Free Republic

We welcome President Trump’s work to stop the killing in Ukraine, end the Russian Federation’s war of aggression, and achieve just and lasting peace and security for Ukraine. We are convinced that only an approach that combines active diplomacy, support to Ukraine and pressure on the Russian Federation to end their illegal war can succeed. We stand ready to support this work diplomatically as well as by upholding our substantive military and financial support to Ukraine, including through the work of the Coalition of the Willing, and by upholding and imposing restrictive measures against the Russian Federation. We share the...

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is once again rejecting any consideration for President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss terms for a ceasefire without his involvement.On a Twitter storm Saturday, Zelenskyy rejected the thought of giving any Ukranian territory to Russia in exchange for peace. “The answer to the Ukrainian territorial question already is in the Constitution of Ukraine. No one will deviate from this—and no one will be able to. Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier,” Zelenskyy said.President Trump announced that he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15, in Alaska.Zelenskyy...

In the last few minutes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has given his first reaction to the announcement of a Trump-Putin meeting next week, saying Ukraine "will not give their land to occupiers". In a statement on the messaging app Telegram, Zelensky says any solutions without Ukraine will be "solutions against peace". This comes after US President Donald Trump announced a few hours ago that he will be meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday 15 August to discuss the war in Ukraine. Trump signalled that Ukraine may have to cede territory in a peace deal with Russia, telling...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Saturday the planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning that any peace deal excluding Kyiv would lead to “dead solutions.”The Trump-Putin meeting, scheduled for Friday in Alaska, is seen as a potential breakthrough in the more than three-year war.Trump had previously agreed to meet with Putin even if the Russian leader would not meet with Zelenskyy, stoking fears Ukraine could be sidelined in efforts to stop the continent’s biggest conflict since World War II.In a statement posted to Telegram, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s territorial integrity, enshrined...

0:00 - Video update from Limassol, Cyprus 0:45 - Confirmation of Trump-Putin summit 2:02 - Discussion on who initiated the summit process 4:53 - Speculation on potential deal terms between Trump and Putin 7:09 - Discussion on the possibility of a trilateral meeting with Zelensky 8:44 - Analysis of potential outcomes from the Trump-Putin meeting 10:28 - Trump's strategy regarding sanctions and military support for Ukraine 12:10 - Update on the U.S.-Russia relations and Trump’s approach to BRICS 19:00 - Trump's tariffs on BRICS countries 23:12 - BRICS response to U.S. tariffs and unity among members 28:19 - Lindsey Graham's...

US Trump talking to Ukraine's Zelenskyy hours after Putin-Witkoff meeting Both Axios and Reuters are reporting that US president Donald Trump is now speaking with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday confirmed he discussed a trilateral meeting to include Russian President Vladimir Putin, potentially as soon as next week, in a call with President Donald Trump one day prior. Zelenskyy – who echoed comments issued by Trump on Wednesday and said the discussion was also held with European leaders – called on Putin to "be brave" and take the meeting. "Yesterday, various potential formats for leader-level meetings to bring peace were also discussed – two bilateral and one trilateral," he said in a post on X. "Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and expects the...

The Kremlin is reportedly set to offer concessions on the Ukraine war to U.S. President Donald Trump to avoid imminent sanctions on the country. Bloomberg detailed on Tuesday that one such proposal could include an air truce. Quoting Russian officials, it added that U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Russia this week presents a chance to reach an agreement. The official is expected to go to the country as soon as Wednesday and could potentially meet with Putin. -snip- Bloomberg noted that despite Putin's willingness to continue fighting, two-thirds of Russians favor ending the war at the current positions. A...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that he had had a "productive" conversation with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on ending the war, sanctions on Russia and the finalisation of a U.S.-Ukraine drone deal. Trump, who has signalled frustration with Vladimir Putin in recent weeks, has given the Russian president until August 8 to make peace in Ukraine or face tougher sanctions. "President Trump is fully informed about Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities and communities," Zelenskiy wrote on X, referring to intensifying drone and missile attacks. Trump has threatened to hit Russia with new sanctions and impose...

Even after the Ukraine war ends, Russia will continue to pose a threat to its neighbours unless the world works to “change the Regime” in Moscow, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday morning. Russia’s leadership is mentally “stuck in another era” and rejects the “post World War Two” world order, warned President Zelensky as he called for regime change against Moscow to remove the threat permanently. Addressing an Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) conference remotely by a video link plagued with technical difficulties, when he could be heard the Ukrainian leader decried fresh overnight airstrikes by...

