Free Republic

'There's only one Republican that I know I can count on for sure doing the right thing,' Rep Crockett says in a new video Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, launched another tirade against President Donald Trump over the weekend, while offering rare praise for one of her House GOP colleagues who is currently at odds with the commander in chief. The Democratic firebrand took to Instagram Live late Saturday to criticize Trump's strikes on Iran, while giving a "shout out" to Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., over his bipartisan resolution to rein in the president's ability to conduct such operations. "So long...

Minutes before heading to the Situation Room for a strategy session on Iran, President Trump told Axios he believes Israel's massive strike likely improved the chances of a U.S.-Iran nuclear agreement. -snip- Israel just killed much of Iran's military leadership, targeted its top nuclear scientists for assassination, and is actively bombing the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities and ballistic missile sites. -snip- Asked whether Israel's strike jeopardized his nuclear diplomacy, Trump told Axios: "I don't think so. Maybe the opposite. Maybe now they will negotiate seriously." "I gave Iran 60 days, today is day 61," Trump continued. "They should have made...

A Biden administration official recently told members of Congress that Ukraine has the military capability to retake Crimea, but some officials are concerned any large-scale offensive that threatens Russia’s hold on the peninsula could push Vladimir Putin to use nuclear weapons, say two U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The late November Ukraine briefing to some members of Congress included discussion of the reasons Ukraine will continue to need U.S. weapons and equipment for the foreseeable future. The two officials said a Biden official, when asked during the briefing about continued support for the Ukrainian military and whether it would...

This year, the capital’s main Christmas tree will be an artificial one, measuring 12 meters tall. It will be decorated with energy-saving garlands that will be powered from a generator, though they will only be lit at specific intervals. Charging stations for electronics are also planned to be installed around the tree.The top of the tree will be crowned with the coat of arms of Ukraine.The generator was also provided by benefactor, leading Klitschko to claim that money is not being spent from the municipal fund on the tree. He also stated that there will be no mass entertainment events,...

Basic services were being restored in Ukraine's capital Kyiv on Saturday after the latest wave of Russian air strikes on critical infrastructure, as residents navigated a city gripped by fog and girded for a holiday season marked by uncertainty. Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a quarter of Kyiv remained without heating but that the metro system was back in service and all residents had been reconnected to water supply by early morning. Only around one-third of the city remained without electricity, he said, but emergency outages would still be implemented to save power. "Because the deficit of electricity is significant," he...

President Vladimir Putin has sought proposals from his armed forces commanders on how they think Russia's military campaign in Ukraine should proceed, during a visit to the operation's headquarters, the Kremlin said on Saturday. A series of defeats in 10 months of fighting, resulting in Russian withdrawals from areas around the capital Kyiv and Ukraine's second city Kharkiv and most recently from the city of Kherson, have forced Putin to call up reservists and generated rare public criticism from military bloggers and some allies. -snip- In video footage released by the Kremlin on Saturday, Putin presided at a meeting of...

A former Russian commander and prominent military blogger has given another scathing assessment of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in which he described how Vladimir Putin's troops had already been dealt a "strategic defeat" by Ukraine. Igor Girkin, also known as Igor Strelkov, is an army veteran and former intelligence officer who played a key role in Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the conflict in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. He is among a number of milbloggers who give candid accounts of Russia's war effort that are far removed from the picture portrayed by Kremlin-backed television channels. On his Telegram...

Alexander: I think the most important news is in fact this interview in the Economist. Three people involved; Zelensky himself; he gave his own version of the events which is exactly the same as he always gives...and then the two military leaders, Zaluzhny, the overall military commander and Syrskyi who is the commander of the Ukrainian army. You read these things and it all looks like on that one hand on the surface that they have had a triumphant autumn. They have won a whole load of victories. They've regained territory, but it doesn't take much reading below the surface...

A particularly good discussion focusing heavily on Zaluzhny's shocking Economist interview. Ritter shares The Duran analysts views (as does Judge Napolitano) that I already posted a few hours ago though goes into it more thoroughly. He thinks that Zelensky is history and that General Zaluzhny will be the one negotiating the terminal settlement (and hopes to be the next Ukrainian president.) One of the most interesting points is why this interview was set up. Clearly Britain and the U.S. wanted these disclosures made at this time. Ritter believes it is because they want this settled before Russia can take Odessa...