Free Republic

The 9 September events demonstrate two interlocking realities. First, the prospect of a NATO–Russia war is no longer an abstraction. Moscow has shown a willingness to test NATO directly. Second, the most likely path to such a conflict is not through deliberate escalation but through miscalculation. The means to a wider war exist; the question is which one. Technical failure, human error, or political panic could cause escalation to spiral in a single instant.

Russia on Wednesday strongly condemned the Israeli attack on Qatar's capital Doha, calling it "a gross violation of international law and the UN Charter," and "an assault on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent state." In a statement, the Foreign Ministry emphasized that Israel targeted Qatar's residential district, purportedly aimed at high-ranking members of the Palestinian Hamas movement who were reportedly located there, killing at least six people, including a Qatari police officer and injuring several people. "Russia views this incident as a gross violation of international law and the UN Charter, representing an assault on the sovereignty...

Nato fighter jets have shot down Russian drones over Polish airspace for the first time, after what Warsaw described as an “unprecedented violation” of its territory that led it to trigger emergency consultations in the alliance. The operation in the early hours of Wednesday, during a massive Russian attack on Ukraine, involved Dutch and Polish fighter jets, while German Patriot missiles were put on alert and an Italian early warning aircraft provided support. The alliance said it was “committed to defending every kilometre of Nato territory, including our airspace”. It marks the most serious clash between Russia and the US-led...

The decapitated corpse of a mining company boss has been found in the latest episode of a grizzly string of mysterious deaths among senior Russian executives since the war in Ukraine started. The body of Alexey Sinistyn, CEO of potassium and magnesium mining firm K-Potash Service, was found near Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave on Monday, Russian media reported. The deceased was “found without a head,” state-run news agency RIA Novosti cited law enforcement officials as saying, adding that the body was found under a bridge with a tow rope attached to it.

Horrific footage captured the moment a madman fatally stabbed a Ukrainian refugee from behind as she sat on a train in North Carolina. The sickening attack unfolded on August 22, soon after Iryna Zarutska, 23, boarded a South End light rail train in Charlotte. Cops identified the stabber as homeless man Decarlos Brown Jr., 35, who has a lengthy rap sheet, including an arrest for assaulting his sister. He was seen in the footage watching Zarutska for some time after she sat in the seat in front of him, eventually taking out what appeared to be a blade from his...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Video footage released Friday shows the moments leading up to and following the deadly August stabbing of a woman on the Charlotte light rail. WBTV on Friday, Sept. 5 obtained surveillance video of a deadly stabbing that happened two weeks earlier on the Lynx Blue Line light rail system in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can watch our edit of that video below. At around 9:50 p.m. on Aug. 22, a light rail passenger stabbed Iryna Zarutska, 23, several times. Officials said she was stabbed in the throat at least one time. Zarutska was pronounced dead on...

If a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine ever comes together, the United States could take the lead role in monitoring a large buffer zone inside Ukraine envisioned as a way to protect the country from Russia, according to four people familiar with a plan that military officials from Ukraine’s allies, including the United States, have been discussing. -snip- On the latter front, the United States is discussing with Ukraine a deal that could be worth around $100 billion, under which Kyiv would be able to buy American weapons, while in exchange the United States would get intellectual property rights...

The attack comes as Russia suffers fuel shortages following Ukrainian attacks that have cut 20 percent of Russia's oil refining capacity. Ukraine struck several Russian oil facilities overnight Friday, including one if its largest refineries and an oil depot, worsening the country’s crippling fuel shortages. Ukrainian drones targeted facilities including Russia's largest Rosneft refinery in Ryazan and an oil depot in occupied Luhansk Oblast, according to Ukraine's chief drone warfare commander Robert Brovdi. Images of the attack on social media that appeared to show a massive fireball erupting immediately after the strike.

Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that the Central Bank is “struggling” to lower interest rates without sparking new inflation, warning that a sharp cut would drive up prices. Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, he said, “If inflation overwhelms the economy, nothing good will come of it.” The remarks come amid concerns over a slowing economy. Sberbank chief German Gref said this week that Russia has entered “technical stagnation,” arguing the current 18% key rate must drop closer to 12% to stimulate recovery, News.Az reports, citing foreign media. Official data shows annual inflation eased to 8.8% in July,...

