Free Republic

JUST IN - Russia's Putin and Defense Minister Shoigu are expected to address the nation tonight, according to Kremlin pool reporters.

Russian nationalists called angrily on Sunday for President Vladimir Putin to make immediate changes to ensure ultimate victory in the Ukraine war, a day after Moscow was forced to abandon its main bastion in northeastern Ukraine. The swift fall of Izium in Kharkiv province was Russia's worst military defeat since its troops were forced back from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in March. (snip)Moscow's almost total silence on the defeat - or any explanation for what had taken place in northeastern Ukraine - provoked significant anger among some pro-war commentators and Russian nationalists on social media. Neither Putin, who is Russia's...

Left-wing Hollywood star Sean Penn is urging the U.S. to join the Ukraine in its war against Russia, saying that if we don’t join the fight, “our soul as America is lost.” Sean Penn is currently in the Ukraine to make a documentary about the Russian invasion. On Saturday, the actor issued a statement in which he blasted Russia’s Vladimir Putin and likened the crisis to a fight for democracy — even though the Ukraine’s commitment to freedom and democratic values remains unclear at best.