The National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine has long been a battleground in Ukrainian politics, where graft is rifeKYIV, Ukraine—Youthful protesters at the biggest demonstration here since Russia’s 2022 invasion were championing a cause that, at first glance, seemed unusual in a country known for its revolutions: the power of a law-enforcement agency.In a country that has spent more than three decades of its independence fighting the dual scourges of Russian aggression and crippling corruption, the establishment of the agency under U.S. pressure in 2015 was seen as a watershed that could boost Ukraine’s economy and accelerate its integration with the...

Ukrainian forces are holding back Russia’s concerted summer push to break through defenses along parts of the front line, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says. “They are not advancing. It’s very tough for our guys out there. And it’s tough everywhere,” Zelenskyy told reporters on Thursday, in comments embargoed till Friday. “It’s also very hard for the Russians — and that’s good for us.” With the war now in its fourth year after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of its neighbor, the effort is draining resources on both sides, although Russia has more resources and people to sustain its fight. Ukraine is...

Activists on Wednesday called for more protests of a new law that they say weakens Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs, following the first major anti-government demonstration in over three years of war. The legislation, which has also drawn rebukes from European Union officials and international rights groups, has put increased pressure on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and endangered his public support at a critical phase of the war. Also on Wednesday, delegations from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul for a third round of talks in as many months. The talks appeared to have lasted less than an hour and yielded no breakthroughs....

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday submitted a new bill that would restore the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies in an effort to defuse tensions following his approval earlier this week of a controversial law that weakened their autonomy. The previous bill was seen as undermining the agencies’ independence and sparked a public outcry and protests, the first major demonstrations since the war began, as well as sharp criticism from the European Union. Zelenskyy said parliament would review the new bill, which “guarantees real strengthening of Ukraine’s law enforcement system, the independence of anti-corruption bodies, and reliable protection of the legal...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is facing the first major protest across Ukraine since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war — over Zelensky’s suspicious push to dismantle anti-corruption watchdog agencies. Large crowds of protesters gathered in Kyiv on Thursday, along with the city of Lviv and smaller groups in Dnipro and Odesa, to protest a recently passed bill. On Tuesday, Zelenskyy enacted a contentious piece of legislation, recently approved by parliament, which places the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and its counterpart, the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), under the direct authority of the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO). The anti-corruption watchdog agencies...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday urged national unity as demonstrators took to the streets of more than a dozen cities nationwide to protest a controversial bill that critics said will neuter two key anti-corruption agencies. Ukrainian media estimated that thousands of people gathered near the presidential office in the capital Kyiv on Wednesday evening, despite a nightly curfew and the ever-present threat of Russian drone and missile strikes. Those gathered were protesting a controversial law approved by parliament and signed by Zelenskyy on Tuesday. The bill will bring the Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and its partner organization, the Specialised Anti-Corruption...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to introduce new legislation that will restore the independence of anti-corruption agencies in Ukraine after fierce public opposition and international condemnation over signing a law that targeted Ukraine’s independent anti-corruption institutions. In a sudden turn of events, Zelenskyy posted a video on X in which he said, "Of course, everyone has heard what people are saying these days – on social media, to each other, on the streets. It's not falling on deaf ears. We analyzed all concerns, all aspects of what needs to be changed and what needs to be stepped up. "I...

The ‘defender of democracy’ is now openly challenged by his own citizens. Many were caught by surprise by yesterday’s protests in Kiev, Lvov, Odessa, and other parts of Ukraine – after all, these are the absolute first since the war began three and a half years ago. But here at TGP we have been closely following the escalating tensions inside the war-torn country. Four days ago (19), we reported that Amid Collapsing Morale, Ukrainians ‘Lost Faith’ in Zelensky, With 70% Convinced That Kiev Regime Leaders Are Using the War to Enrich Themselves: REPORT. The following day (20), there was this...

Last week, we warned of a coming anti-democratic backslide. Now, we see it happening. A parliamentary vote, led by President Volodymyr Zelensky’s lawmakers, today took away the independence of Ukraine’s key anti-corruption bodies — the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). Zelensky signed it into law the same day. Under the new law, the prosecutor general, a notoriously non-independent figure, will now oversee anti-corruption investigations — in a complete overturn of the system that was set up to be independent from other law enforcement bodies. In reality, it means that Zelensky’s office will be able to...

Thousands of people gathered in the streets of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday night to protest moves by President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government to weaken anticorruption institutions, in the country’s first major antigovernment demonstration in 3½ years of war. The protest outside the president’s office in central Kyiv, including civilians and soldiers, was the most significant fracture so far in the national unity that has helped Ukraine survive a grueling and bloody fight against a Russian invasion. The government did not immediately make a statement on the gathering. “My husband is in the trenches and this is not what they are fighting...