Free Republic

Officials in three of the five Russian regions bordering Ukraine have been accused of embezzling funds for border defenses. -snip- The border fortification embezzlement cases seem in part to be aimed at quelling anger among Russians in the border regions over Moscow’s failure to protect them from Ukrainian attacks, especially after Ukrainian forces occupied part of the Kursk region. The charges imply that the border with Ukraine would have been better protected had local officials not stolen the money for the defenses, claims that also deflect blame from the Kremlin. The legal actions attracted attention this month when Russia’s transportation...

Ukraine will let foreign arms companies test out their latest weapons on the front line of its war against Russia's invasion, Kyiv's state-backed arms investment and procurement group Brave1 said on Thursday. -snip- "We have a list of priorities. One of the top of those would be air defense, like new air defense capabilities, drone interceptors, AI-guided systems, all the solutions against gliding bombs," he said. Unmanned systems in the water and electronic profile systems on the ground are also on Ukraine's list of priorities, as are advanced fire control systems or AI guidance to make howitzers more accurate. Under...

Vladimir Putin has pulled back the curtain on what has been described as the ‘largest and most secret’ drone factory ahead of a joint naval drill with Iran. Footage – a blend of Cold War secrecy and TikTok-era propaganda – offers a rare glimpse of the Yelabuga production facility in the Russian republic of Tatarstan. Recorded by Zvezda, the Russian defence ministry’s TV channel, it shows the star of Putin’s war in Ukraine – the ‘Geran-2’ drones. This is the Kremlin’s locally branded version of Iranian-designed Shahed 136. -snip- Above the entrance to the factory, a giant screen read, ‘Kurchatov,...

Decades of ignoring the menaces posed by Russia and China has led the West to a precipice. ... Deterrence, however, does not disintegrate overnight. Contrary to the narrative of U.S. belligerence and imperialism that has been impressed on countless university students, the United States has, since the end of World War II, largely pursued a policy of restraint despite its considerable military power. Unlike other superpowers, it has not sought territories or treasure—on the contrary, it incurred considerable expense to foster a peaceful international order where other nations could thrive. Under the belief that a market economy, normal trading relations,...

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...

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.

-SNIP- ... In his second term thus far, Trump has defied his critics with several major international wins, and he’s relished the results. His green light for the June 22 US strikes on Iranian nuclear-related targets was a stunning interpretation of what defines “America first.” At the NATO Summit in The Hague days later, he pivoted from years of lambasting European partners to securing a historic agreement to lift Alliance-wide defense and defense-related spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product by 2035, while reaffirming shared security guarantees. Both the Iran and NATO moves are legacy-defining, peace-through-strength actions. They could...

Russia and China's foreign ministers on Sunday discussed their relations with the United States and the prospects for ending the war in Ukraine, Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement. President Vladimir Putin's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in Beijing on Sunday. Lavrov is due to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's (SCO) foreign ministers in China. "The parties also discussed relations with the United States and prospects for resolving the Ukrainian crisis," the foreign ministry said. "The importance of strengthening close coordination between the two countries in the international arena, including in...

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.

VLADIMIR Putin's brutal war machine was dealt another blow today as Moscow confirmed the death of another top Russian military chief. Russian authorities have confirmed the death of Colonel Sergei Ilyin, commander of Russia's notorious 155th Marine Brigade. Telegram news channel Astra reported the Colonel's death on Friday, citing a now-deleted post from officials, the Moscow Times has reported. Ilyin had died "during the special military operation" according to a post attributed to the Urmarsky district administration. "Special military operation" is the euphemism used by Kremlin authorities when referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It follows speculation that the...

President Trump said Friday he plans to make a “major statement” on Russia early next week — as the Senate considers legislation to force his hand on sanctions after months of threats from the commander-in-chief. “I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday,” Trump told NBC News in a phone interview Thursday. “You’ll be seeing things happen,” Trump told a reporter Friday morning on the White House lawn when asked about an overnight Russian drone attack that damaged a maternity hospital in Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv.

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...

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.

NATO jets were scrambled overnight as Russia carried out its largest drone attack yet on Ukraine, launching more than 700 drones, officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the "new massive Russian attack on our cities" involved "728 drones of various types, including over 300 Shaheds, and 13 missiles – Kinzhals and Iskanders. "Most of the targets were shot down. Our interceptor drones were used -- dozens of enemy targets were downed, and we are scaling up this technology. Mobile fire groups were also active – they downed dozens as well. I thank all our warriors for their precision," he...

Donald Trump told a private gathering of donors last year that he once sought to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from attacking Ukraine by threatening to “bomb the sh*t out of Moscow” in retaliation, according to audio provided to CNN. “With Putin I said, ‘If you go into Ukraine, I’m going to bomb the sh*t out of Moscow. I’m telling you I have no choice,’” Trump said during one 2024 fundraiser, according to the audio. “And then [Putin] goes, like, ‘I don’t believe you.’ But he believed me 10%.” The remarks, which came as Trump made his case for a...

Vladimir Putin has been warned that Russia is facing an economic crisis as potato prices shoot up and fail to meet high demand. Prices of potatoes have skyrocketed by a staggering 167% over the last year, marking the most significant increase among foodstuffs. The Russian President admitted in May: "It turns out that we don't have enough potatoes. I spoke with [President of Belarus] Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko. He said, 'We've already sold everything to Russia'." The soaring cost of this staple is attributed to poor harvests reducing supplies. Compounding this, households are turning to the typically affordable food option as...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday the U.S. will have to send more weapons to Ukraine, just days after ordering a pause in critical weapons deliveries to Kyiv. The comments by Trump appeared to be an abrupt change in posture after the Pentagon announced last week that it would hold back delivering to Ukraine some air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons because of what U.S. officials said were concerns that stockpiles have declined too much. “We have to,” Trump said. ”They have to be able to defend themselves. They’re getting hit very hard now. We’re going...

President Donald Trump said Thursday that no progress was made in ending the war with Ukraine after he conducted another lengthy call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump spoke to reporters at Joint Base Andrews ahead of a trip to Des Moines, Iowa. -snip- We had a call. It was a pretty long call. We talked about a lot of things including Iran and we also talked about, as you know, the war with Ukraine,' Trump said. 'And I'm not happy about that,' he said. Trump was then asked if he made progress with Putin on a peace deal with...

A series of explosions are heard inside the plant, with workers rushing and screaming as they try to get to safety. Ukrainian drones attacked a military-industrial complex in the Russian city of Izhevsk on Tuesday, in one of the deepest strikes inside the country since Putin's full-scale invasion. UAVS struck the Kupol Electromechanical Plant, causing a major fire to break out at the site. Video images circulating on social media channels show the dramatic moment of impact as the deadly drones zeroed in on their target. In one clip, an explosion can be heard, and then a giant ball of...