Free Republic

Russia’s defense minister on Wednesday boasted about the country’s military prowess on the battlefield in Ukraine—and then shrugged when asked if Moscow would win. “The troops are engaged in maintaining an active defense in the necessary and indispensable areas. We are firmly defending what we need to defend right now. But the main task is to smash [Ukrainian] equipment,” Sergei Shoigu told a reporter on state-controlled TV. He appeared caught off guard when the reporter concluded the interview with the question, “Will we win?” Staring off into the distance for a long pause, Shoigu shrugged before saying simply, “We have...

Next to the dictionary definition of “poetic justice” should be a picture of Megan Rapinoe’s humiliated little face after whiffing a penalty kick that helped seal the fate of the U.S. women’s soccer team.In a shootout that ended the game 5-4, Sweden defeated the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT), sending them packing from the World Cup. Of course, the blue-and-yellow-clad fans and players were ecstatic. But the next most excited observers were actually Americans — specifically the ones who, you know, like America.Rapinoe’s fan club — which includes corporate media, LGBT advocates, and the stans in the White House, among...

Some Democrat leaders have acknowledged some of the losses in the debt ceiling negotiations and have urged their fellow members to vote “yes” anyway. According to Congressional reporter Max Cohen, former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has been urging his colleagues to vote “yes” despite some of their misgivings.

Russia’s scaled-down Victory Day military parade showed not only Moscow’s insecurities over possible Ukrainian attacks but also highlighted the country’s depleted military resources due to the conflict, political analysts said. May 9 is a public holiday in Russia when it commemorates the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. It is arguably the most important day in Russia’s public calendar and history, forming a central part of the country’s modern national identity. This year’s military parade through Red Square in Moscow and celebrations around the country were noticeably smaller than in previous years or entirely canceled, with...

Russian troops 'ran as fast as they could' as they fled their positions on the frontline in Ukraine, the head of the Wagner mercenary group has claimed in his latest rant targeting the Kremlin's military chiefs. Yevgeny Prigozhin - until now a close ally of Vladimir Putin - savaged the tactics of Russia's war commanders and compared Moscow's forces with a fish that was rotting from the head. And he even threatened to ignore Moscow's warning that he and his men would face treason charges if they abandoned their frontline positions - blaming Russia's defence ministry for failing to supply...

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who is mulling a potential bid for the White House, said on Sunday that GOP contenders will need to “go through” former President Trump if they want to be the Republican nominee in 2024. “There’s one lane. And that one lane, Donald Trump’s at the head of. So, if you want to be the nominee, you got to go through Donald Trump. I don’t think there’s any other way to do it,” Christie said on ABC’s “This Week.”

The Kremlin has issued a list of guidelines for Russia’s state media outlets on how to cover Ukraine's impending counteroffensive, the independent news outlet Meduza revealed on Tuesday. The guidelines, which recommended emphasizing the fact that Ukraine is being armed by NATO while discouraging any suggestion that Kyiv is underprepared, appear aimed at giving Moscow the chance to spin any outcome of the expected counter-attack positively. "If Ukraine, with the help of weapons from the U.S. and Europe, is successful and occupies some territories, the [Russian] loss will be understandable: the entire West has concentrated huge efforts on the front,...

"If we lose Ukraine, we will lose peace for decades. The defeat of Ukraine could be the beginning of the end of the "golden age" of the West."

Traditional countries dealt a decisive and unexpected blow to the Western sexual agenda at an annual population conference at the United Nations yesterday.

A defiant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky marked the somber anniversary of the Russian invasion by vowing to bring his country to victory as battles raged on in the east with no end in sight to the conflict. At a solemn ceremony on St. Sophia Square in Kyiv, a visibly emotional Zelensky handed out medals to soldiers and families of those killed and held back tears when a military band played the national anthem under Ukraine’s yellow-and-blue national flag fluttering in the wind. “We have become one family. There are no more strangers among us. Ukrainians today are all fellows. Ukrainians...

Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) on Monday warned Granite Staters she could be defeated in New Hampshire’s Senate battleground race after losing momentum to Republican Gen. Don Bolduc. Speaking at a campaign event in Derry, New Hampshire, Hassan told supporters Gen. Bolduc has a real chance of defeating her because “this has always been a close race.

Asked about the potential impact of Europe's unfolding cost of living and energy crises on support for Ukraine, Von der Leyen said supporting Ukraine "comes at a high cost, but our freedom, the international peace order, and democracy, is priceless."Supporting Ukraine comes at a high cost, but freedom is "priceless," European Commission chief Urszula Von der Leyen said on Thursday amid soaring inflation and high energy prices in Europe.The EU's sanctions on Russia are having a deep and visible impact, European Commission President Urszula Von der Leyen told Reuters at an interview in Kyiv, shortly after she met Ukraine's President...

Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) said Monday on CNN’s “The Lead” that Donald Trump’s refusal to concede his defeat in the 2020 presidential election put the nation in a dangerous “no man’s land.” CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked about New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman’s new book claiming that Trump planned to stay at the White House after the election.

Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Thursday said Russia’s strategic objectives in its attack on Ukraine have “been defeated.” “The war is not over, but so far the Russian strategic objectives have been defeated,” Milley said at a news conference alongside Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Filatiev published “Zov" on the Russian social network VK in early August. The human rights organization Gulagu helped him leave the country a few weeks later, moving him from one place to another until finally helping him reach France. He spent two days inside the Charles de Gaulle airport, waiting to be approved for entry. In Russia, he said, “I understood that no lawyer could defend me,” he said, a muscle in his jaw twitching. On his wrist, he wore a silver bracelet adorned with a crucifix. Filatiev said Russia's army is degrading by the day, unable to replace the...

Russia’s economy shrank by 4 percent year-on-year over the second quarter, according to data published by Russian federal statistics service Rosstat. The plunge, though significant in absolute terms, was not as drastic as expected by Russian and some Western observers. “June data suggests the contraction in the Russian economy seems to have bottomed out as the situation in some industries is stabilizing,” Sergey Konygin, an economist at Sinara Investment Bank, told Reuters. Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban claimed in a speech last month that the European Union’s sanctions strategy against Russia has failed. “A new strategy is needed which should...

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(snip) (The war is) now a grueling artillery slugfest. (snip) An American fighting for Ukraine who served in the U.S. Army with combat tours in the Middle East described the constant Russian bombardment of the city of Severodonetsk in Ukraine’s Donbas region as “the closest thing I’ve ever seen to hell.” (snip) “We lost three guys,” after fighting near Severodonetsk, the soldier said. “My commander got killed out there. A buddy of mine got killed out there. When s— like that happens, it’s hard to imagine the way forward.” (snip) “The number of people that are upset and have low...

Russia has failed to achieve its strategic goals in the first hundred days of the war and Ukraine need not cede substantial territory to end it, William Courtney, adjunct senior fellow at Rand Corporation, told CNBC’s “Capital Connection” on Monday. Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, calling it a “special military operation.” The war entered its 100th day on Friday. “Over 100 days, the Russians have pulled back their aims at least tactically, perhaps not strategically, quite a lot. The original goal was to seize three major cities: Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odessa. Russian troops had to withdraw...

The Azov Regiment on May 10 published photos of badly wounded Ukrainian soldiers who are still holding out at the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol, even in the face of daily attacks by Russian forces. “The while civilized world must see the conditions in which our wounded and maimed defenders of Mariupol are, and act,” a message accompanying the photos reads. The wounded are being treated in poor sanitary conditions, lacking sterile bandages, medical supplies, and even food, the Azov soldiers said. They urged the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to act on their core values...