Free Republic

America should be embracing trade opportunities and peace vs. advocating for the neocon agenda of war with Russia. Why would we alienate a superpower when we could have open dialogue for peace and negotiate trade that would benefit all Americans?

Let’s put the events of the last 72 hours into context.On Monday and Tuesday, Russian oil refineries in NATO countries Hungary and Romania suddenly, and simultaneously, have mysterious explosions and catastrophic fires {citation}}. On Wednesday, NATO head Mark Rutte comes to visit President Trump in the White House, and at the end of the day, the same Russian company, Lukoil, whose refinery exploded in Romania, suddenly becomes sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury. These events are not disconnected.President Trump then disputes a Wall Street Journal report, further saying he did not give approval, nor does he know where NATO long-range missiles...

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,...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with several US defense contractors this week, including Raytheon, GE, and Lockheed Martin. A few days later, major defense companies raised their full-year profit estimates significantly. Spokespeople say that tariffs have no impact on demand for the defense industry. Naturally, Ukraine is seeking duty-free defense imports on defense products paid for by other countries. Lockheed raised its profit forecast from $22.15–$22.35 per share, up from $21.70–$22.00. The revenue forecast increased to $74.25–$74.75 billion from the previous range of $73.75–$74.75 billion. CEO Jim Taiclet noted there is “unprecedented demand” for Lockheed’s F-35 fighters, CH-53K helicopters, and...

"Vladimir Putin has ordered massive, near daily missile and drone attacks which are devastating Ukraine's capacity to fight on. Brian Berletic of The New Atlas and Alexander Mercouris of The Duran join the show to break down the military and diplomatic shockwaves being sent through the West as Ukraine crumbles, as well as a new war being declared by Donald Trump that is leaving the world in shock." Not sure what the claim of a new war is about....

Ukraine may import gas worth around $2 billion from Europe, the United States, and Azerbaijan this winter, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, after its gas infrastructure was severely damaged by Russian attacks. He did not specify how much gas Ukraine planned to purchase. Kyiv had expected to import 4.6 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas before a series of Russian strikes hit Ukraine's gas sector earlier this autumn. Due to the damage, energy minister Svitlana Hrynchuk said imports would need to be increased by 30%, while analysts estimated total gas import requirements at no less than 6.3 bcm. "We expect that...

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...

Those who think that Israel is guilty of genocide as if that is something unique to the Middle East, are obviously blind to the the entire region of the Balkans and Ukraine. This is the motherland of ethnic cleansing and genocide that the Western Press is paid to ignore. Trying to achieve peace in the Balkans may be more difficult than getting it to snow in Hell. The Balkans’ ethnic tensions stem from a mix of historical, political, and cultural factors that have compounded over centuries. Ukraine may not be in the Balkans and is technically part of Eastern Europe,...

U.S. President Donald Trump pushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to give up swaths of territory to Russia during a tense meeting on Friday that left the Ukrainian delegation disappointed, according to two people briefed on the discussion. Trump also declined to provide Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine's use, and mused about giving security guarantees to both Kyiv and Moscow, comments that the Ukrainian delegation found confusing, added the two sources, who requested anonymity to discuss a private conversation. After his meeting with Zelenskiy, Trump publicly called for a ceasefire on the current frontlines, a position that the Ukrainian president then embraced...

Donald Trump urged Volodymyr Zelensky to accept Putin's terms for ending its two-year-long war in an explosive meeting at the White House on Friday.Ukraine's President travelled to Washington this week to push for more military support at a time when Kyiv and Moscow are escalating the war with massive attacks on energy systems.But Trump and Zelensky's meeting on Friday turned sour after the two leaders got into a 'screaming match', according to the Financial Times - who cited sources close to the matter. The US leader also reportedly told Zelensky that Putin insisted the conflict was a 'special operation, not...

Another meeting between President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky has reportedly ended with a fiery shouting match—this time behind closed doors.Trump was pressuring his Ukrainian counterpart to accept Russia’s terms for a ceasefire during an explosive White House meeting on Friday, according to the Financial Times, reportedly telling Zelensky that Russia would “destroy” Ukraine if he didn’t agree.Multiple sources told the outlet that the meeting—where Zelensky was hoping, but ultimately failed, to secure long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles—quickly descended into a “shouting match” with “cursing all the time.”

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,...

In response to Russian President Putin’s refusal to agree to a ceasefire in the Ukraine War and his stubborn defiance of President Trump’s peace efforts, Ukraine wants the U.S. to give it Tomahawk cruise missiles. Ukraine’s rationale is that enabling it to go on the offensive against Russia with these advanced, long-range missiles might force Putin to agree to a ceasefire. Providing Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine might be dangerously escalatory. Still, this proposal, coupled with the success of President Trump’s diplomacy to end the Israel-Hamas War, may have motivated Putin to agree yesterday to new rounds of high-level diplomacy with...

Ukrainian President Zelensky delivered a pointed rebuke to Donald Trump's assessment of the war in Ukraine on Friday, insisting Vladimir 'Putin doesn't want peace' even as the American president continued to express confidence a resolution was in sight.'We want peace, Putin doesn't want peace. That's why we need pressure on him,' Zelensky said, underscoring Kyiv's call for stronger US support.At the same meeting, Trump said he believed Putin wants to finish the war. 'I think President Putin wants to end the war, or he wouldn't be talking this way,' Trump said. Later in questions with reporters, Trump said he was...

Russian Gasoline Prices

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that its troops had pushed Ukrainian forces out of two settlements. It said Russian forces had taken control of the village of Oleksiivka in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region as well as the settlement of Novopavlivka in the Donetsk region.

They are part of Russia's broader targeting of infrastructure that now is being carried out with greater precision thanks to advances in long-range drone technology that include onboard video feed. In the attack in Shostka, less than 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the Russian border, two explosives-laden drones struck two commuter trains in quick succession. Russia has stepped up railway attacks over the past three months, seeking to sow unrest in Ukrainian regions it borders by depriving people there of rail connections, Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, the CEO of the Ukrainian state railway, told The Associated Press. “What happens is not just...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy revoked the citizenship of Odesa mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov on Tuesday, which Ukraine's security service said was due to Trukhanov also being a Russian citizen. Trukhanov denied having Russian citizenship and said he would take his case to court. Ukraine prohibits its citizens from holding Russian citizenship, and Trukhanov - mayor of Ukraine's biggest port city since 2014 - has been dogged by allegations of dual nationality throughout his political career. "I now have evidence that I could not, either physically or legally, obtain Russian citizenship or passports," Trukhanov told public broadcaster Suspilne. Ukraine's SBU security service...

In 1914, Europe stumbled into a war no one wanted and few understood;a war that destroyed empires and redefined civilization.Today, Washington risks repeating that mistake, this time with nuclear weapons on the table. Through arrogance, ignorance, or incompetence, the United States is drifting toward direct confrontation with Russia, the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, with consequences that could be apocalyptic.President Trump last week said he has “sort of” made a decision about supplying Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine or NATO allies.He wants to learn more about “what they are doing with them” before making a final decision. His goal is to...