Free Republic

A large part of Russia's mauled Black Sea Fleet was seen leaving the port of Novorossiysk this week, with satellite images suggesting the berths of the southern Russian port had been largely emptied despite the ever-present threat posed by Ukrainian maritime drones and missiles. The intentions of the vessels departing Novorossiysk—further from Ukrainian-controlled territory and considered safer than the Crimean ports repeatedly bombarded by Kyiv's forces—remain unclear. -snip- The Black Sea Fleet has been forced to largely abandon its traditional bases of choice on the occupied Crimean Peninsula because of numerous—and ever more sophisticated—Ukrainian long-range attacks. Despite having no conventional...

A grizzly that accidentally inflicted itself with a burst of pepper spray while attacking a hiker in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park won't be captured or killed because it may have been trying to protect a cub. ...the grizzly bit into the man's can of bear repellent and was hit with a burst of it, causing the animal to flee. The 35-year-old Massachusetts man, who'd pretended to be dead while he was being bitten, made it to safety and spent Sunday night in the hospital. There was no word when Signal Mountain or a road and trail to its 7,700-foot...

NATO is flirting with war and extinction. France is now “officially” sending troops to Ukraine (they have been there for some time) and NATO countries are demanding strikes deep inside Russia. Meanwhile, the US has secretly made a “policy shift” that somewhat falls short of what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wanted but opens the door to deep strikes by the US on Russian territory.

Vladimir Putin is furious after Ukraine's military staged a dramatic fightback and seized back control over most of a town that Russia thought they had captured in Kharkiv. Russia launched a surprise counteroffensive in Kharkiv earlier this month and many military sources within the Russian army had boasted that they had captured the pivotal town of Vovchansk. However, Ukraine's Defence Forces have now confirmed that Kyiv has regained control of 70 percent of the town, amid fierce ongoing street battles. Ukraine's Lieutenant Colonel Nazar Voloshyn said that Ukrainian counterattacks, along with effective artillery and drone strikes, were thwarting Russia's efforts...

Estonia considers itself a front-line state, a Nato member where its border guards stare across the Narva River at the Russian fortress of Ivangorod. This tiny Baltic state, once a part of the Soviet Union, is convinced that once the fighting stops in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin will turn his attention to the Baltics, looking to bring countries like Estonia back under Moscow’s control. To help stave off that possibility, Estonia’s government has poured money and weapons into Ukraine’s war effort, donating more than 1% of its GDP to Kyiv. "If every Nato country did this," says Estonia’s steely Prime...

Ukraine has launched another stunning strike against Putin's army on the peninsula, inflicting crippling damage to the Kremlin's war machine. Vladimir Putin suffered a major setback after Ukraine launched more devastating attacks in the Crimea region. Ukraine has intensified its attacks on the peninsula and its immediate surrounding regions in the last few days. On Thursday, Ukrainian maritime drones destroyed seven Russian ships in a daring and spectacular attack. Kyiv's army bosses have now followed that up with another stunning strike that inflicted crippling damage on Putin's war machine in the region. Overnight, Ukraine fired US-supplied ATACM missiles at the...

Ukraine destroyed seven boats in a devastating attack on Russia's Black Sea navy in the Crimea. Ukraine launched a spectacular and devastating attack on Russia's Black Sea Fleet, inflicting major damage on Putin's navy. The Black Sea Fleet is stationed in Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Throughout the current war, Ukraine has managed to sink a number of vessels from the fleet including the Moskva flagship missile cruiser. Through a combination of missiles and drones, Kyiv's army has succeeded in nullifying the threat from Putin's navy in the Black Sea, regularly inflicting huge humiliations on the...

US President Joe Biden has given Ukraine permission to use American-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia, but only near the Kharkiv region, US officials say. One told BBC News his team had been directed to ensure Ukraine was able to use US weapons for "counter-fire purposes" to "hit back at Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them". Russian forces have made gains in the Kharkiv region in recent weeks after a surprise offensive in the area, close to the border with Russia. On Friday, Ukrainian officials said three people had been killed and 16 injured in Russian...

The Biden administration has greenlit the use of American long-range strike systems by Ukraine to launch attacks deep into Russia. This puts the entire planet in a “shockingly” dangerous situation, says former DoD analyst and US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski. President Biden has knowingly or unwittingly brought the risk of a world-ending nuclear conflict much, much closer after listening to “neoconservative advisors who really don’t have a lot of perspective on the nuclear dangers that they’re walking into” instead of military specialists and okaying Ukraine’s use of NATO weapons to strike the Russian hinterland, Kwiatkowski told Sputnik. “The...

Poland's foreign minister said the US had told Russia that it would strike Russian targets in Ukraine if Putin were to use nuclear weapons.In an interview with the Guardian, Radosław Sikorski seemed doubtful of Russia's threats about using nuclear weapons, saying: "The Americans have told the Russians that if you explode a nuke, even if it doesn't kill anybody, we will hit all your targets [positions] in Ukraine with conventional weapons, we'll destroy all of them.""I think that's a credible threat," he said. "Also, the Chinese and the Indians have read Russia the riot act. And it's no child's play...

The Pope took a couple of days off to visit the mountains of Alaska for some sight-seeing. He was cruising along the campground in the Pope mobile when there was a frantic commotion just at the edge of the woods. A helpless Democrat, wearing sandals, shorts, a "Save the Whales" hat, and a "Bush Lied - People Died" T-shirt, was screaming while struggling frantically, thrashing around trying to free himself from the grasp of a 10 foot grizzly. As the Pope watched, horrified, a group of Republican loggers came racing up. One quickly fired a .44 magnum into the bear's...

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