Free Republic

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov commented on Thursday regarding threats issued by U.S. President Donald Trump to BRICS, an organization comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Trump claimed the group has "anti-American policies" and said he will impose tariffs on it and its allies, with Peskov replying that BRICS "does not respond to threats" and is not aligned against any country, News.Az reports citing foreign media.

Indian state refiners have temporarily ceased purchasing Russian crude oil this week, primarily due to concerns over potential secondary tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump and reduced discounts on Russian oil. This decision by state-controlled refiners, which represent over 60% of India’s refining capacity, marks a shift from their regular imports of Russian oil since 2022. Indian refiners are now seeking alternative crude supplies from the Middle East and West Africa and have requested urgent guidance from the Indian oil ministry regarding future Russian oil flows.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday told U.S. President Donald Trump to remember that Moscow possessed Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort after Trump told Medvedev to "watch his words". -snip- "If some words from the former president of Russia trigger such a nervous reaction from the high-and-mighty president of the United States, then Russia is doing everything right and will continue to proceed along its own path," Medvedev said in a post on Telegram. Trump should remember, he said, "how dangerous the fabled 'Dead Hand' can be," a reference to a secretive semi-automated Russian command system designed...

President Trump warned Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev that he risks entering “dangerous territory” after he slammed the US deadline for a cease-fire in Ukraine as “a step towards war.” “Tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he’s still President, to watch his words. He’s entering very dangerous territory!” Trump said regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top ally on Truth Social Thursday morning.

President Vladimir Putin announced a compensation plan for citizens in the Russian region that came under attack by Ukraine. Russians "who need it" will be eligible for a one-time payout of 10,000 rubles, Putin said during a video call with Kursk's acting governor, Alexey Smirnov, per the Kyiv Post's translation. That shakes out at about $115. "Other damage will also need to be assessed," Putin said. Around 3,000 people have been evacuated from Kursk, the western Russian border region attacked by Ukrainian forces this week, officials have said. Speaking to Putin, Smirnov said that extra trains were scheduled to take...

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya was in the running to become President of Belarus. She was forced to flee the country after Alexander Lukashenko declared a landslide victory, though many believe she won the election instead. In her first interview from exile, the opposition leader told the BBC she does not see herself as a President but as a symbol of freedom and change. She urges protesters to carry on, warning that if they step back now they would become “slaves” to the regime. She spoke to the BBC’s Europe Correspondent Jean Mackenzie, a month after they first met in the run up...

Russia's state TV Channel One has broadcast conspiracy theories blaming U.S. President Donald Trump or "international corporations" for the coronavirus. The report was broadcast on the main evening news show watched by millions on February 5.

MOSCOW -- For three straight days last weekend, the employees of the Novaya Buryatia newspaper in southern Siberia used scissors to remove an article from 50,000 copies of the weekly before it could be distributed. The same article, which had been posted a few days earlier on the paper's website, was pulled down. (It can be seen in an archived file here.) As a result, an article that was intended to clear up some mysteries involving alleged Russian military participation in the fighting in eastern Ukraine has itself become the center of a mystery: Is this a case of Soviet-style...