Free Republic

Amid shortages of basic groceries in Russia as a result of its war in Ukraine, instances of petty thefts of essential items have been reported online, with butter emerging as one of the targeted products. -snip- The shortages in the country stem from a combination of supply chain disruptions, Western sanctions, and declining domestic production. As reported by state-owned news outlet Moskow 24, large butter-making enterprises have begun to reduce production and suspend shipments of their products to retail chains. One production company cited 46 percent cumulative inflation for eight months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023,...

Butter blocks enclosed in plastic boxes with "security chips" - these images are now common in Russian shops. Recently, butter imports have drastically fallen, and product prices have soared. This, in turn, has led Russians to start stealing instead of buying. For years, Russia was at the forefront of the world's largest food import markets, particularly leading in butter and cheese imports. Until 2022, butter arrived in Russia from all over the world. However, since the invasion of Ukraine, the situation has changed. Consequences of the invasion of Ukraine In 2022, Russia ranked 19th worldwide for butter imports. Over the...

Iran has been left powerless to export ballistic missiles to Russia for up to two years following Israeli airstrikes on weapons factories across the country. Over 100 aircraft, including F-35 Lightnings, F-16 Falcons, F-15 Eagles, air-to-air refuellers and drones, took part in the Israeli attacks in the early hours of Saturday morning. In particular, Israel appears to have targeted Iranian “planetary mixers”, used to make solid fuel for ballistic missiles. -snip- The exchange of weapons goes both ways and Iran had been reliant on Russian air defences to see off Israeli attacks. Iran purchased the S-300 air defence system from...

Any decision to send North Korean troops to Russia would be in line with international law, Pyongyang has said amid reports that its soldiers could reach the front lines of the war in Ukraine as early as this weekend. This is a developing story.

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday did not deny US claims that North Korea had sent troops to Russia but said that it was up to Moscow how to run its mutual defense clause with Pyongyang and accused the West of escalating the Ukraine war. Asked by a reporter about satellite imagery showing North Korean troop movements, Putin said: "Images are a serious thing. If there are images, then they reflect something." -snip- The Kremlin chief specifically mentioned Article 4 of the Russian partnership deal with North Korea that deals with mutual defense. "There is article 4. We have never doubted...

-snip- Belarus has played a part in Russia’s war. In February 2022 Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was launched, partly, from Belarusian territory. Why did the country’s leader allow the Kremlin to do that? “How do you know I gave permission for Belarusian territory to be used?” Lukashenko asks me. “Because Belarusian territory was used [for the invasion].” “There were exercises going on involving several thousand Russian soldiers. Putin started withdrawing these troops from where they were in southern Belarus, down a road, along the border with Ukraine. "At one point he redirected some of these troops to Kyiv. I’m...

Vladimir Putin is regretful over the war in Ukraine, according to the latest claim by one of his closest allies, as US defence officials warned North Korean troops will become 'legitimate targets' if they are seen to fight alongside Russian forces. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko delivered a wide-ranging interview with the BBC and state-owned broadcaster BelTA this week in which he was asked whether his Russian counterpart had regrets over launching his so-called 'special military operation' in Ukraine. -snip- 'Both sides suffer heavy losses... Does Putin regret it or not? Of course he regrets. He's a living man.' -snip- Ukraine's...

South Korea's foreign ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to Seoul on Monday and urged an "immediate" withdrawal of North Korean soldiers from the war in Ukraine. "We condemn North Korea's illegal military cooperation, including its dispatch of troops to Russia, in the strongest terms," said South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun in a press release, calling for an "immediate withdrawal" of the troops. The minister warned the Russian ambassador Georgiy Zinoviev that Seoul will respond by mobilizing "all available means in cooperation with the international community to any acts that threaten the core interests of South Korea."...

Former US President Donald Trump in a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal claimed he had warned Russian President Vladimir Putin about potential consequences if Russia invaded Ukraine. He recounted a conversation in which he warned the Russian leader about the severe consequences of invading Ukraine. Trump described Putin's reaction as one of disbelief, but he responded with unwavering certainty.Trump claimed that he told Putin, “Vladimir, if you go after Ukraine, I’m going to hit you so hard, you’re not even going to believe it. I’m going to hit you right in the middle of fricking Moscow... We’re friends....

