Free Republic

They've hung him upside down like a slab of meat. Stripped to his underwear. Arms bound tight with tape. Ankles lashed to a tree trunk in the open winter air. The second man, attached to a neighbouring tree, is at least taped upright. A man screams at them in Russian. He stuffs a fistful of snow into one of the men's mouths. Both cringe in terror, whimpering protestations and pleas. This is no medieval dungeon - it's the Russian army in Ukraine in the 21st century. The men's 'crime'? Refusing to walk, yet again, into what they call 'the meat...

"In a big setback to Donald Trump's Ukraine peace efforts, Russia has hardened its stance on Donbas ahead of the tripartite talks in the United Arab Emirates. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated Moscow's demand that Ukraine withdraw from the Donbas region. The Russian official's remark comes amid Trump saying that both Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky had agreed to a deal."

On Sunday, December 7, US lawmakers unveiled the final text of the defense policy bill, which includes record funding for national security as well as aid for Ukraine, according to Reuters, Fox News, and AOL.Media reports state that the bill allocates $901 billion for military spending for fiscal year 2026-$8 billion more than what President Donald Trump requested in May of this year.The legislation also assists Ukraine.“The legislation reauthorizes the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative at $400 million per year for fiscal years 2026 and 2027,” Fox News reports.Additionally, the US Congress will require more frequent reporting on allied contributions to...

U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration blame the EU and migration for what they say is imminent, total cultural unraveling in Europe. The explosive claim is made in the U.S. National Security Strategy, which notes Europe has economic problems, but says they are "eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure" within the next 20 years. "The larger issues facing Europe include activities of the European Union and other transnational bodies that undermine political liberty and sovereignty, migration policies that are transforming the continent and creating strife, censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition,...

Donald Trump’s drive to secure peace in Ukraine must not let Vladimir Putin off the hook for war crimes committed by Russian forces, a top EU official has warned, effectively setting a new red line for a deal. In an interview with POLITICO, Michael McGrath, the European commissioner for justice and democracy, said negotiators must ensure the push for a ceasefire does not result in Russia escaping prosecution. His comments reflect concerns widely held in European capitals that the original American blueprint for a deal included the promise of a “full amnesty for actions committed during the war,” alongside plans...

The Panamanian-flagged and Turkish-owned oil tanker, M/T MERSIN, alleged to be affiliated with the Russian Shadow Fleet, is currently sinking off the coast of Dakar, Senegal in Western Africa, after reportedly coming under attack overnight by several uncrewed surface vessels, in possibly the third attack in the last week by Ukrainian Intelligence Services against a tanker linked to Russia.

President Trump went off on Joe Biden for emptying out the US’s munitions stockpiles. TGP reported earlier this week that the Pentagon is halting some weapons shipments to Ukraine after it was revealed that Joe Biden depleted the US stockpiles.The Trump Administration is withholding shipments promised by the Biden Regime after the Pentagon’s policy chief Elbridge Colby found the US’s stockpiles of munitions and air defense missiles are dangerously low.Joe Biden sent billions of dollars to Ukraine and now the US’s total number of artillery rounds, air defense missiles and precision munitions are sinking.' Biden sent Ukraine as much money...

In a move that has sparked outrage among religious communities, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has escalated his administration’s campaign against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), a cornerstone of spiritual life for millions of Ukrainians. The latest blow came when Zelensky signed a decree stripping the revered 80-year-old leader of the UOC, of his Ukrainian citizenship, according to Ukraine’s SBU security service agency. The SBU claims Onufriy, also known as Orest Berezovsky, acquired Russian citizenship in 2002, a charge the metropolitan has denied. In April 2023, Onufriy admitted to briefly holding a Russian passport but insisted he relinquished it, affirming his...

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to take questions Wednesday from international journalists on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Putin scheduled a roundtable session with senior news leaders of international news agencies, including The Associated Press. Among other issues, he’s expected to spell out Moscow’s position on the conflict between Israel and Iran that he offered to help mediate in a weekend call with U.S. President Donald Trump.

