Free Republic

Russia has rejected a Ukraine war peace deal proposed by Donald Trump, the US president, because it does not grant international recognition to territory seized by Moscow’s troops.Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, also suggested the plan did not satisfy the Kremlin’s demands to oust Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, and limit the size of Kyiv’s armed forces.The rejection came as Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, offered a temporary, 72-hour truce next month to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe.

US President Donald Trump wants to see a permanent ceasefire to bring the war in Ukraine to a complete stop, the White House said Monday in response to Russia's unilateral three-day pause. "I understand Vladimir Putin this morning offered a temporary ceasefire. The (US) president has made it clear he wants to see a permanent ceasefire, first, to stop the killing, stop the bloodshed, and while he remains optimistic he can strike a deal, he's also being realistic as well," spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters. "Both leaders need to come to the table to negotiate their way out of this....

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire in the war with Ukraine next month to mark the 80th anniversary of World War II Victory Day. The Kremlin said the 72-hour ceasefire would run from the beginning of May 8 and last through the end of May 10. "All military actions are suspended for this period," the Kremlin said in a statement. "Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example." "In the event of violations by the Ukrainian side, Russia's armed forces will give an adequate and effective response," the statement said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday thanked North Korea for sending troops to fight alongside Russia in Moscow's war against Ukraine and vowed not to forget their sacrifices. Putin's comments came just hours after North Korea confirmed for the first time that it had deployed troops to fight Ukrainian forces. -snip- In a statement, Putin praised North Korean troops who he said fought "shoulder to shoulder with Russian fighters, defended our Motherland as their own." "The Russian people will never forget the heroism of the DPRK special forces," Putin said. "We will always honor the heroes who gave their lives...

North Korea officially confirmed for the first time on Monday that it has deployed troops to Russia, framing it as an extension of its strategic partnership with Moscow. -snip- The commission further said that Kim Jong-un determined that the situation on the battlefield warranted the activation of Article 4 of the comprehensive strategic partnership treaty between North Korea and Russia. Based on this analysis, Kim ordered the deployment of North Korean forces and notified the Russian side accordingly, according to the statement. North Korea also noted that Kim referred to the troops dispatched to Russia as "representatives of the nation's...

As Russia continues its warfare against Ukraine, one outspoken Republican senator is encouraging President Donald Trump to put Russian President Vladimir Putin in his place. "Putin has reneged on every promise that he has made to President Trump. His latest proposal is, well, nothing. He wants to keep all the territory that he's taken," Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said on the latest installment of "Fox News Sunday." "He wants to prohibit Ukraine from joining NATO, and he wants America and Europe to stop helping Ukraine," he added. "I think that Putin thinks that America has taken the bullet train to...

A peace proposal by the Trump administration that includes recognizing Russian authority over Crimea shocked Ukrainian officials, who say they will not accept any formal surrender of the peninsula, even though they expect to concede the territory to the Kremlin, at least temporarily. Giving up the land that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 is also politically and legally impossible, according to experts. It would require a change to the Ukrainian constitution and a nationwide vote, and it could be considered treason. Lawmakers and the public are firmly opposed to the idea. “It doesn’t mean anything,” said Oleksandr Merezkho,...

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the United States is working toward a "fair" and "sustainable" solution to end Russia’s three-year war on Ukraine, but that both Moscow and Kyiv would have to make concessions to achieve peace. -snip- Rubio said he was "convinced" that Moscow was willing to engage in a "serious process" to end the war, which Russia started with a full-scale invasion of its neighbor three years ago next week. Lavrov had a similar upbeat view of the talks, saying, “We weren’t just listening to each other, but we heard each other. I have...

Along Ukraine's frontline, the war rages on. But global attention spanned thousands of miles away today, as representatives from Russia and the US met in Saudi Arabia to discuss an end to the conflict. Uninvited to those talks, and in Turkey instead, was Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. He made it known he won't accept a deal made about Ukraine without Ukraine's involvement, and that he wouldn't recognise parts of Ukraine occupied by Russia. Speaking after the meeting, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the talks "useful", but said any type of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine would be "completely unacceptable". Marco...

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has slammed the Paris emergency summit on the Ukraine war as a gathering of "frustrated European politicians," accusing leaders invited by French President Emmanuel Macron of looking to prolong the conflict. "So today, supporters of the war, anti-Trump and frustrated European politicians are gathering in Paris to prevent a peace agreement with Ukraine," the minister was quoted as saying by Hungarian state news agency MTI, at a press conference in the Kazakh capital Astana on Monday. Macron's guests, which include the leaders of Germany, United Kingdom, Italy and Poland, had always advocated war between Russia...

