Free Republic

Americans trying to understand the current administration’s obsession with Ukraine will note a number of unanswered questions surrounding the crisis.Ukrainians, and many Europeans and Americans, are defining an envisioned Ukrainian victory as the complete expulsion of all Russians from its 2013 borders. Or, as a Ukrainian national security chief put it, the war ends with Ukrainian tanks in Red Square.But mysteries remain about such ambitious agendas.What would that goal entail?Giving Ukraine American F-16s to strike bases and depots in Mother Russia? The gifting of 1,000 M1 Abrams tanks? Using American Harpoon missiles to sink the Russian Black Sea Fleet?A huge...

A crowd laughed at Russia's top diplomat when he said the Ukraine war "was launched against us." An audience member at India's G20 summit shouted "come on!" at Sergey Lavrov during the event. He was answering a question about Russia's energy strategy moving forward. Sergey Lavrov, Russia's top diplomat and a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, at a conference in India Thursday said that the war in Ukraine "was launched against us," prompting the crowd to erupt in laughter. Lavrov was a speaker at India's G20 Summit in New Delhi, leading a session that was part of a...

Moscow on Thursday (Mar 2) claimed that Ukrainians had crossed into southern Russia and killed two civilians, an allegation dismissed by Kyiv as a "deliberate provocation". Russia says its regions bordering Ukraine are routinely shelled by Ukrainian forces, but the alleged incursion, if confirmed, would be a rare instance of fighting inside its territory. Russia's FSB security service said in a statement that the "Ukrainian nationalists" had later been pushed back over the border and targeted with a "massive artillery strike".

Moldova's parliament adopted a declaration on Thursday condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine which has contributed to a rise in tensions between Moscow and Chisinau. A narrow majority of 55 lawmakers in the 101-seat assembly voted for the declaration, which stated that Moscow's invasion began with the seizure of the Crimea peninsula in February 2014 and demanded the withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine. The declaration said Russia was waging an illegal, unprovoked and unfounded war of aggression in Ukraine that violated the principles of international law, and echoed calls by Kyiv for an international tribunal to prosecute war...

If the cause of Ukraine is righteous, there is no reason to chill debate.It’s not exactly a sign of a healthy democratic discourse that it’s virtually impossible to ask a critical question about the United States’ role in the Ukraine-Russia conflict without being smeared as a Putin apologist or an “isolationist.” We’ve been bombarded with bromides about a civilizational struggle that pits the forces of autocracy and liberalism against each other. “It’s not just about freedom in Ukraine,” Biden tells us. “It’s about freedom of democracy at large.” Yet Ukraine — which, before the war, regularly slotted in somewhere beneath...

Two leading House Republicans have called on President Joe Biden to increase military support to Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion and reiterated support on both sides of the aisle for continuing to fund the Ukrainian war effort. Texas Rep. Mike McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told CNN’s Pamela Brown on “State of the Union” in a joint interview with House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner that aired Sunday that bipartisan support for Ukraine is “still very strong.” But as the one-year anniversary of the war approaches, McCaul warned that hedging support for Ukraine could prolong...

With all of the attention currently being paid to Russia and China threatening to drag us into world war 3, apparently North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was feeling a bit left out. Yesterday, the diminutive tyrant decided to launch one of his country’s latest and most advanced ICBMs. The nuclear-capable Hwasong-15 was sent on a nearly vertical trajectory, rising more than 3,500 miles in a flight that lasted more than an hour before falling back down into the ocean between their country and Japan. Kim described the test as a demonstration of his “fatal nuclear attack capacity” and analysts believe...

A military veterans group is launching a seven-figure campaign to inform Americans about U.S. involvement overseas and question the fairness within alliances such as NATO, the Washington Examiner reported. The Concerned Veterans for America Foundation (CVAF) plans to spend more than $1 million in the next year on digital, grassroots, and classroom-style programming, the Examiner reported. The goal is to promote a broader discussion about the nature of U.S. defense agreements toward advancing U.S. interests.

Belarusia's army stepped up its military exercises amid growing fears that a new invasion of Ukraine from the north is imminent. Belarusian and Russian troops have been taking part in joint military exercises for a number of weeks. Last Sunday the Belarusian Defence Ministry announced it was extending its training drills with Putin's army.

A new year dawns bright, with the US hurtling over the fiscal cliff. The lame duck Congress voted for a pork‐​packed $1.7 trillion budget bill. As the saying goes, it’s only money! At a time of enormous domestic need, Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell pushed an extra $45 billion for Ukraine, declaring that Washington’s “number one priority” was supporting that nation. Kentuckians might wonder if their Senator had moved to Odesa, Kharkiv, or Lviv over the holidays. Alas, this appropriation was small change compared to the overall “defense” (in fact, mostly for offensive operations) budget. Congress hiked military outlays to...