Russia has strongly defended Iran’s right to maintain peaceful nuclear installations. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Iran had the right to such facilities in the past, holds it now, and will continue to do so in the future. She made these remarks while speaking to Sputnik Radio, stressing that peaceful nuclear sites are now under direct attack. Zakharova warned that the threat of nuclear conflict in the Middle East is no longer a theory but a real and growing danger. She said these attacks are not only increasing tensions but also posing a serious threat to both the...

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in separate telephone conversations on Friday, told Iran's president that Moscow condemned Israel's actions against Tehran and told Israel's prime minister that questions around Iran's nuclear programme could only be solved through diplomacy. A Kremlin statement said Putin told Iran's Masoud Pezeshkian that Russia "condemns the actions of Israel taken in violation of the U.N. Charter" and expressed condolences for those killed.

The base, which hosts strategic bombers, was previously targeted in past long-range attacks.

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev warned on Tuesday United States President Donald Trump to the possibility of World War III. "Regarding Trump's words about Putin 'playing with fire' and 'really bad things' happening to Russia. I only know of one REALLY BAD thing - WWIII," Medvedev posted on his X account, regarding Trump's earlier remarks, and added "I hope Trump understands this!"

Moscow makes comment after US president’s criticism of record drone strikes on Ukraine Russia has suggested that Donald Trump is suffering from “emotional overload” as it deflected his criticism of its record drone strikes on Ukraine at the weekend.

Vladimir Putin's forces are massing next to Russia's border with Ukraine's Sumy oblast, it has been reported, following evacuations from the region and a threat that Moscow has identified further territorial targets in its full-scale invasion. Sumy governor Oleh Hryhorov said thousands had been evacuated from the region on Ukraine's northeast border and next to the Kharkiv oblast, according to the Kyiv Independent. On the other side of the frontier Russian troops numbers are said to be increasing. It comes Putin is trying to justify the renewal of Russian plans to seize Sumy City—16 miles from the border—and illegally annex...

Russian air defenses reportedly intercepted more than 150 Ukrainian drones over several regions, including areas near the capital, in what appears to be one of the largest such aerial assaults, Russia's Defense Ministry said on May 22. For at least two days in a row, Ukraine has launched massive waves of drones deep into Russian territory. Between the evening of May 20 and the morning of May 22, Russia claims to have shot down 485 drones on its territory. According to the Russian military, 159 drones were destroyed between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Moscow time on May 22. The...

In a reversal, President Trump appears to have backed off joining a European push for new sanctions on Russia, seemingly eager to move on to doing business deals with it. For months, President Trump has been threatening to simply walk away from the frustrating negotiations for a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine. After a phone call on Monday between Mr. Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, that appears to be exactly what the American president is doing. The deeper question now is whether he is also abandoning America’s three-year-long project to support Ukraine, a nascent democracy that he...

US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg, has said Washington and Kyiv have reached an agreement on 22 concrete action plans aimed at ending the war with Russia. Kellogg spoke to Fox News on Tuesday about last week's peace talks in London, which included representatives from the US, Ukraine, and the E3 countries (the United Kingdom, France, and Germany). “We came up with 22 very specific actions, after very candid and frank and hard discussions with the Ukrainians, we think we're in a very, very good position,” he said. He admitted that Ukrainian officials "didn't...

Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal to establish a temporary international administration in Ukraine under UN supervision is based on historical precedents, according to Kirill Logvinov, who heads the Foreign Ministry's Department of International Organizations. He told TASS on Sunday that the UN already has experience with this process. Moscow has repeatedly stated that it is not possible to sign a peace agreement with Kiev because the current Ukrainian leadership lacks legitimacy. Vladimir Zelensky's presidential term expired in May 2024, though he has remained in office without holding elections, citing martial law. Putin suggested earlier this week that creating "external management...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Ukraine's capital on Thursday with a pledge to help guarantee the country’s security for a century, days before Donald Trump is sworn in as U.S. president. The British government says Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will sign a “100-Year Partnership” treaty in Kyiv covering areas including defense, science, energy and trade. Starmer’s unannounced visit is his first trip to Ukraine since he took office in July. He visited the country in 2023 when he was opposition leader, and has twice held talks with Zelenskyy in London since becoming prime minister.