear Former President Medvedev, from Russia, casually throwing around the “N word” (Nuclear!), and saying that he and other Countries would supply Nuclear Warheads to Iran? Did he really say that or, is it just a figment of my imagination? If he did say that, and, if confirmed, please let me know, IMMEDIATELY. The “N word” should not be treated so casually. I guess that’s why Putin’s “THE BOSS.” By the way, if anyone thinks our “hardware” was great over the weekend, far and away the strongest and best equipment we have, 20 years advanced over the pack,...

Vladimir Putin today vowed to back Iran and condemned 'groundless' aggression against its ally after the U.S. joined Israel in striking nuclear facilities on Sunday. 'This is an absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran,' Putin told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who travelled to Moscow seeking support in mediation. Putin called recent strikes 'unjustified' and added that Russia was 'making efforts to provide assistance to the Iranian people.' Araghchi on Monday thanked Putin for condemning U.S. strikes on Iran, telling him Russia stood on 'the right side of history'.

Iran's supreme leader sent his foreign minister to Moscow on Monday to ask President Vladimir Putin for more help from Russia after the biggest U.S. military action against the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution over the weekend. U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel have publicly speculated about killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and about regime change, a step Russia fears could sink the Middle East into the abyss. While Putin has condemned the Israeli strikes, he has yet to comment on the U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear sites though he last week called for calm and offered Moscow's...

Russia deeply regrets and condemns the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, the Kremlin said on Monday. The U.S. actions had increased the number of participants in the conflict and ushered in a new spiral of escalation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He added it was not yet clear what had happened to Iran's nuclear facilities and whether there was a radiation hazard. The situation on the ground in Iran after the strikes cannot fail to be a cause of concern, he said.

Russia's former president said that the production of nuclear weapons in Iran will continue Russia's former president said that multiple countries are poised to provide Iran with nuclear warheads after the U.S. launched strikes against three Iranian nuclear facilities. The enrichment of nuclear material — and, now we can say it outright, the future production of nuclear weapons — will continue," Dmitry Medvedev, now the deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, said in a Sunday X post. "A number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads," Medvedev said. Medvedev did not list...

- Russian President Vladimir Putin quipped on Friday (June 20) that in his view the whole of Ukraine was "ours" and cautioned that advancing Russian forces could take the Ukrainian city of Sumy as part of a bid to carve out a buffer zone along the border. Putin, who ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine, also said he was not seeking the capitulation of Ukraine or denying Ukraine's sovereignty, but that Ukraine had to be neutral. Russia currently controls about a fifth of Ukraine, including Crimea, more than 99 per cent of...

Regime change in Iran is "unacceptable" and the assassination of the country's Supreme Leader would "open the Pandora's box", the Kremlin has said. In a rare interview with a foreign media organisation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sky News that Russia would react "very negatively" if Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed. The comments came as US President Donald Trump said he will decide within two weeks whether America will join Israel's military campaign against Tehran, after earlier speculating on social media about killing the Iranian leader. "The situation is extremely tense and is dangerous not only for the region but...

Iran’s mission to the U.N. on Wednesday dismissed recent comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, stating that Tehran will not engage in negotiations or accept peace imposed through pressure. "No Iranian official has ever asked to grovel at the gates of the White House," the mission said in a post on X, responding to Trump's recent claim that Iranians "even suggest that they come to the White House." "The only thing more despicable than his lies is his cowardly threat to 'take out' Iran's Supreme Leader," it added. Reaffirming its defiance against pressure, the mission said: "Iran does NOT negotiate...

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to take questions Wednesday from international journalists on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Putin scheduled a roundtable session with senior news leaders of international news agencies, including The Associated Press. Among other issues, he’s expected to spell out Moscow’s position on the conflict between Israel and Iran that he offered to help mediate in a weekend call with U.S. President Donald Trump.