Vladimir Putin has been issued a stark warning about the state of Russia's economy. It comes after one of his close allies and head of the biggest bank in Russia, German Gref, urged him to enforce immediate measures to avoid a recession. Gref, the CEO of Sberbank, warned Putin that the country's wartime economy is stagnating. Military spending in Russia has hit record highs since the invasion of Ukraine, causing inflation and high interest rates. The economy is also suffering from a shortage of workers due to the mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of men into the military.

President Vladimir Putin denied on Friday that Russia's economy was stagnating, despite a report from the central bank that suggests it is technically in recession. In a speech to an economic forum in the Pacific port of Vladivostok, Putin defended the central bank's use of very high interest rates, currently at 18%, to tackle inflation - a stance fiercely criticised by business leaders and bankers. A graph published in a central bank report this week showed Russia's gross domestic product shrank for two consecutive quarters, a standard definition of what economists call a technical recession. Sberbank CEO German Gref, one...

U.S. President Donald Trump told European leaders on Thursday that Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil that he said is helping Moscow fund its war against Ukraine, a White House official said. Trump joined a call of the "Coalition of the Willing" countries, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, who were meeting on security guarantees for Kyiv in the event of a peace deal with Russia. "President Macron and European leaders called President Trump into their ‘Coalition of the Willing’ meeting. President Trump emphasized that Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil that is funding the war — as Russia received...

US President Donald Trump urged Europe to cease its purchases of Russian oil on a call with European leaders at the Coalition of the Willing, Fox News reported on Thursday, citing a White House official. Additionally, Trump stressed that European leaders should increase economic pressure on China "for funding Russia's war efforts," while stressing the importance of curbing financial aid to Russia. More to come...

The Russian and Chinese leader's creepy discussion involved fantasising about organ transplants and biotechnology in order to "live to 150". In a private conversation inadvertently captured in Beijing, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping discussed the possibility of achieving "immortality" through organ transplants and advanced medical procedures. The Chinese president, with whom Putin is said to be developing closer ties with, told his Russian counterpart via a translator: "Earlier, people rarely lived to 70, but these days at 70 you are still a child." In response, Mr. Putin said: "With the development of biotechnology, human organs can be continuously transplanted and...

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been overheard discussing organ transplants as a means of prolonging life on the sidelines of a military parade in Beijing. Putin suggested even eternal life could be achievable as a result of innovations in biotechnology, according to a translation of remarks caught on a hot mic. -snip- The exchange was relayed by a Mandarin translator for Putin and a Russian translator for Xi, and has been translated into English by the BBC. "In the past, it used to be rare for someone to be older than 70 and these days...

Speaking in China at the end of a visit there, Putin said that he perceived "a certain light at the end of the tunnel" given what he said were sincere efforts by the United States to find a settlement to Europe's biggest land war since World War Two. "It seems to me that if common sense prevails, it will be possible to agree on an acceptable solution to end this conflict. That is my assumption," he told reporters in Beijing. "Especially since we can see the mood of the current U.S. administration under President Trump, and we see not just...

North Korea’s tubby tyrant Kim Jong Un traveled to China with his own private toilet designed to protect his DNA and any clues about his health, according to Japanese and South Korean intelligence — as his aides were also spotted meticulously cleaning the room where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The secretive lavatory was located on his green armored train that took him to Beijing on Tuesday for the country’s largest-ever military parade, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. “The physical condition of the supreme leader has a major impact on the North...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged his full support to Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, promising to do "everything I can to assist" Moscow as the Russian president thanked Pyongyang for sending troops to fight against Ukraine. The meeting took place on the sidelines of celebrations in Beijing to mark the anniversary of Japan's formal surrender in World War Two. (snip) "If there is anything I can or must do for you and the Russian people, I consider it my duty as a fraternal obligation," Kim told Putin. Putin addressed Kim as "Dear Chairman of State Affairs" in Russian and...

Trump sent a message to the Axis of Evil ahead of the parade. XI JINPING, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un stood as a united front as China held its largest ever military parade. China's president warned the world will soon face a choice between "peace or war" as he looks to spearhead a new world order alongside North Korea and Russia. The lavish event saw 50,000 spectators - including 26 international leaders - watch as China celebrated the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two. Trucks with new laser weapons, hypersonic nuclear missiles, robot dogs and an array...

As Beijing rolled out its largest military parade in decades, US President Donald Trump trained his guns at Xi Jinping, accusing the Chinese President of “conspiring” with Russia and North Korea against the United States. "Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America," Trump said in a post directed at Xi on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday. His remarks coincided with a show of force in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War 2. Xi was joined by Russian President Vladimir...