Free Republic

Donald Trump has warned he will impose high tariffs and further sanctions on Russia if Vladimir Putin fails to end the war in Ukraine. Writing on his social media platform Truth Social, he said that by pushing to settle the war he was doing Russia and its president a "very big favour". Trump had previously said he would negotiate a settlement to Russia's full-scale invasion launched in February 2022, in a single day. Russia has not yet responded to the remarks, but senior officials have said in recent days that there is a small window of opportunity for Moscow to...

The hail of indiscriminate missile fire across Ukraine this morning was Russia's brutal payback for the attack on the Crimean bridge. Russian President Vladimir Putin called it the response to an "act of terrorism" which he blamed on Ukraine. But it was also Mr Putin's response to hawks in his own camp who have been growing increasingly restless with Russian losses in the war and increasingly loud with their calls for tougher action. Those pro-Kremlin officials and TV hosts who were depressed and dejected just days ago are now cheering this assault on their neighbour, gloating and even dancing in...

"The truth is on our side and truth is strength!" Vladimir Putin boomed into a microphone on Red Square last week, after a grand ceremony at which he proclaimed four large chunks of Ukrainian territory to be part of Russia. "Victory will be ours!" But in the real world, things look very different. Even as Russia's president signed his illegal annexation treaties in the Kremlin, Ukrainian forces were advancing inside the areas he had just seized. Hundreds of thousands of men have been fleeing Russia rather than be drafted to fight in an expanding war. And things are going so...