Free Republic

President Joe Biden visited Kyiv on Monday for the first time since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost a year ago, demonstrating in dramatic personal fashion his commitment to the country and its struggle as the war enters an uncertain new phase. While in Kyiv, Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as well as first lady Olena Zelenska at the Ukrainian presidential palace. Biden’s visit comes at a critical moment in the 12-month conflict, with Russia preparing for an expected spring offensive and Ukraine hoping to soon retake territory. The United States and other western nations have...

A Twitter pal compared this to FDR visiting American soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge. Jonathan Last calls it literally Churchillian, since Churchill also made a point of visiting the front repeatedly to remind his men that their leaders hadn’t forgotten them or their sacrifice.That’s important at this stage of the war, now that Kiev and Kharkiv have been liberated while Ukrainian troops in the Donbas are going through hell. Eighty percent of the country, including the capital, is facing nothing more than occasional airstrikes. Businesses are open, embassies are operating, life has regained a semblance of normalcy. The...

ARLINGTON, VA -- Today, U.S. Senator John McCain issued the following statement on National POW/MIA Recognition Day: "Today, we mark National POW/MIA Recognition Day, and I salute my comrades who served their country in unusual circumstances, and remember those who never returned. "During my time in Hanoi, I was witness to a thousand acts of kindness, courage, and love by some of the finest Americans I've ever had the privilege to know. They, like thousands of others before and since, served our nation proudly and with honor. They would all agree, though, that the real heroes are those who never...

A Waterloo man and his dog made a harrowing escape from the clutches of a vicious black bear Thursday while portaging near Wawa, Ont. Tom Tilley, 55, killed the nearly 200-pound bear by jumping on its back and stabbing the aggressive animal with a six-inch hunting knife after his dog alerted him and distracted the bear. "Love is a very powerful emotion and my thought right away was, 'You're not going to kill my dog,' " Tilley said yesterday. "I really consider my dog a hero. Without that first warning I would have had the bear clamping down on my...