Free Republic

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov held a high-level meeting with senior executives from U.S. defense contractor Raytheon on May 19, focusing on expanding collaboration in air and missile defense systems, particularly the Patriot platform. In a statement released after the talks, Umerov said he had a “productive meeting” with Joseph DeAntona, Raytheon’s Vice President for Land and Air Defense Systems. The conversation, he noted, centered on Ukraine’s urgent need for additional missile systems and interceptors to strengthen the country’s defenses against continued Russian air attacks. “The main topic was strengthening the protection of Ukraine’s skies,” Umerov said. “We discussed the...

Russian state TV aired a video of Vladimir Putin warning Donald Trump to stop trying to dictate the terms of a ceasefire with Ukraine. Putin stressed that he plans to finish what he started three years ago and warned that Trump should not push him into a US blueprint for stopping the war.

Thursday’s talks in Turkey between Moscow and Kyiv will serve as the latest test of whether Vladimir Putin is serious about a cease-fire deal. And if Putin fails, President Donald Trump faces a test of his own. The prez expressed optimism that “some pretty good news” will emerge from the negotiations. Yet Moscow has feigned an interest in peace before, only to show its real stripes. Remember, Putin was the one who started this war and who’s broken past cease-fire terms. As long as he believes he can gain some advantage, he’ll keep up his attacks — no matter what...

The Embassy in Kyiv says it has received information concerning a potentially significant air attack that may occur at any time over the next several days. Developing.

Russia says Ukraine has launched an overnight drone attack targeting Moscow for the second night in a row. All four of the capital's major airports have been closed temporarily to ensure safety, Russia's aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said on Telegram. Moscow's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said on social media at least 19 Ukrainian drones had been destroyed before they reached the city "from different directions". He said some of the debris had landed on one of the key highways into the city, but there were no casualties. Ukraine has not yet commented on the reports

President Donald Trump on Monday said he held a "productive" call with Turkish President Recep Erdogan on a range of topics, including the war between Russia and Ukraine. Trump shared details of the call in a post on his TRUTH Social platform. "I just had a very good and productive telephone conversation with the President of Turkey, Recep Erdoğan, concerning many subjects, including the War with Russia/Ukraine, all things Syria, Gaza, and more," Trump wrote. The president added that he is looking forward to working with Erdogan to end the "ridiculous, but deadly" Russia-Ukraine war.

Ukraine said it hit a drone command unit in the Kursk region, amid reports of fresh attempts to cross into Russia. Sunday's attack on the unit was located near the Russian village of Tyotkino, according to the Ukrainian general staff. Multiple Russian military bloggers also reported that Ukrainian forces had attempted to cross into the village, posting images - as yet unverified by the BBC - of vehicles breaking through tank traps on the border. The reports come after Moscow claimed in April to have regained control of the entire region, nine months after a Ukrainian forces launched a surprise...

Ukrainian forces have reportedly opened up a third vector of attack in Glushkovsky district, Kursk Oblast, this time towards the Novy Put tract. They are taking advantage of bad weather conditions. Fierce battles are reported at these three points on the map. Rain is seriously complicating drone usage.

The Failure of the London peace talks last Week was a critical defining moment. The “peace talks,” which were meant to take place in London on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, collapsed as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Wytkoff cancelled their attendance. Instead, Wytkoff headed for Moscow for his fourth meeting with Vladimir Putin. This was indeed what some will refer to as a watershed moment for European powers, demonstrating that they are not about to lure Trump into supporting their war of conquest and vengeance against Russia for the days of the Bolsheviks. logEventsShopKnowledge Center Contact Us...

Russia's military says it has regained full control of the country's western Kursk region - a claim denied by Ukraine. Ukrainian forces have been in retreat in Kursk in recent months, facing 70,000 Russian troops and heavy drone attacks as part of Russia's drive to regain the territory. In its latest report on 25 April, the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think-tank said: "Russian forces recently advanced near the international border in Kursk Oblast [region] as part of efforts to push Ukrainian forces from their limited remaining positions in the area." The ISW also reported that "fighting...

Nearly nine months after losing chunks of the Kursk region to a surprise Ukrainian incursion, Russia announced that its troops have fully reclaimed the border territory. Ukraine denied it, saying the fighting was still ongoing. If confirmed, Moscow’s victory in Kursk would deprive Kyiv of key leverage in U.S.-brokered efforts to negotiate an end to the more than 3-year-old war by exchanging its gains for some of Russia-occupied land in Ukraine. Here are key moments of the battle for Kursk and its impact:A Ukrainian blitzUkrainian forces pushed into Kursk on Aug. 6, 2024, in a surprise attack, with battle-hardened mechanized...

