Free Republic

Riding a wave of political momentum in 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky, a showman turned wartime leader, could have hardly imagined the path his presidency would take. Some argue that Zelensky's 2019 election was less of an endorsement of his political platform, a populist one, rather a rejection of the old entrenched elite seen as ineffective and corrupt. Years later, Zelensky still faces the domestic challenges that confronted his predecessors — issues he once promised to resolve. On the international stage, however, he has amassed significant support for Ukraine, actively working to maintain global backing as his country defends itself against a...

MOSCOW, May 14 (Reuters) - Russia is establishing a "full-fledged partnership" with Afghanistan's ruling Taliban and is encouraging ‌other countries in the region to expand cooperation ‌with Kabul, a senior Russian security official was quoted on Thursday ​as saying. Russia last year became the first country to formally recognise the Islamist Taliban government that seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces staged a chaotic withdrawal ‌from Afghanistan after ⁠20 years of war. Interfax news agency quoted Russian official Sergei Shoigu as saying cooperation ⁠with Kabul was important for the security and development of the region. Shoigu, who is secretary...

It was all over in record short time. Russia’s annual Victory Day on Red Square ended after only 45 minutes with no displays of any of the Armed Forces of Russia (AFR) military hardware and under extremely tight security. Tensions were running extremely high following the threat of a possible Ukrainian drone attack on the event that commemorates the end of WWII, known as the Great Patriotic war in Russia, and one of the most significant events on the Russian public calendar... Ukraine threat Security at the event was overwhelming. Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived with a very large security...

Content evoking the Soviet era is becoming increasingly common on social media... "Nostalgic content aimed at young people — showing Soviet-era interiors or images of panel apartment blocks, paired with audio and instructions on how they should be viewed — would have seemed bizarre 15 years ago. Now it has become a trend," says Marleen Mihhailova, a junior researcher in semiotics at University of Tartu... What motivated Mihhailova to study the topic, however, was specifically an interest in young people's nostalgia, since they have no firsthand experience of the Soviet period. She interviewed 10 young people born after 1990, half...

Asian economies are dramatically increasing imports of discounted Russian crude amid global supply disruptions. A temporary U.S. sanctions waiver is enabling more Russian oil to flow into global markets. The shift risks boosting Moscow’s war revenues while exposing the limits of Western energy sanctions. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, several major world powers introduced strict sanctions on trade with Moscow. .. However, some countries, such as India and China, have used these sanctions as an excuse to buy discounted crude and gas from Russia, in a bid to reduce costs and boost energy security. Imports of Russian...

GFN – LONDON: The World Gold Council reported that central banks added a net 244 tons of gold during the first quarter of 2026, the fastest accumulation pace in more than a year despite heightened price volatility across global precious-metals markets. The World Gold Council said net purchases rose from 208 tons in the previous quarter, with buying activity concentrated in March as prices declined sharply from record highs reached earlier in the year, according to its Gold Demand Trends report (via BBG). Poland, Uzbekistan, and China led the accumulation, taking advantage of softer prices following a sustained rally that...

For decades, the Armenian American community has sought a simple action from the White House: Officially recognize the 1915 systematic annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as a genocide. It is an event that the Turkish government continues to deny. Although Congress moved to recognize the genocide in 2019 and a formal presidential acknowledgment was made in 2021, the current administration has spent the past year retreating into the linguistic fogginess of “great calamity” and “historical tragedy” to describe this dark chapter in world history... The administration’s conduct in the Iran war is under intense global scrutiny......

Russia is set to suspend oil transit from Kazakhstan to Germany through the Druzhba pipeline on May 1, 2026, amid escalating geopolitical tensions over the Ukraine conflict. Summary Industry sources report that Russia will block Kazakh oil exports destined for German refineries, specifically targeting the northern leg of the Druzhba network. This move disrupts a critical alternative supply route Germany established to reduce dependence on Russian crude. The decision follows a period of frayed political relations and represents a significant escalation in the use of energy infrastructure as a geopolitical lever. Market participants are now bracing for supply tightening at...

WASHINGTON, April 16 (Reuters) - U.S. officials have informed some European counterparts that some previously contracted weapons deliveries are likely to be delayed ‌as the Iran war continues to draw on weapons stocks, five sources familiar with the matter said... Some of the weapons in question were purchased by European countries under the Foreign Military Sales program, or ⁠FMS, but have not yet been delivered, the sources added. Those deliveries will likely be delayed, U.S. officials told European officials in bilateral ​messages in recent days, the sources said.

