Free Republic

The West may be divided on tariffs, but all countries can agree that protecting global navigation satellite systems from interference from China, Russia and Iran is a matter of extreme importance. Disruptions would pose an immense economic and national security threat, costing trillions of dollars daily, dwarfing any market disruptions from tariffs.Global navigation satellite systems are free services that send positioning, timing and navigation systems to phones, banks and other electric utilities. America has the global positioning system (GPS), Europe has Galileo and China has Bei Dou. But these systems are vulnerable. They depend on satellites, which can be damaged...

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.

Russia insists on the international recognition of its hold over Crimea, as well as the entirety of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, as a condition for peace negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Brazilian news outlet O Globo published on April 28. This demand, reinforced last week by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, underscores how Russia continues to push its maximalist demands despite the U.S. efforts to broker a peace deal. Russia illegally declared the four Ukrainian oblasts as annexed in 2022 following widely condemned sham referenda, but it does not fully control the...

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that Russia and Ukraine are edging “closer” to a peace deal but “it’s still not there.” Speaking on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Mr. Rubio said President Trump has employed an all-hands-on-deck strategy to try to fulfill his campaign promise to end the war that started in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. “He’s trying to bring this war to an end, and we’ve made real progress. But those last couple steps of this journey were always going to be the hardest ones, and it needs to happen soon,” Mr. Rubio said. “We cannot...

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 man suspected of killing a Russian general with a car bomb pleaded guilty to terrorism charges and said he was paid by the Ukrainian Security Service charges, Russian authorities said Sunday. The Investigative Committee said Ignat Kuzin admitted he was paid to kill Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff of the Russian armed forces. Moskalik was killed Friday by a bomb in his car in Balashikha, just outside Moscow. Ukrainian authorities did not comment on the attack, the second in four months targeting a top Russian military officer that...

Pope Francis has been celebrated for what's being dubbed his 'final miracle' after Donald Trump dramatically turned against tyrant Vladimir Putin today. The US President accused the Russian despot of 'stringing him along' over Ukraine peace talks - as Trump's fury over Russia's latest deadly missile strikes against Kyiv boiled over. And in a remarkable warming of relations, the 78-year-old billionaire embraced Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky during a fleeting meeting in the Vatican ahead of the funeral of the late Pontiff. It was first time the two world leaders had spoken to one another face to face since their disastrous...

Russian authorities say they have detained a man described as a “Ukrainian special services agent” in connection with a car explosion that killed Russian General Yaroslav Moskalik on Friday. The suspect allegedly purchased the car that exploded in Balashikha, less than 20 miles east of Moscow, according to TASS citing Russia’s Federal Security Service. The suspect’s nationality is unclear; according to the FSB, he has a residence permit in Ukraine. The FSB also accused him of planting an explosive device in the car, but said that it was detonated from Ukraine. Video published by TASS on Saturday appeared to show...

Michael Gloss, the son of the Deputy Director of the CIA, passed away in April 2024 during battles on the side of Russia in Ukraine. After signing a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense, his involvement was reported by the Russian investigative portal "Important Stories" on April 25.

Pictures show the CIA deputy director's son who - unbeknownst to his mother and father - was fighting for Vladimir Putin in Ukraine. Michael Gloss, 21, was killed in the war in April last year, but details of the story have only emerged now after an investigation by Russian independent news outlet iStories. Photos showing him wearing camouflage and hanging out with soldiers have emerged. His mother, Julianne Gallina Gloss, is the Central Intelligence Agency's deputy director for digital innovation. His father, Larry Gloss, is a US Navy veteran who participated in Operation Desert Storm and the Iraq War. In...

Donald Trump has broken his silence after a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky at Pope Francis' funeral - and turned on Vladimir Putin. In a rant on his social media platform Truth Social he accused the Russian President of stringing him along and at the same time blamed Democrat Presidents Obama and Biden for a "mess". He wrote: "I’m just trying to clean up the mess that was left to me by Obama and Biden, and what a mess it is. With all of that being said, there was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities...

