Free Republic

Russian authorities moved to nationalize one of the country’s largest gold producers, the latest example of the Kremlin’s wartime campaign to seize key private assets. The case targets Yuzhnouralzoloto (South Ural Gold), the country’s third-largest gold mining company, which is controlled by billionaire Konstantin Strukov, the deputy chairman of the Chelyabinsk regional legislative assembly and a member of the ruling, pro-Kremlin United Russia party. The Prosecutor General’s Office lawsuit, reported Thursday by the state-run TASS news agency, comes after Federal Security Service (FSB) agents raided the company’s headquarters and sites linked to Strukov in the Chelyabinsk region. Prosecutors allege that...

Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed that he discussed his country's role in helping America win its independence during a call with President Donald Trump on July 3 in a bid to highlight the history of cooperation between their nations, according to Russian news agency Tass. -snip- But on Sunday, he revealed that he also tried to press upon Trump the historical ties between the two countries, going back to the founding of America. "We have always had, for a very long time, very good and special relations with the United States," Putin told Russian television host Pavel Zarubin. "We supported...

“I can promise there will be no weapons funding for you,” Luna, who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote.” “We are not your piggy bank,” she added, urging Zelensky to “negotiate for peace” instead.”

Ukraine targeted the Borisoglebsk airfield in Russia's Voronezh Oblast overnight on July 5, damaging a warehouse with guided bombs, aircraft, and other military assets, Ukraine's General Staff reported. The airfield hosts Su-34, Su-35S, and Su-30SM jets thatRussia regularly uses in air strikes against Ukraine, according to the military. The strike may have destroyed a training and combat aircraft, with further assessments underway. The NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) detected a fire near the Borisoglebsk military airfield shortly after the strike. Residents in the area reported 8–10 powerful explosions around 2 a.m. local time, according to Russian independent...

Germany was exploring the possibility of purchasing more Patriot air defense systems from the United States for Ukraine, a government spokesman said Friday, as Russia intensifies its aerial attacks. Asked to comment on reports that the government in Berlin had reached out to Washington over a deal for new anti-missile systems, government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said he could “confirm that more intensive discussions are indeed taking place on this.” Chancellor Friedrich Merz had raised the issue in a telephone call with US President Donald Trump on Thursday, Der Spiegel magazine reported subsequently. The exchange was confirmed to AFP by Kornelius....

Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, unilaterally halted an agreed shipment of military aid to Ukraine due to baseless concerns that US stockpiles of weapons have run too low, it has been reported. A batch of air defense missiles and other precision munitions were due to be sent to Ukraine to aid it in its ongoing war with Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor in 2022. The aid was promised by the US during Joe Biden’s administration last year. But the Pentagon halted the shipment, with NBC reporting that a decision to do so was made solely...

NATO chief Mark Rutte has chillingly warned that World War III will start with simultaneous invasions from Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. Secretary-general Rutte suggested the combined attacks from the Chinese and Russian leaders could trigger a World War nightmare and bring the planet to the brink of Armageddon. According to the NATO chief, China would start by seeking to grab Taiwan - while ensuring the Kremlin dictator simultaneously attacks NATO territory, amid fears Putin is anyway eyeing the Baltic republics Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, formerly part of the USSR.

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Dutch and German intelligence agencies have gathered evidence of widespread Russian use of banned chemical weapons in Ukraine, including dropping a choking agent from drones to drive soldiers out of trenches so they can be shot, they said on Friday. Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans called for tougher sanctions against Moscow. "The main conclusion is that we can confirm Russia is intensifying its use of chemical weapons," he told Reuters. "This intensification is concerning because it is part of a trend we have been observing for several years now, where Russia's use of chemical weapons in...

The Russian Ministry of Defence stated on Saturday that its armed forces destroyed two air defense platforms and two radar stations of the Patriot system. "Operational-tactical aviation, attack unmanned aerial vehicles, missile forces and artillery of groups of troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation destroyed two launchers and two AN/MPQ-65 radar stations of the [United States] US-made Patriot anti-aircraft missile system," the ministry wrote on Telegram. It also shared that the Russian military's air defense systems managed to down a US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system, a Neptune long-range guided missile, three guided aerial bombs and 371...

Russia's richest people received record dividends in 2024, according to Forbes Russia. The top earner was Alexei Mordashov, who received 201.8 billion rubles in dividends from Severstal. Russia's richest people collected record-high dividends in 2024, even as the country's economy showed clear signs of slowing, according to Forbes Russia on Thursday. Total dividend payouts to the 50 wealthiest Russians reached a record 1.769 trillion rubles, or $22.3 billion, according to the publication. That's a sharp increase from each of the previous two years, when less than 1.4 trillion rubles were distributed. The top earner was steel magnate Alexei Mordashov and...

