Free Republic

MAGA firebrand Steve Bannon called on President Donald Trump to condemn Ukraine’s weekend drone attack on Russian airbases and “pull all support” after reports that the White House was not informed in advance of the offensive. More than 40 warplanes, including Russia’s Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers, were reportedly damaged or destroyed across four airbases in Murmansk and Irkutsk, thousands of miles from Ukraine’s border. The operation, which Ukraine revealed it had been in planning for 18-months, came just one day before Monday’s peace talks were set to begin in Istanbul. Axios reported on Sunday that sources within the administration...

I spoke with journalists and shared some details of today’s negotiations with the Russians in Istanbul: an unconditional ceasefire, the exchange of prisoners, the return of children, and, importantly, the return, not exchange, of civilians. Then comes a leaders-level meeting. As for a meeting of the leaders, the Russians believe that this can be worked on by the end of this month or early next month. As for the ceasefire, they basically don’t see it happening yet. According to the Russians, they’re ready for a 2–3 day ceasefire just to collect their dead from the battlefield. I think — idiots,...

MAGA insider and former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon said Monday that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of Kyiv’s strongest backers in Congress, should be “arrested” if he doesn’t stop traveling overseas and “stirring it up” in Ukraine. Bannon expressed his frustration over Ukraine’s stunning drone attack on Russia’s strategic bombing fleet, which destroyed 40 aircraft deep inside Russian territory, giving Ukrainian forces a potential morale boost. Bannon said the White House should condemn the military strike and crack down on Graham’s diplomacy. The senator applauded Ukraine’s resourcefulness in pulling off a successful attack Sunday. “The White House...

The first section of the document contains the "basic parameters of the final settlement", the second section of the document, devoted to the terms of the ceasefire, contains two scenarios the events might followMOSCOW, June 2. /TASS/. The Russian memorandum on a future settlement, handed over to the Ukrainian delegation at the negotiations in Istanbul, implies Ukraine's neutrality and a ban on any military activity by third countries on its territory. Russia's proposals, set out in the document obtained by TASS, envisage elections in Ukraine, followed by the signing of a peace treaty. The first section of the document contains...

President Trump has not made any statement after Ukraine launched an attack yesterday deep into Russia targeting long-range nuclear capable bombers. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also remained quiet throughout the day today. However, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaking from Vilnius, Lithuania, publicly bragged about the operation today. According to Turkish officials (note silence from Russia & Ukraine), the previously scheduled meeting between Russian and Ukranian negotiators ended today after less than an hour. There are no details about what took place inside the Ciragan Palace in Istanbul, just that once the meeting attendees were seated and gave initial remarks,...

KYIV — For 18 months, Ukraine’s internal security service planned an audacious assault on far-flung Russian airfields — first sneaking drones into Russia, then planting them near key military runways. On Sunday, just ahead of a new round of peace talks, it was go time: Near four unsuspecting Russian military bases, remotely activated roofs lifted off mobile homes and sheds parked on flatbed trucks. Armed Ukrainian drones tucked inside soared upward, then pounced on military aircraft lined up on the runways, engulfing many in flames. The brazen attack — which Ukrainian officials claimed destroyed at least 13 Russian aircraft and...

Russia told Ukraine at peace talks on Monday that it would only agree to end the war if Kyiv gives up big new chunks of territory and accepts limits on the size of its army, according to a memorandum reported by Russian media.Two sides talk for barely an hour in Istanbul Leaked memo details stringent Russian demands Second round of direct negotiations since 2022 Warring sides agree on humanitarian steps Erdogan wants Putin, Zelenskiy, Trump to meet in Turkey ISTANBUL, June 2 (Reuters) - Russia told Ukraine at peace talks on Monday that it would only agree to end the...

First the cliff notes version: There’s an important detail to remember. People are laughing at the long-range Russian bombers being left out in the open, vulnerable to attack. However, the bomber visibility is required as part of several nuclear agreements between the USA and Russia (SALT and START). Our U.S. long range nuclear capable bombers, covered under the same agreements, are also visible. Ukraine President Zelenskyy is playing with fire by targeting them, which also explains why Zelenskyy never told President Trump in advance.The U.S and NATO have provided the means. However, #1) did Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just exploit...

Poland has elected Karol Nawrocki, a conservative historian and staunch nationalist, as its next president in a closely watched vote that signals a resurgence of right-wing populism in the heart of Europe. Nawrocki, who is set to take office on Aug. 6, is expected to shape the country’s domestic and foreign policy in ways that could strain ties with Brussels while aligning the Central European nation of nearly 38 million people more closely with the administration of President Donald Trump in the United States. Here are some key takeaways: Nawrocki’s victory underscores the enduring appeal of nationalist rhetoric among about...

