Free Republic

US President Donald Trump has said he will send weapons, including Patriot air defence systems, to Ukraine via Nato. Trump told NBC News that in a new deal, "we're going to be sending Patriots to Nato, and then Nato will distribute that", adding that Nato would pay for the weapons. His announcement came after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of having a "positive dialogue" with Trump about ensuring that arms arrived on time. He said he had asked for 10 Patriot systems after a surge in Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in the past week. Patriot batteries...

President Trump said Friday he plans to make a “major statement” on Russia early next week — as the Senate considers legislation to force his hand on sanctions after months of threats from the commander-in-chief. “I think I’ll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday,” Trump told NBC News in a phone interview Thursday. “You’ll be seeing things happen,” Trump told a reporter Friday morning on the White House lawn when asked about an overnight Russian drone attack that damaged a maternity hospital in Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv.

U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg will travel to Kyiv on July 14 for a week-long visit, he confirmed during the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome. The visit comes at a critical time, as confusion surrounds the Trump administration's stance on future military aid to Ukraine. Kellogg’s trip follows reports that President Donald Trump may authorize his first new weapons package for Ukraine since taking office, potentially using NATO funding. Until now, the administration has allowed only shipments approved under former President Joe Biden, News.Az reports, citing foreign media. The situation remains tense after the Pentagon unexpectedly paused deliveries...

A 1-year-old boy was “mercilessly and deliberately” executed in a Russian drone attack in southern Ukraine — where terrified residents say they feel they are being hunted in a sick game of “human safari,”officials said. The boy, identified as Dmytryk, was playing at his grandmother’s yard in Pravdyne on Wednesday when the drone came crashing in, causing shrapnel to pierce his heart and kill the toddler who celebrated his first birthday just two months ago. “Our little boy was here, in the playpen, walking around,” his distraught grandmother, Halyna, 64, told local Ukrainian outlet Podrobnosti.

Key Points and Summary – Western aspirations for regime change in Russia are a “dangerous delusion” that ignores the lessons of past interventions in Iraq and Libya. Such efforts are not only unrealistic, given Russia’s nationalist resilience, but also risk provoking greater instability and a more aggressive Kremlin.

THE Kremlin has been accused of covering up the death of a sacked Russian minister after signs of torture were allegedly found on his body just 24 hours before his apparent suicide. Roman Starovoit, who was Vladimir Putin's transport minister for less than a year, was dismissed from his post on July 7 - just hours before he was found dead. Telegram channels with links to the Russian security forces reported Starovoit's cause of death as suicide - claiming the minister was found dead with gunshot wounds. However, an independent Russian media outlet now reports that he had been beaten...

Vladimir Putin's only aircraft carrier - the hulking Admiral Kuznetsov - is poised to be scrapped after seven failed years of repairs, say reports. Work on the jinxed ship, the largest in the Russian navy, has now been suspended despite the efforts to get it back in the water. News outlet Izvestia cites sources saying the vessel is likely destined for the scrapheap. Putin's 'Ship of Shame' is languishing in dock in grim Arctic port Murmansk, and has played no role in the war against Ukraine. Its crew were quietly sent to fight in the war instead. The 58,000-ton rust...

I honestly think to get the OBBB passed he's had to give up certain positions. How else do you explain it? The endorsement of Lindsey Graham, too? The resumption of aid to Ukraine? It's all very odd and timely. I think Trump has (had) a lot invested in getting OBBB done. Think about it. It was his signature bill. They held it hostage and now you see why... There is (was) a lot at stake.

Vladimir Solovyov threatens America

Everyone agrees: it's getting worse. The people of Kyiv have, like the citizens of other Ukrainian cities, been through a lot. After three and a half years of fluctuating fortunes, they are tough and extremely resilient. But in recent months, they have been experiencing something new: vast, coordinated waves of attacks from the air, involving hundreds of drones and missiles, often concentrated on a single city. Last night, it was Kyiv. And the week before too. In between, it was Lutsk in the far west. Three years ago, Iranian-supplied Shahed drones were a relative novelty. I remember hearing my first,...

President Donald Trump for the first time since returning to office will send weapons to Kyiv under a presidential power frequently used by his predecessor, two sources familiar with the decision said on Thursday, a move suggesting new interest by the president in defending Ukraine. More than three years after Russia's invasion of its neighbor, Trump's team will identify arms from U.S. stockpiles to send to Ukraine under the Presidential Drawdown Authority, the sources said, with one saying they could be worth around $300 million. Trump on Tuesday said the U.S. would send more weapons to Ukraine to help the...

