Free Republic

When Finland joined NATO in 2023, the small Nordic nation brought with it one of Europe’s most comprehensive defense systems, built over decades of preparing for the worst along its border with Russia. Instead of a large standing army, Finland relies on universal conscription, a vast trained reserve pool, and a society where everyone has a role in national defense. As Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo put it in 2025: “By joining NATO, Finland strengthened its own security, but also the stability and security of the whole Alliance. We have over 1,300 kilometers of border with Russia, but we also...

An analysis of the Russo-Urainian War in 2025. I look at events essentially from the draw down in Kursk to the overall trajectory of the combat lines. Finally, I take a look at constraints on the west and challenges faced.

n the past few weeks, Russian drones and jet fighters have repeatedly penetrated the airspace of Poland, Estonia, and other NATO members. Western officials have reacted harshly to those episodes, shooting down intruding drones and, in the case of President Donald Trump, issuing threats to attack even manned Russian aircraft if such incidents continue. NATO leaders and their supporters in the news media are responding to the rising tensions by reviving an idea from the earliest days of the Kremlin’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine: imposing a no-fly zone over that country. It is an especially provocative and dangerous...

Russia’s war on Ukraine is a war on speed and scale: cheap drones by the hundreds; cruise and ballistic missiles by the scores; electronic warfare (EW) whose logic can mutate on quarterly cycles. That is the fight NATO must be ready for—not an elegant, unhurried campaign of exquisite platforms, but a drone-and-missile war where software changes faster than doctrine, where ammunition depth decides what survives.

Troubling developments have highlighted Europe’s continued slide into political turmoil and totalitarianism. As we discussed last time, the EU has no choice but to sharply agitate for war in order to keep its frail political structures intact, because the war drums drown out the organic cries for change and liberation from the EU’s despotic rule. It is the age old tactic used by tyrants time and again, most recently by Netanyahu in Israel. All the while, new undemocratic measures are “slipped in” while the populace is distracted by the hysteria; case in point being the sudden push for national digital...

European officials are uneasily digesting U.S. President Donald Trump's speech at the United Nations this week, where he blasted the world body and attacked Europe’s immigration policies, energy transition and commitment to climate action. Unlike his last appearance in 2020, when China dominated his speech, his European allies were the focus of some of his harshest criticism, getting mentioned twice as often as Beijing. "Immigration and their suicidal energy ideas will be the death of Western Europe," Trump told the assembly. "Illegal aliens are pouring into Europe.” The speech dismayed many in Europe - and left some bemused - -...

Denmark on Saturday reported more mysterious drone sightings — this time over military installations, including its largest military base — after incursions at airports grounded flights this week. The NATO country is still mulling how to respond. In addition to the sightings in Denmark, Norway also had a reported run-in with drones. Norwegian police are reportedly investigating possible drone sightings near an air force base in central Norway, Reuters reported, adding that the base houses the country's F-35 fighter jets. Danish authorities said the drone incident was a "hybrid attack" that came from a "professional actor," according to the BBC....

Russian drones crossing into Poland and MiG-31s violating Estonian airspace revived the core question: how does a Russia vs. NATO war actually begin? Moscow will keep probing seams—airspace, air defenses, political will—aiming to force NATO into an Article 4/5 dilemma. Europe’s fragmented defense industry, ammunition shortages, and uneven appetite for risk create openings for a rapid, deniable “fait accompli” in the Baltics using EW, drones, and covert forces. That scenario wouldn’t resemble a set-piece tank battle; it would be a shock campaign designed to split allies before they can mobilize.

European officials fear that US President Donald Trump's new rhetoric on Ukraine is aimed at shifting blame to Europe. Trump is calling on the EU for tougher sanctions against Russia and tariffs on China and India, which Europeans consider unfeasible.European officials fear that US President Donald Trump's latest rhetoric on Ukraine "is intended to set them an impossible mission" that will allow the American leader to "shift the blame from Washington if Kyiv fails in the war or runs out of money," the Financial Times reports, writes UNN.Details As the publication writes, "after months of pressuring Ukraine to settle with...

