Free Republic

“Ukraine lost more than 100 thousand servicemen since the war started,” said the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, News.az reports citing UNIAN.He stressed that Russia should pay for the crimes it committed: “Occupation of Ukraine by Russia led to death, destructions, in short, sufferings that can not be expressed with words. All of us remember Bucha events. It is estimated that more than 20 thousand civilians and more than 100 thousand Ukrainians. Russia should pay for these horrific crimes.”

Ukrainian forces struck a power plant in multiple attacks on Russia’s Kursk region on Tuesday, causing some electricity outages, a local governor said. “In total, there were about 11 launches. A power plant was hit,” Roman Starovoyt, the governor of the Kursk region, said on the Telegram messaging app. “Because of this, there are partial power outages in the Sudzha and Korenevo districts.” The districts are part of Russia’s Kursk region and sit over Ukraine’s northeast border. There was no immediate information on possible injured or casualties, he added.

Kyiv relies entirely on its allies for weapons. That’s not a position any country fighting a war for its existence should be in – relying on others for its defense needs. NATO was unprepared for a big war, especially with Russia. ...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Joe Biden appears ready to pressure Japan and the Netherlands even more to join efforts to block the flow of advanced chip technology to China, where it could be used to develop cutting-edge weapons. "I think you will see Japan and Netherlands follow our lead," U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on CNBC Thursday. While no specifics were mentioned, this appears to be the first time that a high-ranking U.S. official has named specific countries when speaking about cooperation on the export curbs. Since October, the Biden administration has, in effect, banned trade with China in...

The United States will consider every means to advance diplomacy with Russia if it sees an opening, but at the moment Moscow shows no sign of willingness to engage in meaningful talks, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday. "Every indication is that far from being willing to engage in meaningful diplomacy, President Putin continues to push in the opposite direction," Blinken said at a press conference with his French counterpart Catherine Colonna. "We consider and will consider every means to advance diplomacy if we see an opening to advance it by whatever means, of course we'll always...

US President Joe Biden’s administration will soon release its National Security Strategy, which is being revised in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The document will no doubt trigger a renewed debate about how the United States should gear up for a new cold war against Russia and China. But before we plunge into a global great-power competition, it’s worth recalling Biden’s promise to create a “foreign policy for the middle class” and take a look at what most concerns Americans.US President Joe Biden’s administration will soon release its National Security Strategy, which is being revised in the wake...

Gala concert devoted to the 1160th anniversary of Russian statehood Vladimir Putin made a speech at a gala concert marking the 1160th anniversary of Russian statehood. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends, Today, we are marking the 1160th anniversary of Russian statehood. I would like to congratulate you on this momentous historical date that is of key importance for Russia. Veliky Novgorod, Rurikovo Settlement, Staraya (Old) Ladoga and Izborsk are the cradle of Rus, the source of our civilisation and our state, our culture and education. It is from here, from the north, that the guards of the first Russian...

The war exposed Ukraine to two of her most critical vulnerabilities – questionable legitimacy and extreme nationalism. Legitimacy derives from acceptance and recognition. However, Ukraine’s neighbors Russia, Poland, and Romania do not accept their current borders with Ukraine.###After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Ukraine got its borders within which she achieved independence and millions of Russians, Poles, Hungarians and Romanians were trapped in a newly created country.The Ukrainian problem is greatly exacerbated by the fact that unlike pluralistic societies such as the USA, Canada, Switzerland, and Russia, which are tolerant of different cultures, religions, and languages, Ukraine is not....

Vladimir Putin can call up all the troops he wants, but Russia has no way of getting those new troops the training and weapons they need to fight in Ukraine any time soon. With his invasion of Ukraine faltering badly, the Russian President on Wednesday announced the immediate “partial mobilization” of Russian citizens. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Russian television that the country will call up 300,000 reservists. If they end up facing Ukrainian guns on the front lines, they are likely to become the newest casualties in the invasion Putin started more than seven months ago and that...

Factories, businesses, and families across Europe are battling for survival as Russia’s chokehold on the continent’s natural gas supply sends prices to astronomical heights, unleashing a brutal economic storm that has tested European solidarity about Russia’s war in Ukraine and fueled fears of an impending recession. Crushingly high energy prices have soared to 10 times their average level throughout the past decade, leading to spikes that have throttled industries and left households scrambling to pay their bills. From the energy-intensive aluminum industry to fertilizer manufacturers, companies across Europe have been forced to slash production or even go bankrupt in the...

