Free Republic

At least two vessels loaded with Russian oil bound for refiners in India have diverted to other destinations following new U.S. sanctions, trade sources said, and LSEG trade flows showed. The U.S. Treasury Department this week imposed sanctions on more than 115 Iran-linked individuals, entities, and ships, some of which are involved in transporting Russian oil. U.S. President Donald Trump has urged countries to halt purchases of oil from Moscow, threatening 100% tariffs unless Russia agrees to a significant peace deal with Ukraine. Three ships - the Aframaxes Tagor and Guanyin and the Suezmax Tassos - were scheduled to deliver...

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that he had heard that India might no longer buy oil from Russia, though he acknowledged he was not certain about the claim. "I understand that India is no longer going to be buying oil from Russia. That's what I heard, I don't know if that's right or not. That is a good step. We will see what happens," Trump told ANI. Trump's remarks come days after his tirade against India for buying Russian oil and the White House's decision to levy 25 per cent tariffs on all exports to America and an...

The move to develop the Amu Darya field aligns with the Taliban’s goal of self-sufficiency, but can the cash-strapped regime go it alone?In late July, Afghanistan’s Taliban-run government decided to pursue unilateral development of the Amu Darya oil field, at least for the time being. It seems unlikely the cash-strapped regime will be able to maximize the potential of the oil field without foreign investment, but it will still be able to collect millions of dollars in revenue by going it alone. The move aligns with the Taliban’s oft stated goal of self-sufficiency. However, international investors may be troubled by...

President Donald Trump said Friday that he had ordered two nuclear submarines in the "appropriate regions" in response to recent statements made by Demitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the security council of the Russian Federation. Medvedev said Thursday to to remember that Moscow possessed Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort after Trump told Medvedev to "watch his words." Trump posted on Truth Social, "Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to...

Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that. Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

Russian President Vladimir Putin has responded to US President Donald Trump’s remarks expressing “disappointment” over stalled progress on Ukraine, calling for realistic expectations and a return to diplomacy. “Disappointments stem from excessive expectations,” Putin said on Friday during a press briefing in Valaam. “Approaching problem-solving peacefully requires thorough discussions, either publicly or discreetly through negotiations.”

The death toll from a large Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv overnight on Thursday has risen to at least 31 people. Five children — including a two-year-old — were among the victims of the strike which targeted several areas of the Ukrainian capital. Another 159, including 16 children, were injured, Ukraine's Interior Ministry said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the strike "vile" and said it "demonstrates the need for increased pressure on Moscow and additional sanctions." "In July alone, Russia used over 5,100 glide bombs against Ukraine, more than 3,800 Shaheds and nearly 260 missiles of various types...

John Brennan and James Clapper teemed up yesterday to write an opinion piece for the NY Times defending their work on an Intelligence Community Assessment about the 2016 election. It's titled "Brennan and Clapper: Let’s Set the Record Straight on Russia and 2016."The Brennan-Clapper opinion piece (BCOP) can really be broken down into three parts. First is a summary of the previous reviews of their work, all of which concluded it was fine.While some external critiques have noted that parts of the Russia investigation could have been handled better, multiple, thorough, yearslong reviews of the assessment have validated its findings...

The Kremlin is building its way toward a reality where it can soon launch 2,000 Shahed one-way attack drones in one night, according to two recent Western assessments. Maj. Gen. Christian Freuding, the German defense ministry's commander of planning and command staff, said in a Bundeswehr interview aired on Saturday that Russia was "striving to further increase production capacity" of its Shaheds. "They want to expand the drone attacks we just talked about," Freuding said. "The ambition is to be able to deploy 2,000 drones simultaneously." "We need to consider intelligent countermeasures," he added. In a separate assessment on Sunday,...

US President Donald Trump again displayed anger with Russia following its latest deadly attack on Kyiv -- a strike that killed 16 people and injured dozens -- calling the action “disgusting” and vowing to slap new sanctions on Moscow. “Russia, I think it’s disgusting what they’re doing,” Trump told reporters at the White House on July 31. “I think what Russia’s doing is very sad. A lot of Russians are dying.”

