Free Republic

"A Kremlin insider warned Thursday that Russia could start a nuclear war if it lost its conventional war in Ukraine. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia’s security council and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, made the threat in a post on the Telegram messaging app...."

Ukraine’s deputy military intelligence chief, Vadym Skibitsky, claimed Friday that Moscow was considering calling up an additional 500,000 troops ahead of planned offensive operations in the spring and summer, The Guardian reported. If confirmed, the mobilization would risk a repeat of the unrest caused by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempt to press 300,000 Russians into service this fall.

President Biden spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Tuesday as Ukrainian forces continued to drive back Russian invaders on two fronts. The call took place days after Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin claimed to annex four regions of Ukraine — some 18% of the country — and vowed to back up his claim with nuclear weapons if necessary. Biden signed a bill Friday authorizing another $12 billion in US aid for the Kyiv government while insisting the US will “never” accept Russia’s annexation attempt. Biden, joined on Tuesday’s call by Vice President Kamala Harris, “underscore[d] that the United States...

The face of Russia’s war in Ukraine has wrinkles. Photos documenting the first week of Russia’s mobilization order calling for 300,000 more soldiers to be drafted show older men being forced into the fight. Images from the rural province of Sverdlovsk reveal a pair of silver-haired soldiers arriving at a training barracks in central Russia. Some soldiers standing for inspection at a ceremony in Sevastopol displayed wrinkles and liver spots. One man, with a gray-streaked beard, held his AK-style rifle in a hand with three bandaged fingers. When Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he was calling up hundreds of thousands...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ventured beyond the relative safety of Kyiv on Wednesday to visit the recently liberated city of Izyum, where he promised to drive Russian forces from all of Ukraine. “Our blue-yellow flag is already flying in de-occupied Izyum. And it will be so in every Ukrainian city and village,” he said on social media during the visit. “We are moving in only one direction — forward and towards victory.” A supply and logistic hub for Russian operations in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine, the retaking of Izyum represents a strategic win for Ukraine as well as...

Ukrainian forces surprised occupying Russians with a one-two punch Thursday, pushing deep into enemy territory to open a second front in Kyiv’s counterattack. Ukrainian authorities announced the liberation of 20 villages in the northeast, outside Kharkiv, as the military pushed for the occupied city of Izyum — all while continuing a fierce fight for Kherson in the south. Oleksiy Hromov, a deputy chief with the general staff of the armed forces of Ukraine, said Thursday that his nation’s forces — pushing toward the Donbas from Kharkiv — had penetrated more than 30 miles beyond Russia’s defensive line. “Since the beginning...

A girl who had been missing for two years has been found safe in a secret room under a staircase in Saugerties, New York, police said. Paislee Shultis was reported missing from her Cayuga Heights home in July 2019, when she was 4 years old, according to NBC 4. Police initially suspected the girl’s non-custodial parents, but did not bring charges. New York State Police found the girl over 150 miles away on Monday, acting on a tip that she was being hidden in the Hudson Valley town.

Actor Ben Stiller met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday in Kyiv, as he toured the war-torn country to bring attention to the plight of refugees. Stiller, who serves as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations, was seen sitting next to the Ukrainian leader in photos released of his visit on World Refugee Day.