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov emphasized on Friday at a conference that it is not in Moscow's interest to have an open conflict with the United States or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).Ryabkov expressed concerns over Russia's current relations with the two, stating that they are "near-zero levels." He shared that "America is incapable of negotiating in principle and, together with a number of NATO capitals, is directly pushing Kiev to transfer military operations to our territory, intending to fight to the last Ukrainian" so as to impose "a strategic defeat" on Russia.He further underscored that Moscow is...

A 2019 Rand Corporation study commissioned by the US Army laid out exactly what the plan to undermine and weaken Russia through military support would be. The study suggested arming Ukraine, imposing sanctions on Russia, ramping up economic warfare, and taking a more aggressive and militaristic posture toward the United States international rival - all while warning this could lead to a military invasion of Ukraine. ...

President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is calling for Europeans to be cut off from electricity in order to “flatten the curve,” in a call-back to the propaganda used to destroy and demoralize populations during the COVID pandemic. “We see there’s a global scarcity of energy. So whatever we do, one thing is for sure, we have to save electricity, but we have to save it in a smart way,” she said. “So what we have to do is flatten the curve and avoid the peak demands,” Leyen added. “We will propose a mandatory target for reducing...

A months-long standoff for power in Libya has pitted the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) under Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah against a rival administration under Fathi Bashagha that is backed by the eastern-based parliament. Clashes erupted overnight as one of Tripoli's main groups assaulted a base held by another, witnesses there said, leading to hours of shooting and blasts. The fighting intensified later on Saturday morning, with small-arms fire, heavy machine guns and mortars deployed in different central areas. Columns of black smoke rose across the Tripoli skyline and shooting and blasts echoed in the air.

Deterring China's efforts to alter the status quo in the South and East China seas ultimately comes down to U.S. power. Whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan advances those efforts is questionable. Her visit, against the advice of the military, may have brought forward the risk of a U.S.-China crisis when preparations in Taiwan and Japan are not yet adequate. In terms of what it aims to accomplish within the broader context of U.S.-China relations, Pelosi's visit is lacking in any apparent strategic component. "America's solidarity with the 23 million people of Taiwan is more important today than...

The People's Liberation Army (PLA), on the night that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan for her provocative visit that violates the US promise of opposing "Taiwan independence" secessionism, launched massive military drills around the island of Taiwan, including a long-range live fire drill in the Taiwan Straits and a live fire conventional missile drill to the east of the island, with analysts saying China is not merely targeting a visiting 82-year-old US politician, but is eyeing the anti-secession campaign against the secessionist Taiwan authorities and is to concretely speed up the reunification process. The PLA will also...

Five months into Russia's war on Ukraine, the Kremlin still hasn’t decreed a general mobilization to draft troops for its invasion, but there are growing reports that it is enticing and pressuring men of fighting age to join, as well as leaning on younger conscripts to sign contracts so they can deploy to the front. In Bashkortostan -- a Russian republic located some 1,300 kilometers east of Moscow -- many parents of conscripts have launched appeals to the local military prosecutor's office over complaints that their sons were illegally detained at the conscription office and were told that they would...

The war in Ukraine risks turning into a protracted conflict that Russia will eventually win, a leading think-tank has said.The report by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) warned that current Russian advantages and Ukrainian weaknesses are leading to a style of conflict that favours Moscow.The capture of the city means that Russia has essentially gained control of the entire Luhansk region, marking Russia's biggest victory since it captured the southern port of Mariupol in late May.Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrlo Budnov said his defence forces had withdrawn "to advantageous positions in order to gain tactical superiority" after the Russians...

Russia’s capture of the strategic city of Lysychansk means the front line in Ukraine’s east will shift as Russian forces regroup before pushing further south and west, military analysts and Ukrainian officers said Sunday, ensuring that the next phase of the battle will be just as bloody as the last. To take Lysychansk and its neighboring city of Sievierodonetsk, Russian forces moved in from the north, east and west and created a pocket of territory that became indefensible toward the end of June. Now those Russian forces are in a position to attempt a similar maneuver on other Ukrainian-held cities...

Ukraine's military has confirmed that the eastern city of Lysychansk has fallen to Russian forces. "After heavy fighting for Lysychansk, the defence forces of Ukraine were forced to withdraw from their occupied positions and lines," the army general staff said. Earlier Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said his forces had captured Lysychansk and taken full control of Luhansk region. Its general staff said that "in order to preserve the lives of Ukrainian defenders, a decision was made to withdraw".