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Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita stepped down from her position on Friday citing a lack of support in the former Soviet Republic. The pro-Western government had been in power for just 18 months, during a period dominated by the Russian invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Moldova's President Maia Sandu accepted Gavrilita's resignation and said she would talk with parliamentary groups about a possible replacement. "Thank you so much for your enormous sacrifice and efforts to lead the country in a time of so many crises," Sandu wrote on Facebook. According to Moldovan and Romanian media, Sandu nominated Dorin Recean, her pro-Western...

Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita resigned along with her pro-European Union government Friday following intense Russian economic and political pressure. Moldova President Maia Sandu said in a Facebook post she will consult with parliamentary factions about a new government and will nominate a candidate to replace Gavrilita as Prime Minister.

RUSSIA has hundreds of thousands of soldiers, thousands of tanks, and hundreds of warplanes preparing for a new assault, Ukraine has warned. Vladimir Putin is believed to be preparing for a massive new offensive in the coming weeks to coincide with the first anniversary of the war in February 24. Ukraine has been monitoring the military build up as they continue to plea for Western support - including during Volodymyr Zelensky's visit yesterday to London. Zelensky hailed the UK for its support - but warned it may not be enough, and called for modern fighter planes. The new assault is...

Ukraine is set to replace Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov amid a series of corruption scandals, and ahead of an expected Russian offensive, according to a top Ukrainian lawmaker. “War dictates personnel policy. Time and circumstances call for strengthening and regrouping. This is happening now and will continue to happen in the future,” wrote the Ukrainian Parliament’s majority leader David Arakhamia on Telegram.

MOSCOW—Close to 200,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded in the war in Ukraine, according to estimates from U.S. and European officials, a toll that is likely to continue to rise as the Kremlin readies a fresh offensive in the coming weeks. The U.S. military, which keeps rough estimates on Russian casualties in Ukraine, puts the figure for wounded and dead at roughly 180,000, though officials stressed such figures aren’t precise, a U.S. defense official said. The tally matched assessments by Norway’s defense chief Gen. Eirik Kristoffersen, who said last week that the number of Russian soldiers killed or...

Ukrainian forces are unlikely to be able to recapture Crimea from Russian troops in the near future, four senior Defense Department officials told House Armed Services Committee lawmakers in a classified briefing. The assessment is sure to frustrate leaders in Kyiv who consider taking the peninsula back one of their signature goals. It’s unclear what led the briefers to that assessment. But the clear indication, as relayed by three people with direct knowledge of Thursday’s briefing’s contents, was that the Pentagon doesn’t believe Ukraine has — or soon will have — the ability to force Russian troops out of the...

As a follow up to our previous item asking questions about our grand strategy toward Russia, Iran, and the Ukranian war (such as whether the Biden Administration has a grand strategy at all), this item from today’s Wall Street Journal jumps out:Yet the largest ground war in Europe since World War II isn’t translating into boom times for U.S. defense contractors. Hobbled by supply chain disruptions, a tight labor market and a Pentagon procurement process that can take years, arms makers have been struggling to respond to the soaring demand. . .When the Pentagon ordered new Stinger antiaircraft missiles—widely used...

WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The United States is readying more than $2 billion worth of military aid for Ukraine that is expected to include longer-range rockets for the first time as well as other munitions and weapons, two U.S. officials briefed on the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.The weapons aid is expected to be announced as soon as this week, the officials said. It is also expected to include support equipment for Patriot air defense systems, precision guided munitions and Javelin anti-tank weapons, they added.One of the officials said a portion of the package, expected to be $1.725 billion,...

Footage from a fierce ongoing battle around Vuhledar, southwest of Donetsk, shows Russian soldiers retreating after their five vehicles were hit by Ukrainian artillery. The Russian troops were forced to run away and leave their wounded crawling behind them after being struck by airburst ammunition. -snip- Russia is said to be planning a 'new pre-emptive strike' in Ukraine according to satellite photos which show Putin's forces building up fortifications. The new offensive will reportedly take place ahead of the first anniversary of their invasion on February 24.

