Free Republic

A little over a year ago, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Putin’s former cook and the founder of the notorious Wagner private military company, launched a coup attempt that fizzled quickly. But, significantly, the Russian military and security services did nothing to stop it. They just watched — hardly a sign of their loyalty to Putin. A few days ago, Georgy Zakrevsky, another head of a private military company, effectively called on Russians to get rid of the “Great” Putin (his modifier, not mine). When the guys with the guns start making fun of your greatness, it may be time to read the...

Considering how pessimistic Western analysts and policymakers have recently become about Ukraine’s chances in Russia’s imperialist war, Ukrainians should be even gloomier. They’re the ones doing the fighting and the dying. Russian missiles are destroying their country. Their people are the targets of the Kremlin’s genocidal urges. In fact, Ukrainians remain bullish about their country’s future. To be sure, not quite as bullish as a year ago, but bullish nonetheless.