Free Republic

Once again, a pattern repeats itself: on the eve of important negotiations, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky goes to the press to make bombastic statements that undermine the whole purpose of the meeting.This time, the Kiev regime leader repeated his position that he will never recognize Crimea as part of Russia, and also presented a slew of other demands – it sounds like he believes his country is winning the war.Besides that, in the UK there was nasty a reporting with official sources stating that host Foreign Secretary David Lammy was to ‘make sure Kiev’s negotiators were not led into an ambush’.With...

A peace proposal by the Trump administration that includes recognizing Russian authority over Crimea shocked Ukrainian officials, who say they will not accept any formal surrender of the peninsula, even though they expect to concede the territory to the Kremlin, at least temporarily. Giving up the land that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 is also politically and legally impossible, according to experts. It would require a change to the Ukrainian constitution and a nationwide vote, and it could be considered treason. Lawmakers and the public are firmly opposed to the idea. “It doesn’t mean anything,” said Oleksandr Merezkho,...

President Trump on Saturday said he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin may be stringing him along after the latest deadly strikes on Ukraine, as the U.S. seeks to bring an end to the war in Eastern Europe. “There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump posted Saturday on Truth Social. “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!” His...

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump have met inside St Peter's Basilica ahead of Pope Francis' funeral. The White House described the 15-minute meeting as "very productive" and a Ukrainian spokesman said the pair will meet for a second time later on Saturday. Trump and Zelensky are attending the service in Vatican City alongside other heads of state and royals including Prince William, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron. Their meeting comes one day after Trump said Russia and Ukraine were "very close to a deal", following talks between his envoy Steve...