During a monologue on his radio show Polny Kontakt (Full Contact), which gradually grew in volume as it went along, Solovyov raged...He said that he had previously warned that Adolf Hitler would be "rehabilitated"..."Berlin, Paris, Madrid, London, Washington should be on fire," he said..."Did we destroy a single base on NATO territory? No. Did we conduct strikes against the vile Polish dogs?...Then why the heck do we have a stockpile of tactical and strategic nuclear weapons? To be afraid to use it?"

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected the prospect of peace talks with Vladimir Putin while dismissing his Russian counterpart Thursday as a “nobody.” Zelensky used an interview with Britain’s Sky News to declare Putin “doesn’t want negotiations because he doesn’t want peace.” The Ukrainian leader said he was “convinced” Ukraine was “just the first step” for Putin, who has his eye on “other countries” as he seeks Eastern European domination.

Ukraine's forces have said they launched a strike on a base and field hospital where Russian troops were being housed with Ukrainian sources saying on Twitter that more than 100 people had been left under the debris. On Sunday, the Ukrainian military's Strategic Communications Directorate (AFU Stratcom) reported that its forces had launched a strike on the building of the hospital of a former-machine building plant in the Russian-occupied town of Kadiivka, around 30 miles south of Lysychansk. AFU Stratcom said the former hospital had been housing Russian soldiers, particularly those linked to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who has criticized...

The dramatic fight for Soledar, part of the Battle of Bakhmut, is over — although Ukraine's leadership is still reluctant to acknowledge the loss.As a result of a localized offensive operation in January, Russian forces managed to gnaw through Ukrainian defenses and, after fierce urban fighting, seize what's left of the industrial town of 10,000.Although fighting in the area continues, The Kyiv Independent sources, as well as international monitors, all fully agree Ukraine doesn’t control the town.It's the first noticeable Russian success since their forces captured Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk after fierce fighting in June and July.

The Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee sought Sunday to tamp down speculation that the new GOP majority will be less likely to fund aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia, though he did suggest some members of his party may need to be convinced about the need to continue US support. “I think there’s enough support on both sides of the aisle. Majority in the Democratic Party, majority in the Republican,” Texas Rep. Michael McCaul told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union,” referring to aid to Ukraine. But he added, “We have to educate...

he U.S. and allied countries around the world are sending armored vehicles, advanced air defenses and billions of dollars in other weapons to Ukraine in hopes of quickly bolstering its forces ahead of a potential Russian offensive later this year. The latest tranche of American aid was unveiled Thursday, including a brigade's worth of armored Stryker vehicles, and was valued at $2.5 billion -- following a $3 billion package with Bradley Fighting Vehicles on Jan. 6. Defense leaders from about 50 countries huddled at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday to discuss the aid and the path forward."Russia is...

Senior U.S. officials are advising Ukraine to hold off on launching a major offensive against Russian forces until the latest supply of U.S. weaponry is in place and training has been provided, a senior Biden administration official said on Friday. The official, speaking to a small group of reporters on condition of anonymity, said the United States was holding fast to its decision not to provide Abrams tanks to Ukraine at this time, amid a controversy with Germany over tanks. U.S. talks with Ukraine about any counter-offensive have been in the context of ensuring the Ukrainians devote enough time first...

former U.S. military official has outlined a road map for Ukraine to pursue efforts to "lease out" a mercenary air force from the U.S. government as the country struggles to maintain air superiority in its war with Russia.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is providing $125 million for electrical parts and other supplies to help repair crews in Ukraine keep up with Russian strikes pounding the country’s electrical system, the U.S. international development aid chief said Wednesday.The U.S. Agency for International Development plans to use the money to procure backup power for Kyiv’s water and district-heating systems. The funding also will help replenish supplies of gas turbines, transformers and other vital power equipment.