Free Republic

Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised the strengthening cooperation between Russia and China within the BRICS group, stating that the two countries are actively working to enhance the bloc’s influence as a core mechanism of the international architecture. In an interview with China’s Xinhua News Agency, a partner of TV BRICS, Putin said the two nations are jointly promoting initiatives aimed at expanding the economic development opportunities of member states. “We are actively cooperating with China within BRICS to enhance its influence as one of the core mechanisms of the international architecture. Together, we are promoting initiatives aimed at expanding...

Russia and China jointly oppose "discriminatory" sanctions in global trade that hinder the world's socio-economic development, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a written interview with China's official Xinhua news agency. The two countries will continue to work to reduce mutual trade barriers, Putin said in the interview published on Saturday on the eve of a visit to Russia's biggest trading partner. Putin will be in China from Sunday to Wednesday, in a four-day visit that the Kremlin has called "unprecedented."

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks with President Xi Jinping in China next week, attend a security summit, and be the "main guest" of Xi's at a military parade on Beijing's Tiananmen Square, the Kremlin said on Friday. -snip- Ushakov said Putin would be attending as "the main guest" and be seated on Xi's right, while North Korea's Kim Jong-Un would sit on Xi's left.

Moscow on Friday, August 29, slammed Emmanuel Macron for what it called "vulgar insults," after the French president called Russian leader Vladimir Putin a "predator" and "ogre." Macron warned European leaders not to trust Putin in an interview with the LCI broadcaster last week. "For his own survival, [he] needs to keep eating (...) That means he is a predator, an ogre at our gates," Macron said. He made the comments after a landmark meeting with US President Donald Trump along with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and European allies in Washington. Russia's foreign ministry slammed the remarks. "They cross the...

Russia's domestic fuel market is fully supplied and the situation is under control, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. On a daily conference call with reporters, he said there were various reasons for fuel price swings. The government was taking active measures to ensure gasoline and energy prices remain stable, he said. Some Russian regions have reported gasoline shortages and long queues at fuel stations following recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries.

According to a military and security analyst, Russia's summer offensive in Ukraine has utterly collapsed. Julian Röpcke, a journalist for the German news outlet Bild, has been closely following the war since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. In a recent column, he outlined four primary reasons why he believes Putin's summer campaign in Ukraine has crumbled. One of Russia's main objectives in the east was to capture the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region - a crucial logistical hub for Ukraine's army. Despite positioning troops at the city's gates since January, Röpcke contends that all attempts to storm it...

President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is set to meet in New York on Friday with senior members of the Ukrainian government, sources told Newsmax on Thursday. “Two sources familiar with the matter tell me, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to meet Ukrainian delegation - Andriy Yermak & Sergiy Kyslytsya - in New York tomorrow," Newsmax's Nana Sajaia first reported of the planned meeting on X. Andriy Yermak is the head of the Office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Sergiy Kyslytsia is Ukraine's deputy foreign minister and former envoy to the United Nations.

Russia is on the verge of political turmoil as its economy teeters on the brink of collapse and its war in Ukraine stumbles, warns a leading nationalist figure. Russian nationalists have been among the staunchest supporters of the Kremlin's war in Ukraine. Figures like Aleksandr Dugin have even argued that Ukraine's destruction is crucial for Russia's survival. In his 1997 book "The Geopolitical Future of Russia", he expressed his views bluntly, writing: "The existence of Ukraine within its current borders, and with its current status as a 'sovereign state,' is tantamount to delivering a monstrous blow to Russia's geopolitical security."...

In the last 30 months, an estimated 17 Russian officials, politicians, businessmen and leading figures in the arts have died after falling from high windows. The window on the fifth floor of a building in the historic city of Petrozavodsk in northwestern Russia was wide open when the figure of a man appeared briefly, before plunging to the ground. This was followed by Putin enforcing a "blanket ban" on social media apps from enemy countries. The mangled body of former police colonel, Artur Pryakhin, head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service in the republic of Karelia, was hauled off to the...

Drone attacks have been carried out on the Afipsky oil refineries in Russia's Krasnodar Territory and the Kuibyshev oil refineries in the Samara region, APA reports, citing Russian media. Large fires broke out at the oil refineries after the drone attacks. According to the governor of the Samara region, Dmitry Azarov, the airport and mobile internet use in the city of Samara have been temporarily restricted due to the threat.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong-un will attend a military parade in Beijing, marking the first public appearance of the two leaders alongside President Xi Jinping in a show of collective defiance amidst Western pressure. No Western leaders will be amongst the 26 foreign heads of state and government attending the parade next week except for Robert Fico, prime minister of Slovakia, a European Union member state, according to the Chinese foreign ministry on Thursday. Against the backdrop of China's growing military might during the "Victory Day" parade on September 3, the three leaders will project a...

A fire at Russia's Novoshakhtinsk refinery was burning for the fourth day on Sunday after a Ukrainian drone strike, the acting governor of the region said. A fire was reported at in Novoshakhtinsk on Thursday. The refinery there sells fuel mainly for export, and has annual capacity of 5 million metric tons of oil, or around 100,000 barrels per day. Yury Slyusar, the acting governor of the Rostov region, said he had a meeting in Novoshakhtinsk. "The fire area at the Novoshakhtinsk oil products plant has now been reduced," he said on Telegram. "Since August 21, firefighters have been fighting...

US President Donald Trump joined other world leaders in sending messages of support to Ukraine on Sunday as it celebrates Independence Day at a time when there is little hope for peace despite intense diplomatic efforts. Trump sent a letter to Ukraine on the country’s 34th Independence Day – which marks the anniversary of declaring itself free of Soviet rule – praising its courage and saying the United States believes in its future as an independent state. -snip- In the letter, Trump wrote: “The people of Ukraine have an unbreakable spirit, and your county’s courage inspires many. As you mark...

U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Keith Kellogg visited Kyiv on August 24 to take part in the celebrations marking Ukraine’s Independence Day. Kellogg attended the ceremony on Sophia Square in central Kyiv, where President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered an address, Caliber.Az cites Ukrainian media. Alongside Kellogg, representatives and officials from other countries also joined the celebrations, including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Foreign guests also included the defence ministers of Sweden, Denmark, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, and Canada, as well as the UK’s Minister for Veterans’ Affairs. Ukraine celebrates its Independence Day on August 24, marking the anniversary of the 1991 declaration...

On the anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Polish President Karol Nawrocki drew parallels between past and present-day aggression in a message posted on social media. In his statement, he referred to “unresolved injustices” and “sick dreams of an empire.” “Eighty-six years ago, Stalin and Hitler signed the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact—an agreement that paved the way for World War II and claimed the lives of millions around the world. Poland was the first victim of German, and later Soviet, aggression,” Nawrocki wrote on Saturday, August 23rd. He continued: “Germany has still not paid its historical debts, while imperialist sentiments have reawakened in...

Two years ago today, a small plane exploded in mid-air over Russia and killed all 10 people on board, including the infamous Yevgeny Prigozhin. The 62-year-old billionaire was the head of a mercenary gang called the Wagner Group. His abrupt end, however, came just two months after his bold - some would say barmy - decision to march his team towards the Moscow in an act of utter defiance against Mad Vlad's authority. Formerly an ally of the Russian dictator, he went from being Putin's chef to public enemy number one of the Kremlin. Below we take a look at...