Free Republic

While it’s somewhat impressive that North Korea was able to so quickly pull off the construction of these ships in such a short amount of time, a year is nowhere near long enough to conduct rigorous testing. Even if the corners being cut weren’t responsible for the second of these warships capsizing, the odds are that they would have started causing issues later on. That speed of construction also raises an interesting question: Is North Korea’s naval modernization more about building up national prestige than it is about developing a credible threat against its enemies? It’s possible, perhaps even likely,...

A Russian military expert stunned Kremlin hawks when he revealed that Ukraine's army currently enjoys a significant advantage over Putin's army. There is growing confidence among Russia's pro-war faction that Vladimir Putin can achieve all his military goals in Ukraine. Western analysts believe that Putin's aims have not changed since he launched his full-scale invasion of the neighbouring country, and that he is more than ever determined to seize all of Ukraine. With Donald Trump seemingly unwilling to get tough with Russia, many Kremlin supporters are starting to smell victory. However, Andrey Klintsevich warned that Ukraine's army was still a...

Cyril Ramaphosa must have prepped for an awkward meeting. After all, just a week earlier the Trump administration chartered a Boeing 767 to fly 59 Afrikaner farmers out of his country so they could claim refugee status amid allegations that the white population faced a genocide. But he may not have reckoned with Donald Trump’s sense of theatre. “Turn the lights down and just put this on,” he directed his aides in the Oval Office. “It’s right behind you.” Ministers, reporters, two of the greatest golfers of all time, and the world’s richest man craned their necks to watch as...

President Donald Trump said he may travel to Turkey for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, as he doesn’t believe President Vladimir Putin would show if he isn’t there. "I don’t know if he’s showing up," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. "I know he would like me to be there. And that's a possibility." -snip- The president noted that he has a "full day" scheduled in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Thursday, and he’d planned on sending Secretary of State and interim national security advisor Marco Rubio. But, he added, "I don't know that [Putin] would be there...

Vladimir Putin will not show up for peace talks because his 25-year stranglehold on Russia ends if he yields, experts say. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has agreed to an offer of direct talks aimed at achieving peace, but Moscow said it would refuse to honour a ceasefire before and during any meeting. The showdown was tentatively set for Istanbul with US President Donald Trump saying he would show up, but the meeting has yet to be confirmed. The apparent foot-dragging by the Kremlin was seen as a deliberate ploy to continue a bloody war with its neighbour that has rumbled...

Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed he will personally attend landmark peace talks on Thursday with Russia in a direct ultimatum to Vladimir Putin. Writing on social media on Sunday afternoon, Ukraine's President said he "will be waiting" in Istanbul for his Russian counterpart to sit down and negotiate.

An unmanned Ukrainian sea drone shot down a Russian SU-30 fighter jet near the port of Novorossiysk - home to the Kremlin's Black Sea Fleet. The downing of the £38 million jet was carried out by Group 13 on May 2, a special unit within Ukraine's military intelligence. The sea drone was reported to be equipped with a R-73 air-to-air missile, which struck the jet in midair. The SU-30 crashed into the sea. Reports suggest that the crew were able to eject from the stricken jet and were later picked up by a civilian cargo ship. In a statement confirming...

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...

Donald Trump said he was “p---ed off” with Vladimir Putin and threatened new sanctions against Russia as attempts to negotiate a Ukraine ceasefire stalled. The US president voiced his frustration during an interview in which he also threatened to bomb Iran if Tehran did not reach a nuclear deal with Washington. Mr Trump’s remarks came as he prepared to accelerate his global trade war on Wednesday – “Liberation Day” – when he will implement sweeping tariffs on imports. Sir Keir Starmer has drawn up retaliatory tariffs, The Telegraph understands. Mr Trump is growing frustrated with efforts to end the war...

Donald Trump went on tirade against Russian President Vladimir Putin during an early morning phone call on Sunday. President repeatedly said he is 'pissed off' at Putin for questioning Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's credibility and legitimacy after he insisted this week the war torn country needs new leadership. Trump's seemingly-full-throated defense of Ukraine and its leader comes after he previously was critical of Zelensky and claimed he was 'sick' of handling the war and aiding Kyiv. Speaking with NBC host Kristen Welker, Trump is now warning Russia it could face a new round of harsh economic sanctions for the flub...

A Russian negotiator has warned that peace talks with the US on the war in Ukraine could drag into 2026. Grigory Karasin, who led talks with the US in Saudi Arabia on March 24, said on Friday that there may be no decisive results from talks with the US. “It would have been naive to expect any breakthroughs,” Karasin said to Russian state TV Channel Rossiya 24. -snip- It comes after Russia effectively rejected a 30-day pause in the fighting proposed by the US. It also asked for sanctions against food and fertiliser to be lifted - along with the...

It is noon in Washington on Saturday, January 20, 2029. Inauguration Day. A bearded man steps forward in front of the US Capitol and raises his right hand, placing his left on the Bible.'I, James David Vance, do solemnly swear...'

brand new Russian nuclear submarine during visit an Arctic naval base yesterday. Speaking to submariners, Putin smugly declared: 'Not long ago I said we'd grind [Ukraine] down — now it looks like we'll finish them off. He also mocked the state of the British economy and armed forces after Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron revealed yesterday they would deploy an Anglo-French 'reassurance force' to Ukraine following a ceasefire deal. '[Britain] is jumping on us, behaving aggressively... but their economy is, I think, in the ninth or tenth place in the world,' the Russian President smirked. 'Hence the...

Donald Trump is holding a gun to the head of Volodymyr Zelensky, demanding huge reparations payments and laying claim to half of Ukraine’s oil, gas, and hydrocarbon resources as well as almost all its metals and much of its infrastructure. The latest version of his “minerals deal”, obtained by The Telegraph, is unprecedented in the history of modern diplomacy and state relations. “It is an expropriation document,” said Alan Riley, an expert on energy law at the Atlantic Council. “There are no guarantees, no defence clauses, the US puts up nothing. “The Americans can walk away, the Ukrainians can’t. I’ve...

Whispers have continued this week surrounding the supposed health concerns of Vladimir Putin, with Volodymyr Zelensky declaring the tyrant "will die soon". During a meeting with Emmanuel Macron, President of France, Ukrainian leader Zelensky urged the US to "stay strong" following a turbulent Black Sea ceasefire, boldly asserting: "He [Putin] will die soon, and that's a fact, and it will come to an end." -snip- Just last week, it was reported that Putin had experienced "a mini stroke" after he was seen shaking "uncontrollably" during a meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Expressing concerns for Putin's well-being, former Kremlin speechwriter...