A top Russian general has been assassinated in a car bombing in the Russian city of Balashikha on Friday, authorities have confirmed. The city lies less than 20 miles east of Moscow. The deceased has been identified as Lt Gen Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, who died when a “homemade” explosive device detonated under his Volkswagen Golf, according to TASS. Shrapnel ripped through the area and what appears to be a residential neighborhood. Crucially news of the blast and killing was breaking just prior to President Trump’s...

A senior Russian general has died in a car bombing in the Russian city of Balashikha on Friday, according to authorities, with news of the blast breaking just before US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Witkoff was received by Putin at the Kremlin early on Friday afternoon, the Russian state news agency Tass reported, saying the US envoy has also met with senior Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev. Earlier on Friday, Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, was killed...

Volodymyr Zelensky surprised the U.S. President by being the more difficult of the two principals to negotiate with in the Ukraine War talks, Donald Trump said, expressing hope for talks for the sake of the “humanity” of those being killed.U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his hope there is still a deal to be achieved to bring peace to the Ukraine War in Oval Office remarks that follow days of comments from key players that clearly suggest talks are on the brink of collapse. While Russia and Ukraine daily accuse each other of undermining the process, and overnight Russia has...

Donald Trump will let Vladimir Putin keep almost all the territory he has seized from Ukraine under the terms of a proposed peace deal. The condition is part of a seven-point plan to end the war that leaves Ukraine with no clear US security guarantee. It was due to be discussed in London on Wednesday, when US officials would hear Kyiv’s reaction, though the talks were downgraded when US secretary of state Marco Rubio pulled out. Foreign ministers from the UK, France, Germany and Ukraine withdrew in an apparent response. Discussions were instead scheduled to take place between senior officials...

MOSCOW, April 22 (Reuters) - A powerful blast ripped through a Russian town east of Moscow on Tuesday where a weapons arsenal is located, local media and Telegram channels close to Russia's security services said, prompting the evacuation of several villages. Local authorities declared a state of emergency in the Vladimir region, where unverified video published on Telegram showed a huge fire ball and clouds of thick smoke rising into the sky.

Dubai -- US airstrikes targeting an oil port held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels killed 74 people and wounded 171 others, the group said Friday, marking the single-deadliest known attack under President Donald Trump’s new campaign targeting the rebels. Assessing the toll of Trump’s campaign, which began March 15, has been incredibly difficult as the US military’s Central Command so far has not released any information on the campaign, its specific targets and how many people have been killed. Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi rebels strictly control access to areas attacked and don’t publish information on the strikes, many of which likely have...

The judge who has emerged as a top foe of Trump's deportation efforts previously let a well-known Trump-Russia collusion hoax proponent off the hook. But newly-declassified Crossfire Hurricane records show the FBI's Kevin Clinesmith was deeply involved in in the bogus Russiagate saga.. Convicted FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith — whom Judge James Boasberg gave a slap on the wrist for his crimes years before becoming a public foe of President Donald Trump’s deportation policies — was more deeply involved in the deeply flawed Crossfire Hurricane investigation than previously known. Clinesmith, who worked on both the FBI’s Hillary Clinton email investigation...

Russia says it will cease "all military operations" as part of an "Easter truce" in Ukraine. In an update on the Kremlin's Telegram, Vladimir Putin says the temporary ceasefire will last from 6pm today (4pm UK time) until Monday. "Guided by humanitarian considerations, today from 18:00 to midnight from Sunday to Monday, the Russian side declares an Easter truce. I order all military actions to be stopped for this period." Moscow says it assumes the Ukrainian side "will follow our example". Kyiv has not yet issued a response to the proposal. "At the same time, our troops must be ready...

The United States could end its efforts on ending the Ukrainian conflict within “days” if there are no signs of progress, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Friday. “If it is not possible to end the war in Ukraine, we need to move on,” he told reporters before departing Paris, where he had held high-level talks with European and Ukrainian officials. “We need to determine very quickly now, and I’m talking about a matter of days, whether or not this is doable,” he said. Rubio’s comments point to mounting frustration within the Trump administration at the lack of progress...