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Russia has ordered the largest increase in conscription since the Ukraine war began as a further 160,000 servicemen are called up to the frontline. The planned draft size has increased from 150,000 in 2024 and 134,500 in 2022, when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. It comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia to boost the size of its army to 1.5 million active servicemen - an increase of some 180,000 troops over three years.

Donald Trump is losing patience with Vladimir Putin’s stalling tactics over the Ukraine ceasefire, the Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, said after spending nine hours with the US president – including winning a golf competition with him at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Saturday. Stubb, who also spent two days with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, last week in Helsinki suggested in a Guardian interview a plan for a deadline of 20 April, by which time Putin should be required to comply with a full ceasefire. Stubb pointed out that a third golf partner on Saturday, the Republican senator Lindsey...

Gen. Jack Keane: We have to apply leverage against Putin . . [Fox News senior strategist analyst Gen. Jack Keane joins ‘America Reports’ to discuss Russia’s attack on Ukraine just hours after more ceasefire talks.]

Hundreds of thousands took to the streets in Budapest, Belgrade and Bucharest on Saturday for separate pro-Europe and anti-Russia protests. At least 50,000 people marched in Hungary to demand an end to Viktor Orban’s 15-year rule, while Serbia saw its largest anti-government rally in recent history and thousands in Romania demonstrated in support of the European Union. In Budapest, Hungarians came out in force against Mr Orban, considered Vladimir Putin’s closest ally among EU leaders, in favour of the surging pro-Europe opposition Tisza Party, led by Peter Magyar. “Those who cheat on their own nation should end up in the...

Sweden donated 10 of its best Strv 122 tanks to Ukraine. In two years of hard fighting, Russian forces have scored no fewer than 14 hits on the 63-ton, four-person tanks—possibly meaning all 10 of the tanks have been damaged, some more than once. Incredibly, most of the tanks—up-armored Swedish variants of the German-made Leopard 2A5—are still operational, according to one detailed accounting. The tanks’ durability is testimony to German and Swedish engineering and the courage and ingenuity of Ukrainian engineers who must tow damaged tanks off the battlefield for repairs. The add-on armor works. One up-armored Leopard 1A5 recently...

VLADIMIR Putin's snarling mouthpieces have launched a furious tirade at the West after Donald Trump’s “end-the-war” ultimatum. Kremlin propagandists have shockingly called on Vlad to nuke London and blitz through the battlefield in spite of global ceasefire hopes. Trump threw the gauntlet squarely at Vlad's feet just days into his presidency as he ordered the dictator to bring the raging conflict to a halt. The Republican stalwart threatened Russia with financial ruin through increased sanctions, tariffs and taxes if Putin failed to stop the “ridiculous” war. Henchmen for the despot didn't take kindly to Trump's clear and concise warnings and...

Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak held a meeting on concluding bilateral agreements on security commitments between Ukraine and partner states as part of the implementation of the G7 Joint Declaration signed in Vilnius. The meeting was attended by Deputy Heads of the Office of the President Ihor Zhovkva and Roman Mashovets, Special Presidential Commissioner for the Implementation of International Security Commitments and Development of the Defense Forces Yevhen Moysiuk, Head of the Security Service Vasyl Maliuk, Minister for Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin, Deputy Minister for Strategic Industries Serhiy Boyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mykola Tochytskyi, Deputy Minister...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave a basically upbeat assessment of Ukraine’s long-awaited “counteroffensive” against invading Russian forces but conceded “nobody knows” if there will be a major breakthrough this year in an interview with CNN on Tuesday. Zelensky added that he thinks “we will have more success” in the coming year, following a slower-than-expected start for the big counteroffensive. As in several other recent interviews, he disputed criticism that Ukraine’s push has deteriorated into a stalemate, pointing to gains made by his forces in the east of the country.

The idea was that China's regime, given a stake in the existing system, would then defend it... By now, however, that bet looks like a mistake history will remember. For as the Communist Party grew stronger, it did not align itself with its Western supporters. On the contrary, it came to believe it could avenge centuries-old grievances and remake the world in its own image. The West's generous approach created the one thing it had hoped to avoid: an aggressive state redrawing its borders by force, attacking liberal values around the world, and undermining institutions at the heart of the...

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The U.S. is sending Ukraine about $325 million in additional military aid, including an enormous amount of artillery rounds and ammunition as the launch of the spring offensive against Russian forces approaches, the Pentagon said Wednesday. The U.S. has declined to say exactly how much munitions will be sent to Ukraine, but the latest package resembles other recent deliveries, which included rockets for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, and howitzers, as well as an array of other missiles and anti-tank ammunition. It will all be pulled from Pentagon stocks, so it can go quickly...