That today’s (2) peace negotiations in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine have flopped is hardly surprising. On the one hand, Russian Federation forces have conquered around 20 settlements in a single week, and their offensive on the Northern Sumy and Kharkov regions have the real potential of breaking down the undermanned and underequipped Ukrainian defenses. Mood at the Istanbul talks — Ukraine’s Defense Minister Umerov cracks a smile, while Putin’s aide Medinsky remains serious pic.twitter.com/9TDU3xBzQ3 — RT (@RT_com) June 2, 2025 But on the other hand, Ukraine arrived for the talks boosted by the success of yesterday’s drone attack on...

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) praised Ukraine’s weekend drone attack on Russia, calling its government and armed forces “ever-resourceful” while warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for more war. “The ever-resourceful Ukraine used creative drone warfare tactics to successfully attack Russian bombers and military assets used to kill Ukrainian citizens and destroy their country,” Graham said on the social platform X on Sunday reacting to the Ukraine attack. Ukraine hit Russian bases across the vast country in the recent attack, including in the regions of Irkutsk and Amur, which are thousands of miles from the Russian-Ukraine border. The attack...

Ukraine’s extraordinary attack deep inside Russia has, at a stroke, rewritten the rules of modern war. On Sunday a swarm of small drones, each costing under $500, rose over four Russian airfields deep inside Siberia and the Arctic and destroyed over forty strategic bombers reportedly worth over $7 billion. Thanks to meticulous planning, sophisticated military imagination and an underdog’s boldness of vision, Kyiv’s forces have landed a stunning blow on their far stronger opponent, opening a new chapter in the history of human conflict. The question that will be haunting Putin is – what’s next? Ukraine’s famously stone-faced chief of...

Illegitimate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky opened his comments at the peace negotiations in Turkey by gloating about Sunday’s surprise attack deep inside Russia and begging the West (NATO) for more weapons to hurl at Russia. Zelensky’s comments come the day after Ukraine and its Western allies pulled off a massive attack deep inside Russia.

Ukrainian drones took out numerous Russian bombers on Sunday over a thousand miles from the border with Ukraine. This comes one day before peace talks resume in Turkey. ================================================================== Ukrainian drones on Sunday took out an estimated 36% of all Russian strategic aviation! $2 billion worth of damage! Volodymyr Zelensky announced that 117 drones were used in the strike inside Russia that wiped wiped out dozens of nuclear “doomsday” bombers and other aircraft. President Trump WAS NOT NOTIFIED of the attack before it took place – because Trump wants peace and the globalists want World War and the destruction of...

First the cliff notes version: There’s an important detail to remember. People are laughing at the long-range Russian bombers being left out in the open, vulnerable to attack. However, the bomber visibility is required as part of several nuclear agreements between the USA and Russia (SALT and START). Our U.S. long range nuclear capable bombers, covered under the same agreements, are also visible. Ukraine President Zelenskyy is playing with fire by targeting them, which also explains why Zelenskyy never told President Trump in advance. The U.S and NATO have provided the means. However, #1) did Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just...

Vladimir Putin is set to dismiss his intelligence chiefs following a catastrophic security breach, which led to Ukraine taking out 41 aircraft worth £1.5billion across multiple airbases. The Russian leader has been conspicuously absent from public view since Ukraine's successful strikes, with an insider revealing: "He will hit back at Ukraine, but also avenge his underlings who allowed this humiliation to happen." The FSB security service, led by Putin's close ally Alexander Bortnikov, 73, faces particular scrutiny over the intelligence failure, which led to 117 first-person view kamikaze drones carrying out the daring attack. Civilian lorries were able to carry...

RussiaNews 🇷🇺 @mog_russEN 🚨⚡️ President Vladimir Putin: “In case of massive use, Oreshnik missiles will deliver a strike equal in power to a nuclear weapon.” No nukes needed — just Russian engineering. One launch... and it’s over. From الموجز الروسي | Russia news 🇷🇺 1:32 AM · Jun 2, 2025

A trilateral meeting between delegations from Türkiye, Russia, and Ukraine is scheduled to begin at 1 pm local time on Monday at Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace, Turkish diplomatic sources said. The talks will be chaired by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and are expected to bring together senior officials from all three countries. Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Director İbrahim Kalin is also slated to attend.

The US is essentially “facilitating the persecution of Christians in Ukraine by supporting the Kiev government, which has been waging a purge campaign against the nation’s canonical Orthodox church,” American journalist Tucker Carlson has said. Carlson made the statement during an interview with a former Ukrainian MP, Vadim Novinsky, released on Friday. The Ukrainian government has been cracking down on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) for months, which it views as having ties to Russia.

A claim by the Russian Defence Ministry that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin was "in the epicentre of a drone attack" has turned out to be a staged performance by the Kremlin. Russian state media claimed earlier this week that when Putin visited Kursk Oblast for the first time since the hostilities began in the area, his helicopter came "under fire from Ukrainian drones". In reality, this was not a combat incident but a meticulously staged event. Four sources within the government and the Kremlin told The Moscow Times that security officials promoted this shocking and "risky" episode in the media...