Free Republic

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy suggested Saturday that the United States' involvement in the war in Ukraine is "likely" tied to allegations that President Joe Biden's son received bribes from overseas energy firm Burisma. “The purpose of the U.S. military [is] to advance American interests, to protect the homeland. Not to aimlessly fight some random war that’s arguably a repayment for a private bribe that a family member of the United States received, $5 million from Burisma,” Ramaswamy said during a campaign event in front of around 60 Iowans in Council Bluffs. Ramaswamy said it's "likely" that Hunter Biden's former...

This is a great analysis of the US's global security stategy. It is not that much about Ukraine and it is well worth understanding. Watch Summary: We are not this invincible collasus bestriding the world. The US is not investing at home where we need to: energy and high end manufacturing and agriculture. It is absurd to be thinking about another war with China 6000 miles away when we are bogged down in Ukraine Lengthy analysis of the history of Ukraine and how we and NATO got involved. Includes all the sins of Stahlin and so forth but then NATO...

NATO Special Forces are already present in Ukraine, leaked Pentagon documents have revealed, raising the fear of direct clash between the Russian forces and the Western military bloc. There is no clarity regarding the exact role of the NATO forces in Ukraine, but Moscow has been repeatedly saying that the military bloc is directly involved in the conflict. ...

Planned concerts in Poland by Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters have been cancelled amid outrage over the musician's stance on the Ukraine war. The concert's promoter, Live Nation Poland, confirmed the cancellation but gave no reason for it. The controversy was triggered by an open letter Waters wrote to Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska. In it, he said, "extreme nationalists" in Ukraine "have set your country on the path to this disastrous war". He accused her husband, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, of failing to fulfil his election campaign promises to bring peace to the Donbas region and and made no...

Vladimir Putin today issued a chilling new threat to use nuclear weapons against the West, telling world leaders to back off Ukraine while warning: 'I'm not bluffing'. The desperate despot also ordered the mobilisation of 300,000 military reserves - a first in Russia since the Second World War - and gave the go-ahead for referendums to be held in occupied areas of Ukraine that would make them a part of Russia, in the Kremlin's eyes at least. He vowed to use 'all means' to defend the regions, saying: 'If the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will use...

Glenn Beck interviewed Sasha Stone, a former Biden supporter, who wrote a letter how he has lost her vote and that the Democrats need to lose to learn their lesson. Glenn Beck recently interviewed Sasha Stone who had "devoted [her] entire life" to the Democrat party, but now realizes the fascist far-left is much more a cult than the pro-freedom right. The 2020 election was even further proof, at least to me, that the Democrats had now become corrupt, that they had way too much power and wealth such that we might never have a free and fair election again....

President Biden is set to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York for the second time as president on Wednesday, when he will announce new U.S. investments to address global food insecurity, rebuke Russia over the war in Ukraine and tout his administration's foreign policy actions since he took office. The address comes as Mr. Biden seeks to rally global leaders to continue supporting the Ukrainian government with arms and financial aid, with the war now in its seventh month. Mr. Biden will emphasize the principle of the United Nations charter that countries cannot conquer their neighbors by...

The Ukrainian army’s counteroffensive around the city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine starting on Sept. 6 destroyed half of the best tank division in the best tank army in the Russian armed forces. A hundred wrecked or captured tanks in a hundred furious hours. That’s how much destruction the Ukrainians inflicted on the Russian 4th Guards Tank Division, part of the elite 1st Guards Tank Army, the Russian army’s best armor formation. Now the 1st GTA is retreating north in order to preserve what remains of its front-line divisions. But the damage the tank army has suffered could have lasting...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his forces have reclaimed 6,000 square kilometers of occupied territory from Russia since starting a major counteroffensive last month. Western media is presenting events near Kharkiv as an absolute rout of Russian forces, with other sources cautioning there’s little that can be verified, also amid the question of whether regained territory can actually be held and permanently controlled by Ukraine. Ukraine’s defense minister Oleksii Reznikov himself admitted in a Monday Financial Times report that a prime worry remains the ability to hold on to the territory amid superior Russian munitions and supplies. “A counter-offensive...

Foreign fighters who have joined Ukrainian forces battling Russia's invasion have been shocked by the brutality of the war and some say that disillusionment is creeping in. "They fought in Afghanistan or in Iraq and say they aren't ready" for what they face in Ukraine, says Polak, of his Western comrades who have signed up to fight. Polak -- whose nationality AFP is withholding to protect his anonymity -- estimates there are "perhaps several hundred" foreign fighters who have taken up arms for Kyiv since the invasion began. "Honestly, we have quite a few cowards" serving in the International Legion...