US President Donald Trump said on July 31 that Russia’s actions in Ukraine were “disgusting” and indicated that new sanctions against Moscow were coming over its invasion of its neighbour. “Russia – I think it’s disgusting what they’re doing. I think it’s disgusting,” Mr Trump told journalists. He also said he would send his special envoy Steve Witkoff, currently in Israel, to visit Russia next. Russian President Vladimir Putin has already met Mr Witkoff multiple times in Moscow, before Mr Trump’s efforts to mend ties with the Kremlin came to a grinding halt. Washington has given Moscow until the end...

Senator Chuck Grassley on Thursday released the newly declassified annex from former special counsel John Durham’s report “The Durham annex contains previously classified information exposing a reported Clinton campaign plan to falsely tie President Donald Trump to Russia,” Grassley said. Recall that it was just reported that FBI Director Kash Patel recently found the annex to the Durham report in a “burn bag” at the FBI. According to the newly declassified documents, Hillary Clinton personally approved the Trump-Russia hoax just a few days before FBI counter-intelligence agent Peter Strzok opened Crossfire Hurricane on July 31, 2016 to distract from her...

Declassified Durham Appendix Shows Hillary Clinton PERSONALLY Approved Trump-Russia Hoax and Used FBI to Put “More Oil on the Fire”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that India's purchases of Russian oil are helping to sustain Moscow's war efforts in Ukraine and it is "most certainly a point of irritation" in New Delhi’s relationship with Washington, although not the only point of irritation. In an interview with Fox Radio, Rubio claimed that the US President is frustrated with the fact that India continues to buy oil from Russia despite having so many other oil vendors available and helping to fund Russia's war effort against Ukraine. -snip- One of the biggest points of contradiction that has stopped India...

The US has sanctioned eight India-based companies and five Indian nationals as part of its latest Iran-related sanctions action targeting entities engaged in trade of Iranian oil, petroleum products, and petrochemicals, and those identified as part of a shipping empire controlled by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani — the son of Ali Shamkhani, a top political advisor to the Supreme Leader of Iran. In the latest action, announced Wednesday, the US Department of the State imposed sanctions on 20 entities and identified 10 vessels as blocked property. Simultaneously, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated more...

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega sent a letter to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, offering his full support for Russia’s actions in Ukraine and recognizing the occupied Ukrainian territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia as part of Russia, as was reported on July 30. -snip- The letter, co-signed by Ortega’s wife and Vice President Rosario Murillo, expressed solidarity with the Russian people and praised the sacrifices of Russian military families. Ortega also reiterated Nicaragua’s support for Russia’s so-called “special military operation,” which the Kremlin claims is being conducted to protect Russian citizens and defend its sovereignty. In the letter, Ortega stated,...

U.S. President Donald Trump has made clear that he wants a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine by August 8, the United States told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday. “Both Russia and Ukraine must negotiate a ceasefire and durable peace. It is time to make a deal. President Trump has made clear this must be done by August 8. The United States is prepared to implement additional measures to secure peace,” senior U.S. diplomat John Kelley told the 15-member council.

WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today is making public the formerly Classified Appendix (“Durham annex”) to John Durham’s 2023 Special Counsel report. The Unclassified Report and the Classified Appendix form the entirety of Durham’s Special Counsel Report. The Durham annex contains previously classified information exposing a reported Clinton campaign plan to falsely tie President Donald Trump to Russia. The annex also goes into further detail on matters discussed in the Unclassified Report, specifically: Potential election influence by a foreign government regarding Hillary Clinton; False statements to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA court) regarding FISA renewal...

Most of the US allies continue to buy Russian gas even after the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine War. The EU and NATO member states are close to Washington, and they have bought natural gas worth hundreds of billions of dollars from Moscow since the beginning of the war. Has President Donald Trump exposed the US hypocrisy over trade by imposing a 25% tariff on Indian goods plus a penalty for doing business with Russia? Though he has not said explicitly what it means and how much penalty India will have to pay for buying crude oil and military hardware from...

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov commented on Thursday regarding threats issued by U.S. President Donald Trump to BRICS, an organization comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Trump claimed the group has "anti-American policies" and said he will impose tariffs on it and its allies, with Peskov replying that BRICS "does not respond to threats" and is not aligned against any country, News.Az reports citing foreign media.