Free Republic

The U.S. military is experiencing a “beyond critical” shortage of advanced missile interceptors in Europe largely driven by President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, a U.S. defense official in Europe and a NATO official told The Associated Press, raising concerns about vulnerabilities in NATO countries to a potential Russian attack. The U.S. defense official said the most concerning shortfall involves Patriot missile interceptors, which can shoot down Russia’s high-speed ballistic missiles. The NATO official confirmed the low inventories of Patriots among American and NATO forces in Europe. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters. In the...

ILULISSAT, Greenland (AP) — Fisherman Helgi Áargil no longer knows what to expect on Greenland ‘s fjords, where he spends up to five days at a time on his boat with his dog, Molly, and the ever-changing northern lights in the sky as company. Last year, his boat got stuck in ice that broke off the nearby glacier. This year, it’s been very wet instead. His income is just as unpredictable. An outing could bring him around 100,000 Danish kroner (about $15,700), or nothing at all. The Arctic’s rapidly changing climate is bringing more questions for Greenland, the semiautonomous territory...

BERLIN (AP) — The eight European countries targeted by U.S. President Donald Trump for a 10% tariff for opposing American control of Greenland blasted the move Sunday, warning that his threats “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”The joint statement by some of America’s closest allies signaled a possible turning point in the recent tensions over sovereignty and security nearly 24 hours after Trump’s threat.It was also the most forceful rebuke of Trump from the European allies since he returned to the White House almost a year ago. In recent months, Europeans have mostly opted for diplomacy and...

After his historic guilty verdict in his hush money case, Donald Trump attacked the U.S. criminal justice system, making unfounded claims of a “rigged” trial that echoed remarks from the Kremlin. “If they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone,” Trump said Friday, speaking from his namesake tower in New York on Friday. Thousands of miles away, Russian President Vladimir Putin was probably “rubbing his hands with glee,” said Fiona Hill, a former senior White House national security adviser to three U.S. presidents, including Trump. Hill and other analysts say Trump’s attacks could be useful to...

Ukrainians living in regions illegally annexed by Russia are being coerced to vote in the presidential election of their wartime occupier, Vladimir Putin — an exercise denounced by Ukraine as an illegitimate effort by Moscow to tighten control over its neighbor. Polls don't open in Russia until Friday, but they are open in four annexed regions of Ukraine close to the front line, some of which are not fully in Putin’s control. *snip* In the Donetsk region, the Ukrainian mayor of Mariupol, Vadym Boychenko, said his city was a symbol of Russia’s “military nightmare” and of an “electoral process in...

Rifts within Ukraine’s top leadership have burst into the open following swirling rumors that the country’s top military chief will be dismissed amid reported tensions with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The rumors that Valerii Zaluzhnyi would be sacked were denied by Zelenskyy’s office and the Defense Ministry this week and the immensely popular top commander still retains his post. But the reports have fueled expectations of his imminent resignation, which could be a boon for Russia as the war approaches its second anniversary. His departure would be the most severe shakeup of Ukraine’s top military brass since the Russian invasion as...

On Monday, Moore tweeted that the British foreign intelligence agency had been “puzzling over how to get my message to our target audience in Russia — we never thought Russian state TV would step in to help." “Thanks folks,” he added. Mark Galeotti, an expert in the Russian security services at University College London, told The Associated Press the translation and broadcast of Moore’s comments was “a pretty serious gaffe.” Butina’s viewers are “likely to be the kind of people that British intelligence would be interested in,” Galeotti said, adding that he would not discount the prospect of the message...