On July 3, Putin and Trump held a phone conversationWASHINGTON, July 5. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump acknowledged that Russia has been able to cope with the sanctions imposed on it and called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin a professional. "We talk about sanctions a lot," the US leader told reporters, recalling his July 3 telephone conversation with Putin. "He has been able to manage sanctions," Trump said, referring to his Russian counterpart. "But these are pretty binding sanctions," he added, referring to the possibility of new anti-Russian restrictions in connection with the conflict in Ukraine. "Now we talk about...

Mr. President, we know you understand that the primary obstacle to peace in Ukraine is Russia’s aggression. You said you were “disappointed” in the conversation with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and that you “don’t think he’s looking to stop.” Putin again insisted he was unwilling to commit to a ceasefire until the “root causes” of the conflict were addressed. For Vlad, the “root cause” is the existence of Ukraine. He followed your call with the largest drone and missile strike of the war, killing at least one. So why, Mr. President, is your administration punishing Ukraine? The Pentagon has halted...

US President Donald Trump voiced strong criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, expressing deep frustration over their latest conversation about the ongoing war in Ukraine. Calling the situation “no good", Donald Trump said he was “very unhappy" with the call, as he accused Vladimir Putin of wanting to “keep killing people." “It’s a very tough situation," Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding, “He wants to go all the way- just keep killing people. It’s no good." The US president also suggested that additional US sanctions on Moscow could be imminent, saying sanctions were a recurring topic in...

US President Donald Trump said Ukraine would need Patriot missiles for its defence, after speaking to President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 4, and voiced frustration over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s failure to end the fighting. Mr Trump told reporters on board Air Force One that he had a good call with Mr Zelensky, repeating that he was “very unhappy” about his call with Mr Putin a day earlier, given what he called the Russian leader’s refusal to work on a ceasefire. When asked whether the US would agree to supply more Patriot missiles to Ukraine, as requested by Mr Zelensky,...

Zelensky described the conversation with the US leader as "very important and useful"MOSCOW, July 4. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky discussed air defense and the situation on the front line with US President Donald Trump amid reports about a pause in Washington’s weapons supplies to Kiev. "We discussed air defense opportunities and agreed to work toward increasing the protection of the skies. And we agreed to hold a corresponding meeting between our teams," Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel following a phone call with Trump. Zelensky described the conversation as "very important and useful" and said that Trump "is very well...

President Trump expressed dismay with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin early Friday, admitting that the Kremlin tyrant has no interest in stopping his bloody war on neighboring Ukraine anytime soon. “I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had [Thursday] with President Putin because I don’t think he’s there. I’m just saying, I don’t think he’s looking to stop, and that’s too bad,” Trump told reporters after returning to Washington following a pre-Independence Day event in Iowa. “It’s [former President Joe] Biden’s war, and I got stuck in the middle of it, just like I did with immigration and a lot of...

President Trump told Ukrainian President Zelensky in a call on Friday that the U.S. wants to help Ukraine with air defense, due to escalating Russian attacks, a Ukrainian official and a source with knowledge of the call said. Why it matters: Earlier this week the Pentagon paused a weapons shipment, including air defense interceptors and ammunication, to Ukraine's army. The decision caught Ukraine and many Trump administration officials surprise. Behind the scenes: The two sources said the call between Trump and Zelensky lasted around 40 minutes, with a major focus on Ukraine's air defense needs. One source said Trump was...

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on the phone on Thursday about arms deliveries to Ukraine, a spokesperson for the German leaders told Reuters. Merz initiated the call with Trump, the spokesperson said on Friday. Spiegel magazine first reported on the call.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Friday he spoke with his United States colleague Donald Trump on the phone, stating that he discussed potential joint defense programs with Washington, as well as recently Russian strikes on his country. "We spoke about opportunities in air defense and agreed that we will work together to strengthen protection of our skies. We have also agreed to a meeting between our teams," the Ukrainian leader wrote on X. He stated that Kiev is ready for "direct projects" with the US "especially when it comes to drones and related technologies." The two presidents also considered...

Russia pounded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and missiles on Friday in the largest aerial attack of the three-year war — just hours after President Trump admitted he was “disappointed” with his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A total of 539 drones and 11 missiles were fired at Kyiv over a seven-hour onslaught — injuring at least 23 people and damaging scores of buildings across the capital, Ukraine’s Air Force said.