The Kremlin has refused to publish details of "high-level conversations" between top officials, a spokesperson said after Donald Trump said he had threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with a strike on his capital if Moscow invaded Ukraine. Trump, the Republican candidate for elections now just two weeks away, told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Friday that he had warned Putin—with whom he said he had a "great relationship"—not to go to war in Ukraine or he would "hit" Moscow. "I said, 'Vladimir, 'if you go after Ukraine, I am going to hit you so hard, you're...

Donald Trump, the US presidential candidate from the Republican party, said that he threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with striking Moscow in the event of an attack on Ukraine. Trump stated this in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "I said. ‘Vladimir, if you pursue Ukraine, I will hit you so hard you won't even believe it. I'm going to hit you right in the center of freaking Moscow. I said, 'We’re friends. I don’t want to do it, but I have no choice,’" Trump said in the interview. According to Trump, Putin responded by saying, "No way." “I...

A TOP Russian oligarch has been found dead by Putin's spies after falling 110ft down from a window at his home in Moscow. Mikhail Rogachev, 64, was vice-president of Russian oil giant Yukos which was forced out of business for being against the tyrant dictator. His body was found in the courtyard of his tenth-floor flat by an SVR employee linked to a former Russian spymaster. Initial reports in Moscow media outlets said that he had been suffering from “a severe form of cancer”. But these reports were denied by his close friends and relatives. His relatives insisted there were...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that the war in the Gaza Strip must end with the establishment of a "full-fledged" Palestinian state, urging the Middle East Quartet to be reactivated in order to resume mediation efforts in the region. "The primary solution to the Palestinian problem is the establishment of a fully-fledged Palestinian state. The Russian side has upheld this position since the Soviet era," he remarked during a meeting with BRICS media managers in Moscow.

North Korean special forces troops have been seen boarding Russian ships and being transported to the mainland in satellite images released by South Korea's intelligence services. The images, from mid August, show North Korean troops boarding Russian naval transport ships and then organizing on the mainland. South Korea's National Intelligence Service stated four landing ships and three escort ships belonging to the Russian Pacific Fleet completed the first transport of approximately 1,500 North Korean special forces from near Chongjin, Hamhung, and Musudan, North Korea, to Vladivostok, Russia. A second transport operation is scheduled to take place soon, according to the...

Russia is “concerned” about the possible consequences for the Middle East after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by Israel, the Kremlin spokesperson said on Friday. "The main thing for us is the consequences for the civilian population that we are witnessing. This is of significant concern to us. The humanitarian catastrophe that is being observed in both Gaza and Lebanon is a matter of serious concern to us," Dmitry Peskov said in a press briefing in Moscow.

North Korea has begun the deployment of around 12,000 soldiers to support Russia's war in Ukraine, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported Friday citing the country's spy agency, saying it marks Pyongyang's first large-scale deployment of ground forces. The National Intelligence Service said Pyongyang had deployed 1,500 special forces troops between Oct. 8 and last Sunday to Vladivostok in Russia's Far East and that the dispatch of a second unit is expected to take place soon. The move confirmed "the start of North Korea's involvement in the war," the agency said. The North Korean soldiers are currently stationed with Russian...

North Korea has shipped 1,500 special forces troops to Russia's far east for training and acclimatizing at local military bases and will likely be deployed for combat in the war in Ukraine, South Korea's spy agency said on Friday. South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) also said it had been working with Ukrainian intelligence service and had used facial recognition artificial intelligence technology to identify North Korean officers in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region supporting Russian forces firing North Korean missiles. In more than 13,000 containers, North Korea has shipped artillery rounds, ballistic missiles and anti-tank rockets to Russia since August...

Russia is warning Israel to not even consider striking Iranian nuclear facilities, state news agency TASS quotes Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying. -snip- “We have repeatedly warned and continue to warn, to caution (Israel) against even hypothetically considering the possibility of a strike on (Iranian) nuclear facilities and nuclear infrastructure,” Ryabkov is quoted by TASS as saying. “This would be a catastrophic development and a complete negation of all existing principles in the area of ​​ensuring nuclear safety.”

(1) YOU'RE KEN STARR. (2) YOU DON'T WANT TO FIND OSAMA. Bush said he doesn't care where Osama is hiding. I'm not making that up; Bush said he doesn't care where Osama bin Laden - the man behind the September 11 attack on America - is hiding. (3) YOU HATE AMERICA. Like the terrorists, you can't stand the freedom America stands for, so you support The Patriot Act, Homeland Security, secrecy about what happened on 9/11, torture as a means of "information-gathering," a non-accredited school's right to ban interracial dating, and flying the bin Laden family out of the country...