Orbán offered his support to Putin, likening his assistance to that of a mouse helping a lion in a well-known Hungarian fable, according to a phone conversation transcript obtained by news agency Bloomberg. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán reportedly offered Russian President Vladimir Putin his friendship and assistance, including by hosting peace talks in Budapest, in a phone call last year adding to concerns about Hungary's ties with Moscow. The news was first reported by US news agency Bloomberg on Tuesday, citing a transcript from a bilateral call in October 2025 from the Hungarian government. “Yesterday, our friendship reached such heights...

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan have agreed to join appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and said that they would take steps to stabilise energy markets. In a joint statement issued by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office, leaders of these countries also condemned the attacks by Iran and urged it to halt its actions immediately. They called on Iran to cease its threats immediately, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the Strait to commercial shipping. Leaders of these 6 countries said such interference with international...

The authoritarian behavior of Volodymyr Zelensky has become impossible to ignore. An article written by Pavel Lokshin for the German newspaper WELT sharply criticizes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his increasingly authoritarian tendencies.The report shows how the man lionized by the MSM as ‘a second Churchill’ is in fact consolidating his power through the suppression of political opponents.Welt reported (translated from the German):“Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is consolidating his power. Anyone who stands in his way must give way – most recently the freely elected mayor of the city of Odessa. Zelensky is thus sending a clear signal to other...

ATLAS — Europe, the EU & Russian Frozen Assets: Short-Sighted or Necessary? Reports are circulating that European Union leaders are moving toward using an estimated $300 billion in frozen Russian assets—held in European banks—to support Ukraine’s war effort. Whether this involves direct seizure of the principal or only using interest generated from those assets, the implications are serious and long-reaching.Why This Matters Beyond Russia One of the core pillars of the global financial system is that assets held in foreign nations—especially central bank reserves—are protected under international law. If the EU breaks that precedent, it sends a message to every...

Napoleon Bonaparte was a genius. Adolf Hitler had an above-average IQ. Joe Biden is a half-wit. All three are fools who believed they could destroy Russia. The West’s failed Ukraine project has forced us to confront a bewildering array of what look like instances of stupidity, verging even on psychosis. Competent analysts like John Mearsheimer and Jacques Baud confirmed the obvious: total defeat for Ukraine has been inevitable from the get-go, yet the politicians and media kept telling us Ukraine was sure to win, and even if Ukraine lost, at least Putin could easily be removed from office. To me,...

The American Conservative sits down with Balázs Orbán, political director to the Hungarian Prime Minister, to discuss why the logic of war should be replaced in the forthcoming Budapest summit by the idea of political settlement. (Wikimedia Commons) President Donald Trump recently demonstrated willingness for a summit with Russia, in Budapest, to seek an end to the conflict in Ukraine. Balázs Orbán, political director to the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (no relation), sat down with The American Conservative to discuss what are the possibilities of peace in Ukraine, and who in the EU might try to hinder that. Hungary...

The Russian leader noted that the reaction of Western elites on a new interpretation of events was primitive and straightforwardMOSCOW, October 17. /TASS/. Western elites spent years teaching Russia about the importance of freedom of speech and competition, and now they are trying to ban and block all of that, President Vladimir Putin said in a speech marking the 20th anniversary of RT. "For years, they [Western elites] taught us how to live, how the media should work, how to understand democracy and what democracy is. What true freedom of speech is. They convinced us of the importance of competition,...

Russian Gasoline Prices

The Most Merciless Blow To The Energy Infrastructure💥⚡️🏭Military Summary And Analysis For 2025.10.10

The Russian president noted that by making such decisions, the committee "significantly undermined the credibility of the award"DUSHANBE, October 10. /TASS/. There have been instances in the past where the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to people who did nothing for peace, tarnishing the award’s legacy and the Nobel Committee's credibility, Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters following a visit to Tajikistan. "It’s not up to me to decide who should get the Nobel Prize. <...> There were cases when the committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to those who had done nothing for peace. In my view, by making...

Moscow is hopeful that Washington will hear its message on the potential supply of Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, Maria Zakharova statedMOSCOW, October 8. /TASS/. If the United States makes the decision to supply Kiev with Tomahawk long-range missiles, it will do irreparable damage to US-Russian relations, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s official spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said. "A corresponding decision by the US administration, if made, will not just send the confrontation into a downward spiral, but also do irreparable damage to Russian-US relations, which have just begun to display certain elements indicating the resumption of a bilateral dialogue," the diplomat said,...