Free Republic

Less than two years ago, House Republicans were so livid about the idea of continuing to aid Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression that they deposed their own speaker, Kevin McCarthy, in part to protest what they said was a “secret side deal” he had made to do so. Months later, Speaker Mike Johnson risked his own job to push through a funding package for Ukraine, with the majority of his members voting “no.” But now, more than three years into the war, many Republicans in Congress who have railed consistently against sending more money and weapons to Ukraine...

-snip- I go home, I tell the First Lady, "I spoke to Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation." She said, "Oh really? Another city was just hit." So it's like, look, he's— I don't want to say he's an assassin, but he's a tough guy. It's been proven over the years. He's fooled a lot of people. He fooled Bush. He fooled a lot of people. He fooled Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden. He didn't fool me. But what I do say is that at a certain point, you know, ultimately talk—talk doesn't—it's got to be action. It's got to...

US President Donald Trump told Russia on Monday to end its Ukraine war within 50 days or face massive new economic sanctions as he laid out plans for new infusions of weaponry for Kyiv via NATO.Trump said he was "very, very unhappy" with Vladimir Putin, underlining his insistence that his patience had finally snapped with the Russian leader's refusal to end his three-year-old invasion of Ukraine."We're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100 percent," Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

... Or face 100% secondary tariffs BREAKING News. Trump speaking now.

US President Donald Trump has said he will have "a major statement" on Russia on Monday, without going into detail. Trump made the remark in a phone interview with NBC News on Thursday, referring to the situation in Ukraine. The president said, "I'm disappointed in Russia, but we'll see what happens over the next couple of weeks." Trump has recently been stepping up his criticism of Russia. He has suggested he would consider additional sanctions against Moscow. Russia's presidential spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said on Friday that Moscow is waiting for the statement to understand what exactly President Trump means.

Russian state media has launched a barrage of criticism against U.S. President Donald Trump after he accused Russia's Vladimir Putin of saying "a lot of bulls***" about the war in Ukraine, the exiled news outlet Agentstvo reported Wednesday. -snip- Prominent pro-Kremlin television host Vladimir Solovyov on Tuesday chastised Trump on his flagship talk show for addressing Putin in what he described as a disrespectful tone. “Trump has started to speak rudely,” Solovyov said. “It seems to us that he’s undergoing a ‘Bidenization.’ His belief that he’s the only person able to speak with Putin has made him transform into another...

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he expressed the United States' frustration that more progress has not been made on ending the war in Ukraine in a meeting on Thursday with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. "It was a frank conversation. It was an important one," Rubio said his 50-minute talks with the Russian foreign minister on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Malaysia. He said he expressed to Lavrov what U.S. President Donald Trump has said publicly, "that there's not been more flexibility on the Russian side to bring about an end to this conflict." The envoys'...

The Trump administration has resumed sending some weapons to Ukraine, a week after the Pentagon had directed that some deliveries be paused. The weapons now moving into Ukraine include 155 mm munitions and precision-guided rockets known as GMLRS, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday. They spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details that had not been announced publicly.

Vladimir Putin has been dealt a massive setback after more than 20,000 soldiers deserted the front line in the war against Ukraine – leaving Kremlin forces even more depleted. Courts have received 20,538 cases of service personnel absent without leave, desertion or refusing orders since the illegal invasion began in February 2022, according to Russian independent news service Mediazone. The majority – 18,159 – were for soldiers going awol, with 17,721 being prosecuted under Russia’s Criminal Code. The maximum punishment is a 10-year jail term. However, those found guilty could commute their sentences by serving in the Storm-Z convict assault...

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to see the war between Ukraine and Russia come to a close following their meeting at the NATO Summit. Trump was asked about the meeting during his press conference at the summit in the Hague, Netherlands. “He couldn’t have been nicer. I think he’d like to see an end to this, I do. What I took from the meeting — couldn’t have been nicer, actually — but I took from the meeting he’d like to see it end,” Trump said. “I think it’s a great time to end it....

President Trump said Wednesday the United States may provide Ukraine with additional defensive missiles to intercept Russian air attacks. The president, speaking at a press conference in the Netherlands where he was attending a NATO summit, said Ukraine is seeking more Patriot missiles as the war with Russia drags on into a fourth year. “They do want to have the anti-missile missiles, as they call them, the Patriots. And we’re going to see if we can make some available,” Mr. Trump said. “You know, they’re very hard to get.” Mr. Trump said the U.S. is supplying Patriot missiles to Israel,...

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...

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...

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned the United States on Thursday against interfering in the military actions between Israel and Iran. "We would like to especially warn Washington against military intervention in the situation, which would be an extremely dangerous step, with truly unpredictable negative consequences," Zakharova said during a press briefing. The spokeswoman claimed that the attempts to justify Israel's "unprovoked aggression" against Iran are "cynical," and noted that it the most important thing to do is to "prevent the further spiral of violence, to achieve a ceasefire, to restore peace, which in turn will create the preconditions...

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a phone call on June 19 during which both leaders condemned Israel for its strikes on Iran and agreed de-escalation was needed, the Kremlin said. Both men “strongly condemn Israel’s actions, which violate the UN Charter and other norms of international law”, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters. “Both Moscow and Beijing fundamentally believe that there is no military solution to the current situation and issues related to Iran’s nuclear programme. “This solution must be achieved exclusively through political and diplomatic means,” said Mr Ushakov. Russia has warned of catastrophe...

Russian leader Vladimir Putin should first end the war that Russia started in Ukraine before talking about mediating in the Middle East, stated US President Donald Trump during a conversation with journalists, APA reports citing RBC Ukraine. "I spoke to Putin yesterday, he offered to help mediate. I said, do me a favor — mediate your own. Let's mediate Russia first, OK? I said, 'Vladimir, let's mediate Russia first, you can worry about this later," Trump said. According to the US President, he told Putin that he should deal with Russia first before involving himself elsewhere. "So many people have...

President Trump revealed to reporters outside the White House that he spoke with Vladimir Putin yesterday, saying the Russian leader offered to mediate the Iran-Israel conflict. Even Trump, who has been a staunch defender of Putin, admitted he couldn't play peacemaker while the Ukraine-Russia war rages. -snip- “Would have never happened if I was president,” he said before making a four-word comment to Putin directly. “Putin would have never done it and I spoke to him yesterday and I said you know, he actually offered to help mediate. I said ‘do me a favor, mediate your own. Let’s mediate Russia...

Russia has strongly defended Iran’s right to maintain peaceful nuclear installations. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Iran had the right to such facilities in the past, holds it now, and will continue to do so in the future. She made these remarks while speaking to Sputnik Radio, stressing that peaceful nuclear sites are now under direct attack. Zakharova warned that the threat of nuclear conflict in the Middle East is no longer a theory but a real and growing danger. She said these attacks are not only increasing tensions but also posing a serious threat to both the...

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov warned on Wednesday that direct U.S. military assistance to Israel could radically destabilise the situation in the Middle East, where an air war between Iran and Israel has raged for six days. In separate comments, the head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, was quoted as saying that the situation between Iran and Israel was now critical. Ryabkov warned the U.S. against direct military assistance to Israel or even considering such "speculative options," according to Russia's Interfax news agency.