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned on Sunday that potential 2024 GOP presidential contenders who have called for the U.S. to pull back its support for Ukraine in its war with Russia should be careful with their words. During an appearance on CBS’s “Face The Nation,” moderator Margaret Brennan asked Rice about recent remarks from former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) criticizing the U.S. for its robust support for Kyiv.

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Here’s what you need to know about the United States: it’s a lie. All of those things we say we believe in, like individual liberty, the Bill of Rights, capitalism….the vast majority support them conditionally, at best. This haphazard adherence to basic civil liberties has been on full display recently as the Right and the Left seem to be in some kind of a race to see who can do the most damage to the First Amendment and principles of free speech. But while the Left works to implement dystopian “disinformation boards” and the Right passes laws giving states the...

The Pentagon announced on Monday it had carried out an airstrike against a senior leader of Al-Qaeda* located in Idlib Governorate, the northern Syrian province occupied by Turkish troops and radical Muslim rebel militias. "US forces conducted a kinetic counterterrorism strike near Idlib, Syria, today, on a senior al-Qaeda leader. Initial indications are that we struck the individual we were aiming for, and there are no indications of civilian casualties as a result of the strike," Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday. Kirby said he had no further details on the target's identity, but according to SITE Intelligence Group,...

Editor’s Note: Connecting the dots between how Afghanistan was handled for the last two decades and how the pandemic is being handled today is a fresh perspective that needs to be heard and read. Pay close attention and put your own thoughts into this. Then, spread the word. STORY AT-A-GLANCEIn a recent article, journalist Glenn Greenwald lays out evidence showing the U.S. government has intentionally lied about its impact and progress in Afghanistan for the last 20 yearsEvidence suggests the Afghan war was designed to funnel taxpayer money to security contractors and Afghan warlordsIf the U.S. government routinely lies to...

Former President Donald Trump issued a statement on Friday bemoaning the situation in Afghanistan, adding to criticism of the Joe Biden administration's handling of Taliban advances in the country.Trump spokesperson Liz Harrington issued the statement via Twitter as the administration is pushing ahead with a planned withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan due to end on August 31. "Tragic mess in Afghanistan, a completely open and broken Border, Crime at record levels, oil prices through the roof, inflation rising, and taken advantage of by the entire world," Trump's statement said. "DO YOU MISS ME YET?" the former president asked. His statement...

[H/T Oorang]Full title at link: US sends in B-52s in desperate bid to stop the Taliban seizing key Afghan cities - where British troops fought and died - as fighters seize prison and set all the inmates free in latest town to fallB-52 bombers and AC-130 Spectre gunships are attacking Taliban terrorists The Taliban have been advancing across Afghanistan as the US withdraws The Afghan army and Air Force have struggled against Taliban insurgents The UK government has advised all Britons to leave Afghanistan immediatelyUS President Joe Biden has ordered B-52 bombers and Spectre gunships to target Taliban terrorists in...

US President Joe Biden has ordered B-52 bombers and Spectre gunships to target Taliban terrorists in Afghanistan who are advancing towards three key cities. The Cold War-era strategic bomber first flew in the 1950s but is still used due to its 70,000lb payload and range of more than 8,000 miles. They are being supported by the AC-130 Spectre gunships which are armed with a 25mm Gatling gun, a 40mm Bofors cannon and a 105mm M102 cannon - which can provide pinpoint accurate fire from the air. The Taliban have been advancing across Afghanistan after the US-led coalition pulled out of...

James K. Polk was one of the most successful presidents in our history, exceeded in his accomplishments only by Washington, Lincoln, and Jackson. He had four goals when he took office in 1845, and he achieved all of them in his one term. He wanted to complete the process of Texas annexation, take California and its ports of San Diego and San Francisco from Mexico, settle the boundary dispute with Britain over the Oregon Territory, and reform the finances of the federal government. If you include Texas, the amount of territory he added to the United States exceeded that of...

THE U.S. MILITARY HAS BEEN fighting in Afghanistan for almost nineteen years. House Democrats, working in tandem with key pro-war GOP lawmakers such as Rep. Liz Cheney, are ensuring that continues. Last night, the House Armed Services Committee voted overwhelmingly in favor of an amendment — jointly sponsored by Democratic Congressman Jason Crow of Colorado and Congresswoman Cheney of Wyoming — prohibiting the expenditure of monies to reduce the number of U.S. troops deployed in Afghanistan below 8,000 without a series of conditions first being met. The imposed conditions are by no means trivial: for these troop reductions from Afghanistan...