Free Republic

On the cusp of Vladimir Putin’s act of naked aggression against the sovereign country of Ukraine, the most important Republican in the country praised the Russian autocrat for his “genius.” Former President Donald Trump’s comments were another instance of his shockingly favorable and morally bankrupt statements about Vladimir Putin over the years. Asked in a radio interview what had gone wrong that Putin recognized the independence of two Ukrainian breakaway regions on President Biden’s watch, Trump couldn’t muster one remotely appropriate sentiment. He immediately cited “the rigged election” of 2020, an obsession of his that is so all-consuming, it makes...

Video has emerged of Donald Trump again praising Vladimir Putin—just as the Russian president was launching his invasion of Ukraine. The clip, obtained by the Democratic super PAC American Bridge 21st Century, shows Trump calling Putin "very smart" for the steps he had taken in the days before the large-scale military attack on Russia's neighbor. The footage was filmed during a fundraiser at the former president's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, which took place on Wednesday evening. At the event, Trump defended his previous praise of Putin for recognizing two self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine and sending Russian troops to the...

Senior official says Russian peacekeepers will continue to occupy Georgia even after main bulk of army has left. A senior Russian government spokesman today said the withdrawal of the country's forces from Georgia would take "a couple of weeks" and they would leave in their own time. While the Russian army was reducing its presence in some towns it has occupied, it was continuing to take new territory and still held positions as near as 30 miles to the capital. "They [the Georgians] are perverting the agreement," he said. "The agreement doesn't indicate a specific time for withdrawal. There has...

Russia cemented gains made in its war with Georgia today when a peace deal, signed by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, allowed Russian peacekeepers to remain in the separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and temporarily patrol outside the area.