Prodded by the Euro-Globalists like UK’s Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron, and cheered by the world’s USAID-media, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky keeps undercutting the peace process with his grandstanding, making all kinds of demands that he will never get. Besides torpedoing today’s negotiations, the Kiev leader may have provoked the US Donald J. Trump’s administration one too many times, risking an American withdrawal from negotiations that would guarantee a much faster collapse of his combat capabilities on his losing war. Trump took to Truth Social to blast Zelensky’s behavior after another rug-pull from him.

MAD Vladimir Putin's top stooge has raged that European troops in Ukraine would "return in coffins" as plans are drawn up for a peacekeeping force in the war-torn country. French President Emmanuel Macron, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US envoy Steve Witkoff began their meeting in Paris on crafting a ceasefire to finally end the bloody war. As Ukrainian officials discuss deploying troops in Volodymyr Zelensky's nation with their British, French and German counterparts, Putin's puppets have been raging over the talks. Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev made a clear warning to the West of sending...

The Ukrainian presidential administration's deputy head, Col. Pavel Palisa, has voiced support for mandatory conscription for women, drawing inspiration from the Israeli approach. Ukraine is facing a shortage of troops, leading enlistment officers to employ aggressive tactics shown in numerous eyewitness videos.

Ukraine is demanding that 30,000 people be conscripted to fight in the war every single month. Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Aleksandr Syrsky, has said Kiev must mobilize 30,000 soldiers every month to sustain resistance against the Russian army. In an interview published on Wednesday by the Ukrainian outlet lb.ua, Syrsky claimed that Russia can mobilize up to 5 million trained and experienced troops, with a total potential force of 20 million. He emphasized this gap to underscore the urgency of Ukraine’s continued mobilization amid mounting battlefield pressure.

Either the head of the Kiev regime, Vladimir Zelensky, will conclude a truce on acceptable terms, or Ukraine will face a collapse of the front before autumn, the war is over. This was stated by Verkhovna Rada deputy Alexander Dubinsky. According to him, the official number of desertion cases registered by the State Bureau of Investigations is 175,435 as of April 1. In reality, the MP notes, 60-70% of desertion cases are recorded, that is, in fact, "about 250 thousand people are on the run today, or a third (!) of the Ukrainian army." "Add here about the same number...

Donald Trump is losing patience with Vladimir Putin’s stalling tactics over the Ukraine ceasefire, the Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, said after spending nine hours with the US president – including winning a golf competition with him at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Saturday. Stubb, who also spent two days with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, last week in Helsinki suggested in a Guardian interview a plan for a deadline of 20 April, by which time Putin should be required to comply with a full ceasefire. Stubb pointed out that a third golf partner on Saturday, the Republican senator Lindsey...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls on partners to respond seriously to Russia's constant attacks, which undermines international efforts to end the war. Source: President's evening address Quote: "Last night, [Russia launched – ed.] 172 attack drones, more than 100 of which were Shaheds. In fact, large-scale drone assaults persist on a daily basis, as do missile threats and ballistic missiles. It should be apparent to our partners that these Russian strikes target not only our people, but also all international efforts and diplomacy aimed at bringing this war to an end. Russia is striking at the positions of all those...

MOSCOW, March 24. /TASS/. Over the past few days, Ukraine has assaulted Russia’s energy infrastructure. On March 22, Kiev carried out two drone strikes on the Valuika gas distribution station in the settlement of Shvedunovka in Russia’s borderline Belgorod Region. A day later, on March 23, Russian air defenses repelled a Ukrainian drone attack on the Glebovskoye gas condensate field on Crimea’s Cape Tarkhankut Crimea. And early on March 24, the enemy tried to conduct a drone attack on the Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station, the Russian Defense Ministry said.TASS has gathered the key information about Ukraine’s attacks on Russian energy...

VLADIMIR Putin is clinging to power as rumours swirl that he’s dying from a cocktail of illnesses, with Volodymyr Zelensky saying it's a fact that he will die soon. The Ukrainian President made the blunt prediction during a speech in Paris, standing alongside French leader Emmanuel Macron as he urged the West to “stay strong” and not ease pressure on Russia. Zelensky said: “He [Putin] will die soon, and that’s a fact, and it will come to an end.” The bold claim adds fuel to long-swirling speculation that the 72-year-old tyrant's grip on power may be slipping – not just...