Free Republic

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed that under present circumstances, Kiev is currently unable to launch a counteroffensive, blaming the situation on weapons shortage."We can't start yet. We can't send our brave soldiers to the front line without tanks, artillery and HIMARS [multiple launch rocket systems]," Zelensky said in an interview with Yomiuri Shimbun daily. He continued, saying that the situation in the country's east is "unfavorable" and that Ukraine is currently waiting for its allies to supply it with weaponry.This comes shortly after Zelensky beseeched European leaders to deliver lethal weapons at a faster rate than they are being...

China’s navy has significant advantages over its US rival, including a bigger fleet and greater shipbuilding capacity, as Beijing seeks to project its power across the oceans, the head of the United States Navy said Tuesday. Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said China “consistently attempts to violate the maritime sovereignty and economic well-being of other nations including our allies in the South China Sea and elsewhere.” They got a larger fleet now so they’re deploying that fleet globally,” he said, adding that Washington must upgrade the US fleet in response....

Tory chair of defence committee says cost of replacing kit sent to Ukraine and high inflation had created ‘a really grim picture’ Britain’s armed forces would “last about five days” if there was a war, a senior Conservative MP has claimed, as pressure increases on the chancellor to boost defence spending in next month’s Budget.Tobias Ellwood, Tory chair of the Commons defence committee, told the Financial Times that high inflation and the cost of replacing equipment sent to Ukraine had created “a really grim picture” and left military supplies seriously depleted.Jeremy Hunt has vowed to consider the case for more...

When House Speaker John Boehner calls for trillions of dollars of spending cuts, the message is clear. Any deal to raise the federal debt ceiling must include significant savings in Social Security and Medicare benefits. Subsidizing the elderly is the biggest piece of federal spending (more than two-fifths of the total), but trimming benefits for well-off seniors isn't just budget arithmetic. It's also the right thing to do. I have been urging higher eligibility ages and more means-testing for Social Security and Medicare for so long that I forget that many Americans still accept the outdated and propagandistic notion that...