Ukrainian forces in Severodonetsk have been ordered to withdraw, according to the top regional official.The city is the focus of Russia's invasion as it tries to take control of large parts of eastern Ukraine."Remaining in positions that have been relentlessly shelled for months just doesn't make sense," Luhansk regional head Serhiy Haidai said.Russian forces have nearly encircled Severodonetsk in recent days, and are now targeting its twin city Lysychansk."They have received orders to retreat to new positions... and from there continue their operations," Mr Haidai told Ukrainian television on Friday morning.

Gazprom, the state-controlled Russian energy company, cut natural gas flows through the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany by around 60% last week. The German economy ministry said on Sunday that idle coal power plants are already being upgraded so they can soon start generating electricity again. It said emergency laws would allow Germany to boost the generation of electricity from coal. Germany said it intends to cut the use of natural gas so it can fill its storage tanks ahead of the winter, when demand rises. "The situation is serious," Habeck, who is also vice chancellor, said. "We are therefore...

The White House blamed food shortages across the country on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, accusing him of “weaponizing food.” “President Putin is, no kidding, weaponizing food,” said White House National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby on Tuesday. “Let’s just call it what it is, he’s weaponizing food.”

Dramatic footage shows the moment a Russian colonel crashes in his helicopter after being hit with a Ukrainian missile. Lt-Col Sergey Gundorov, 51, was struck near Volnovakha in the Donbas. The military helicopter flew on after being hit with a portable surface-to-air missile. His stricken Mi-35 touched the ground before cartwheeling over a narrow strip of woodland and crashing in a fireball in a field. Flames and black smoke are seen from the explosion. A second Russian helicopter is seen firing decoy flares and apparently escapes unscathed. Gundorov is the 55th known Russian colonel to be killed in Vladimir Putin's...

Beacon of democracy’ cracks down on dissent.. Ukrainian authorities have banned the country’s main opposition party and seized all its assets, once again undermining the narrative that President Zelensky is presiding over a beacon of democracy. The country’s Ministry of Justice announced the move via Facebook, revealing that the Opposition Platform — For Life had been shut down and its assets, money and property transferred to the state. The party had previously had its operations suspended in March after it was accused of being complicit with Russia and being “anti-Ukrainian.” The ban means that Zelensky’s main political opposition has been...

A document released by a news outlet on Tuesday reportedly shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered that his government destroy all the documents related to the nation’s biolabs being run in collaboration with the Hunter Biden-connected firm Metabiota. NBC may have actually caught this destruction on camera. ...

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced another $1 billion in military aid for Ukraine on Wednesday, following the third meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a group of about 50 nations supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia. “I’m especially pleased to be able to announce today that the United States will provide an additional $1 billion security assistance package for Ukraine,” Austin said at a press conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, where the members of the group met.

The Biden administration announced on Wednesday it was providing an additional $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine to fight Russia, a package that includes shipments of additional howitzers, ammunition and coastal defense systems. The latest weapons package comes as Ukraine's military is burning through its Soviet-era ammunition, while Ukrainian officials have pleaded with the West to send additional heavy weaponry as the war with Russia girds on. Western intelligence and military officials believe the war is at a critical stage that could determine the long-term outcome of the conflict, while Russia has amassed a significant artillery advantage around two...

The euphoria that accompanied Ukraine’s unforeseen early victories against bumbling Russian troops is fading as Moscow adapts its tactics, recovers its stride and asserts its overwhelming firepower against heavily outgunned Ukrainian forces. Around 200 Ukrainian soldiers are now being killed every day, up from 100 late last month, an aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky told the BBC on Friday — meaning that as many as 1,000 Ukrainians are being taken out of the fight every day, including those who are injured. But the odds against the Ukrainians are starting to look overwhelming, said Danylyuk, the government adviser. “The Russians are...

When Vladimir Putin unleashed an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the Ukrainian media, public and policymakers almost unanimously began calling the Russian president and the state he leads “rashyst.” The term is a hybrid of a derogatory moniker for Russia – “rasha” – and “fascist.” Ukrainians did so for two reasons. First, they were countering Putin’s absurd insistence that the Ukrainian authorities – including Ukraine’s Jewish president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy – were Nazis and that Ukraine needed to be “de-Nazified.” Since Ukraine’s tiny number of right-wing extremists are about as influential as the Proud Boys in the United...