EXPLOSIVE:🚨 TRUMP AND PUTIN—THE GLOBALISTS’ WORST NIGHTMARE! 🚨 🔴 The unthinkable is happening. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet face-to-face in a historic summit—one that could shatter the globalist world order. 🔴 European elites sneered as Trump called them out for their censorship, their war-mongering, and their betrayal of their own people. They laughed because they thought they were untouchable. But what if Trump does the unthinkable? 🔴 What if Trump flips the script and joins forces with Russia? What if this meeting isn’t just about Ukraine—but about reordering the global power structure for...

The UK military is "so run down" it could not lead any future peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, the former head of the army has said. Lord Dannatt told the BBC that up to 40,000 UK troops would be needed for such a mission and "we just haven't got that number available". It comes after Sir Keir Starmer said the UK would "play its part" in guaranteeing Ukraine's security after the prime minister was asked this week if he was open to sending British troops as peacekeepers. A former Nato chief told the BBC that Britain and France should lead a...

BRUSSELS (AP) — Increasingly alarmed that U.S. security priorities lie elsewhere, a group of European countries has been quietly working on a plan to send troops into Ukraine to help enforce any future peace settlement with Russia. Britain and France are at the forefront of the effort, though details remain scarce. The countries involved in the discussions are reluctant to tip their hand and give Russian President Vladimir Putin an edge should he agree to negotiate an end to the war he launched three years ago. What is clear is that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy needs a guarantee that his...

Ukraine finished work on a draft minerals agreement and handed it back to the United States for review, two sources in the Ukrainian delegation at the Munich Security Conference told Reuters on Friday. The sources said the U.S. side asked for until 5 p.m. (1600 GMT) to review the agreement, which is at the heart of Kyiv's push to win the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump as he strives to bring about a rapid end to the war with Russia. "The Ukrainian side passed its vision and the U.S. side took a pause until 1700 to assess," one of...

Chernobyl nuclear power plant was hit by a Russian attack overnight, striking a protective shield over its destroyed fourth reactor, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The structure, known as the New Safe Confinement, was built through international cooperation to contain the remnants of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. It was designed to prevent radiation leaks and safeguard the site and the broader area from environmental hazards. According to Ukraine’s president, the strike by a Russian attack drone carrying a high-explosive warhead damaged the dome, but the fire was extinguished, and radiation levels remained stable. The situation is being monitored to assess...

With president's 'peace talks' compared to Chamberlain appeasing Hitler Donald Trump's concessions on Ukraine have played into the hands of Vladimir Putin, experts have warned, at a time when intelligence chiefs say Moscow is preparing its military for a major war in Europe. US defence chief Pete Hegseth told European counterparts on Wednesday that Ukraine's dream of returning to its pre-2014 borders was an 'illusionary goal' and that Kyiv's wish for NATO membership was 'not realistic'. His statements are widely seen as a major victory for Putin and a devastating blow to Kyiv, which as a result could be forced...

President Trump is prepared to double down on US sanctions for Russia to bring about an end to its war on Ukraine, retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, his special envoy to the conflict, exclusively told The Post this week — but he knows both Kyiv and Moscow will have to make concessions to end the “industrial-sized” killing in Europe’s largest country. Sanctions enforcement on Russia are “only about a three” on a scale of one to 10 on how painful the economic pressure can be, Kellogg said. The US sanctions themselves — such as those targeting Russia’s lucrative energy sector —...

Russia has got so desperate it has had to go back to one of the most old-fashioned ways to carry bullets and guns during a war. The Soviet army had to start using donkeys and horses to carry ammunition in Ukraine – something that hasn’t been done for over a century. Military blogger Kirill Fedorov wrote on his Telegram channel that Putin and his soldiers have started to send the animals to the front line. He said that an official government transport list says these animals include horses, camels and deer. He wrote: ‘The fighters were given a donkey to...

Crazy maniac wants nukes and wants the West to turn them over.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sat down with Piers Morgan for an interview this week on Piers Morgan Uncensored.During their discussion, Zelensky demanded that the West provide Ukraine with nuclear weapons.Here is the exchange:Piers Morgan: As you know, what he tells his people is that he’s doing this for the protection of the national security of Russia. That he couldn’t have Ukraine joining NATO because that would present an existential threat to his an existential threat to the security of the Russian people. I don’t agree with that, and that’s...

After three years of war, President Zelensky joins Piers Morgan to respond to criticism from US conservatives and state the case for America's backing in its war with Russia. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has become one of the most famous world leaders of modern times. Some call him a modern-day Churchill; bravely staying with his people to lead their resistance. Others, however, have called him a beggar or worse for consistently asking for more aid from the US and Europe. Piers asks Zelensky how he thinks the war is going and what Putin really wants. Plus, the Ukrainian...