Germany has promised to transfer to Ukraine 100 Soviet-made tanks, which will be delivered from Greece and Slovakia in a “circular scheme”. This was stated by German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, reports CNN. Head of the German Defense Ministry During a visit to the German military stationed in Lithuania, the German military announced additional deliveries of weapons to Ukraine, including the IRIS-T air defense system and 100 tanks from Greece and Slovakia. The website of the German government reports that queues for delivery to Ukraine: 4 IRIS-T anti-aircraft missile systems 2 MARS II multiple launch rocket systems with ammunition; 4...

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Small arms, ATGMs, MANPADS, loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles, trailers and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When the...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will appeal to Western nations at an emergency G7 meeting on Tuesday. Ukraine and Germany called the meeting following a wave of devastating missile attacks on Kyiv, Liviv and more than a dozen other major cities. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the attacks are revenge for the bombing of the Kerch Bridge connecting Russia and Crimea this weekend. "They are trying to destroy us and wipe us off the face of the earth. Completely. Destroy our people who are sleeping at home in Zaporizhzhia. Kill people on their way to work in Dnipro and Kyiv," Zelenskyy...

Yesterday’s response revealed more than hypocrisy or even projection from Vladimir Putin — it revealed desperation. After the humiliation of the attack on the Kerch bridge, which Putin personally opened as a symbol of Russian permanence in Ukraine, Putin unleashed cruise missile attacks on cities across Ukraine overnight. Missiles struck as far from the front as Lviv, making it clear that this had no military value but instead was a terror attack on Ukrainians:(snip) Ahem. The Kerch bridge was and still is a legitimate military target, as it is a major line of communication for the Russian military. In fact,...

On Saturday, the Ukrainians hit the Kerch Strait Bridge, which leads from Russia to Crimea, with something—a missile, explosives planted by naval commandos, a truck laden with explosives. No one who knows is saying for sure.(snip)The tactical questions of how the Ukrainians pulled off this strike and of whether lasting damage has occurred are interesting and important but currently unresolvable publicly. What can, however, be more profitably discussed is what this tells us about where the Russia-Ukraine war is headed. “Battles are the principal milestones of secular history,” Winston Churchill wrote in his biography of the Duke of Marlborough. The...

Back in March I had warned that Lies Do Not Win Wars. Here is another practical example.After allegedly having 'run out of missiles' and, more importantly, patience, the leadership of the Russian Federation decided to de-electrify Ukrainian cities with a 'barrage of missile strikes'.But first came the propaganda blubber:320 missiles in a day: Russia targets short-range ballistic missiles at Ukraine; what is the result? - WION - Mar 2, 2022 Russia running short on guided missiles, firing indiscriminately - Ukraine - Jerusalem Post - March 17, 2022 Russia Running Out of Precision Munitions in Ukraine War Pentagon Official - US...

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday he had ordered troops to deploy with Russian forces near Ukraine in response to what he said was a clear threat to Belarus from Kyiv and its backers in the West. The remarks from Lukashenko, who has held power in Belarus since 1994, indicate a potential further escalation of the war in Ukraine, possibly with a combined Russian-Belarus joint force in the north of Ukraine. "Strikes on the territory of Belarus are not just being discussed in Ukraine today, but are also being planned," Lukashenko said at a meeting on security, without providing...

ST. PETERSBURG. October 10. /TASS/. Russia will respond toughly, if the Kiev regime continues attempts to carry out terror attacks on Russian territory, President of Russia Vladimir Putin said on Monday. "If attempts continue to carry out terror attacks on our territory, Russia’s responses will be tough and by their scope correspond to the level of threats created for the Russian Federation," the head of state said at a meeting with members of Russia’s Security Council. "No one must have any doubts about that," Putin stressed. By its acts, the Kiev regime has put itself on a par with international...

Ukraine's State Emergency Services said at least 11 people have been killed and more than 60 wounded in Russian missile strikes on several Ukrainian cities Monday. The strikes are the largest coordinated assault on Ukrainian cities since the early days of the war. The Russian Defense Ministry said the strikes targeted Ukraine's military command and communication facilities and energy infrastructure. At least six people were killed in Kyiv when missiles struck several locations in the city center during morning rush hour. Officials in the central city of Dnipro said four people were killed. The leader of Ukraine's armed forces, Valeriy...

"For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power,” President Biden said of Vladimir Putin in March, a month after Russia’s second unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, in remarks the Washington Post called “the most defiant and aggressive speech about Russia by an American president since Ronald Reagan.” Biden’s staff, however, immediately backpedaled, saying, “the president’s point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin’s power in Russia or regime change.” Later, Biden himself dutifully resiled from regime change. (snip) Outsiders can assist in many ways, including augmenting dissidents’...