President Donald Trump has officially thrown his weight behind RINO Lindsey Graham—whose record includes climate pandering, open-borders showmanship, and globe-trotting war-baiting—in the 2026 Senate race.“Happy Birthday to Senator Lindsey Graham!” Trump posted, along with a smiling golf-course photo of the two. “He is always there when I need him, and I hope everyone in the Great State of South Carolina will help Lindsey have a BIG WIN in his re-election bid next year.”But if the goal was to rally the MAGA faithful around the career politician, Trump may be in for a surprise.“Thank you, Mr. President! This means a great...

Russian state media has launched a barrage of criticism against U.S. President Donald Trump after he accused Russia's Vladimir Putin of saying "a lot of bulls***" about the war in Ukraine, the exiled news outlet Agentstvo reported Wednesday. -snip- Prominent pro-Kremlin television host Vladimir Solovyov on Tuesday chastised Trump on his flagship talk show for addressing Putin in what he described as a disrespectful tone. “Trump has started to speak rudely,” Solovyov said. “It seems to us that he’s undergoing a ‘Bidenization.’ His belief that he’s the only person able to speak with Putin has made him transform into another...

Speaking on the State TV channel Russia-1, pro-government host Vladimir Solovyov warned that Russia could destroy both US coasts using nuclear-powered Poseidon torpedoes—underwater weapons designed to trigger a “radioactive tsunami.” During the broadcast, Solovyov directly addressed US President Donald Trump: “Will Trump understand that two Poseidons, launched from different sides, could wipe out the US and create a radioactive disaster? That would be the end—nothing will save them.” “No protective element will help them,” Solovyov declared, referring to US missile defense systems. Framing the hypothetical strike as a response to “Western aggression,” he suggested that Washington underestimates Russia’s capabilities and...

...Headlines like "Trump threatens" or "Trump plans" have become routine since his rise to power. In each new statement, Trump inevitably contradicts his previous words or plans. One day he imposes 500% tariffs, the next he promises to remove them. One day he supports relations with Russia, the next he calls for harsher sanctions. First he cuts off military aid to Ukraine, then he resumes it...

The secretary of state added that the US president was also disappointed by the lack of progress in the Russia-Ukraine peace processKUALA LUMPUR, July 10. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Donald Trump has been frustrated by the rigidity on the Russian side over the conflict in Ukraine. Nevertheless, the United States is prepared to continue dialogue for reconciliation. "The president has been pretty clear: he is disappointed and frustrated that there’s not been more flexibility on the Russian side to bring about an end to this conflict. We hope that can change. We are going to...

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he expressed the United States' frustration that more progress has not been made on ending the war in Ukraine in a meeting on Thursday with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. "It was a frank conversation. It was an important one," Rubio said his 50-minute talks with the Russian foreign minister on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Malaysia. He said he expressed to Lavrov what U.S. President Donald Trump has said publicly, "that there's not been more flexibility on the Russian side to bring about an end to this conflict." The envoys'...

Ukrainian official blames Russia for daylight murder of senior security officerA senior Ukrainian spy has been shot dead by an assassin using a silenced pistol on the streets of Kyiv.Col Ivan Voronich, a senior operational officer in Ukraine’s security service, was crossing the street near a block of flats in the capital’s Holosiivskyi district when he was approached by a man with a gun on Thursday morning.Footage shared on Telegram showed the moment Col Voronich was shot five times next to a row of parked cars.Following the attack, a man can be seen running along the street in the opposite...

A Russian combat drone—Russia’s answer to the US MQ-9 Reaper—crashed in Kazan on July 8 after reportedly being disabled by electronic warfare. The crash was caused by a disruption to its satellite navigation system, according to Russia’s Ural Civil Aviation Plant, which now oversees the drone’s development, Russian media, citing the company, reported on July 9. “During the flight, the UAV’s satellite navigation was disrupted by unidentified electronic warfare equipment. The drone switched to inertial navigation and attempted a second landing pass. The landing was conducted in inertial mode, and a non-standard situation occurred,” the company’s press office stated. The...

A growing number of young Ukrainians have been unknowingly recruited by Russian forces as unwilling suicide bombers as the Ukraine-Russia War drags on in its third year, the Guardian reported last week. Russian forces have been recruiting Ukrainians, mainly teenagers, to bomb police stations, post offices, or military targets under the guise of odd jobs postings on Telegram as part of an ongoing shadow war. For example, 19-year-old Oleh told the Guardian that he was offered $1,000 to video himself vandalizing a police station in western Ukraine with provided materials. He collected a rucksack from a given exchange point with...