Poland will shoot down any Russian military aircraft that deliberately enters the country's airspace, as the nation's borders are "sacrosanct" and must be defended, Polish President Karol Nawrocki told Newsmax. Anchor Rita Cosby asked Nawrocki, who was sworn in last month, "Let me ask you point-blank: if a Russian jet enters now into Polish airspace and it's aware that it's in Polish airspace, it's been notified and it doesn't leave immediately, will you shoot it down?" He responded, "Yes, of course. If such a provocation happens, and if Russian drones pose a threat to Polish people, then for sure the...

"Quite a few planes violate Russia's airspace, accidentally and not accidentally. No one shoots them down," Alexey Meshkov emphasizedPARIS, September 25. /TASS/. Russia’s ambassador to France Alexey Meshkov has warned that if NATO were shooting down Russian planes allegedly violating the airspace of the alliance's member countries, that would mean war. "There would be war. What else could there be?" Meshkov said on RTL radio, responding to a question about Russia's possible response. "Quite a few planes violate our airspace, accidentally and not accidentally. No one shoots them down," the ambassador added. Meshkov also stated that Europe has not provided...

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met on Wednesday, one day after President Donald Trump called Moscow a "paper tiger" and said Ukraine could win back its seized land. Rubio and Lavrov sat with their delegations on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz was also present. The meeting lasted roughly 50 minutes. Lavrov didn't respond to questions as he left, including whether he was concerned about the shift in tone from Trump or whether the U.S. president had turned his back on...

Germany is war-gaming a mass-casualty scenario—up to 1,000 wounded soldiers per day—amid Russian airspace violations and warnings of possible conflict by 2029. Surgeon General Ralf Hoffmann says Ukraine’s drone-saturated battlefield is reshaping injuries toward blasts and burns, complicating evacuation and forcing longer stabilization times.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised his "productive meeting" with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, after which Trump appeared to jettison his long-held skepticism of Kyiv's battlefield ambitions. Shortly after the meeting, Trump wrote on social media, "After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form." (snip) But on Tuesday, the...

Chief Pentagon Spokesman, Sean Parnell, provided the following readout: On September 22, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth spoke with his Estonian counterpart, Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur. Secretary Hegseth affirmed the Department of War stands with all NATO allies and that any incursion into NATO airspace is unacceptable. The Secretary commended the quick response by European allies' air defenses stating it showed NATO at its best, ready and focused on their core mission. The Secretary ensured the Minister that he was in close consultation with the Supreme Allied Commander for Europe about next steps and would continue to track the...

Europe is preparing to occupy the tiny nation of Moldova with the first group of Nato troops ready for a "landing" in Ukraine's Odessa, Russian news agency Sputnik reported on Tuesday, citing the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). Moldovan authorities, meanwhile, have arrested 74 people in connection with an alleged Moscow-backed plot to stage a mass uprising in the former soviet European nation. Is Moldova becoming the latest flashpoint in Europe's battle with Russia? The raids come ahead of Moldova's September 28 elections, amid claims of rigging, Russian backing for a party, and Putin's alleged plot to "hijack the polls"....

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that NATO countries should shoot down Russian aircraft if they enter NATO territory, shortly after nations in the Western military alliance condemned Moscow for violating Estonian airspace. "Yes I do," Trump told reporters when asked about whether he would support such moves. Trump made the comments to reporters before a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. More to follow...

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper warned Russia that NATO’s “combined strength is unparalleled”, that “reckless” aerial provocations should end, and that British jets can “confront” Russian aircraft that in NATO airspace.The United Nations Security Council sat for what it said was the 10,002nd time on Monday, ahead of a greater gathering for the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, for an extraordinary meeting called by Estonia to discuss “threats to international peace and security”. The meeting was called in response to the incursion by fast jets of the Russian Federation — a permanent member of the Security Council, of course —...

Baltic incidents—drones, airspace brushes, GNSS spoofing—could cascade into a NATO–Russia war driven by fear, honor, and interest. Opening phases likely favor NATO in air and sea with superior ISR, EW, and standoff fires; Russia counters with missiles, dense air defenses, cyber, and navigation attacks. Two plausible endgames emerge: a non-nuclear grind to an armistice shaped by attrition and political risk, or limited nuclear use to coerce termination, shattering the taboo and accelerating crisis instability.