Free Republic

Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump says he believes Israel should strike Iran’s nuclear facilities in response to the Islamic Republic’s recent missile barrage. The former president, speaking at a campaign event in North Carolina, refers to a question posed to Democratic President Joe Biden this week about the possibility of Israel targeting Iran’s nuclear program. “They asked him, what do you think about Iran, would you hit Iran? And he goes, ‘As long as they don’t hit the nuclear stuff.’ That’s the thing you want to hit, right?” Trump tells a town hall style event in Fayetteville, near a...

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said Israel should “destroy” Iran’s nuclear weapons program during a Wednesday appearance on NewsNation. Iran launched nearly 200 missiles into Israel on Tuesday in response to a series of targeted killings carried out by Israel that have left several leaders of militia groups alligned with Tehran dead. Israel is widely expected to launch strikes on Iran in response to the Tuesday attack. Bolton, a hawk who served as former President Trump’s national security adviser before breaking with him, argued for an aggressive approach. “Israel should destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons program. There...

Follow unfolding attack by Iran against Israel.

Frontline | The War in Ukraine and Global Security: 'The Kremlin knows this is not sustainable' as Putin's losses mount in Ukraine | Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges Times Radio 836K subscribers 5-14-2024 3:00 p.m. 30:32 Minutes "I don't think that they can maintain their industry and an army of this size that they need, given the casualties they're suffering." Russian manpower shortages because of the war in Ukraine are not sustainable, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges tells Frontline on #timesradio 15,449 views 2 hours ago

To be published on 19 May 2024 Only 11,761 individual signers right now Https://prayandstand.com/get.cfm?c=CHECKOUT&dmy=5D73F6A2-AA7E-2C42-96591917D77C625D&srcItem=PT24D01&fromItem=AD24D22&x=0 ——. Only 9 members of UN General Assembly (7 not counting Israel and the United States) voting AGAINST “Palestine enhanced membership” & a hand written note from President Truman May 14, 1948. 76 years ago )) https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:888de214-fe5e-4030-9155-9e8bbaa00f76

Joe Biden has been hiding intelligence on the whereabouts of Hamas leaders and their command tunnels, depriving Israel of vital information that could lead to an end to the war. That revelation came in a report on Saturday and was framed as the administration offering that information now if the ongoing operation in Rafah is canceled. Why has Biden been keeping intel on Palestinian terrorists from Israel while 5 Americans are being held hostage in Gaza and Israel is their only way out?!Why is Biden constantly playing interference on behalf of Hamas? pic.twitter.com/FB7uLgMdZP— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) May 12, 2024The...

A growing list of human rights violators and authoritarian regimes around the world published messages congratulating Russian strongman Vladimir Putin on his overwhelming “victory” in a three-day sham presidential election that concluded on Sunday. Leaders such as genocidal Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, North Korean tyrant Kim Jong-un, and the heads of Russia’s satellites in Latin America – Cuba’s figurehead “president” Miguel Díaz-Canel and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro – extended their support and confidence in Putin after securing another six years in power through a largely ceremonial “election” with no meaningful opposition voices on the ballot and widespread reports of...

The world’s despots have rushed to congratulate Vladimir Putin for his all-but-assured Russian election win. -snip- North Korean media says Kim Jong-un sent his congratulations via his embassy in Russia this morning – unsurprising as North Korea has provided Putin with supplies and munitions for his war in Ukraine. Putin has also received well-wishes and congratulations from the authoritarian ruler of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla. ‌The presidents of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and Bolivia, Luis Arce, joined the small repressive group hailing Putin’s overwhelming victory

Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi is among the first to congratulate Vladimir Putin on his “decisive” win in Russia’s presidential election, state media reports. “The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran in a message sincerely congratulated Vladimir Putin on his decisive victory and re-election as the President of the Russian Federation,” state news agency IRNA reports. Chinese President Xi Jinping also sends a congratulatory message to Putin, saying his re-election “fully reflects the support of the Russian people,” Beijing’s state media reports.

President Vladimir Putin won a record 88 percent in Russia’s presidential election on Sunday, exit polls and first results showed, cementing his grip on power, though thousands of opponents staged a symbolic noon protest at polling stations. The early result means Putin, who came to power in 1999, looks to have easily won a new six-year term that would enable him to overtake Josef Stalin and become Russia’s longest-serving leader for more than 200 years.

Online voter turnout in Russia’s presidential election on the federal platform has reached 90%, according to the portal on online vote monitoring, APA reports citing TASS. As of 9:27 p.m. Moscow time (6:27 p.m. GMT), as many as 4,268,291 ballots were issued to voters in 28 Russian regions, who had applied for voting online. Thus, voter turnout on the federal platform of electronic voting was 90%. Residents of Moscow can vote on Moscow’s own platform and were not required to apply for remote voting beforehand.

Chasiv Yar, eastern Ukraine — Ukraine's ammunition starved troops pulled back from two more villages in the country's war-torn east this week, ceding them to Russian forces who've capitalized on their enemies' shortages to seize more territory after taking the hard-fought city of Avdiivka about two weeks ago. After punishing battles that decimated Bakhmut and then Avdiivka — cities that stood as symbols of Ukrainian resistance for months, even years, but ultimately fell to Russian firepower — Russia's forces have turned their sites and their guns on the nearby city of Chasiv Yar.

But upcoming Biden administration and German decisions concerning the deployment of precision deep-strike weapons — namely ATACMS and the Taurus cruise missile — are likely weighing heavily on Putin’s mind, along with the coming introduction of F-16 fighter jets. Ditto bilateral security guarantees, some signed just days ago, with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Denmark, Italy and Canada — and Sweden’s and Britain’s announcements last week of additional military assistance. Europe is not giving up on Ukraine. Propaganda wins aside, it was a losing week for Putin... As many as 65 soldiers from Russia’s 39th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade...

Letter to Congress from American Veteran in Ukraine Jake Broe [I am a United States Air Force veteran who served as a Nuclear and Missile Operations Officer (13N). 437K subscribers 2-24-2024 17:00 Minutes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg49VcsWvd8 Excerpt: "Jake is sharing an opinion piece from an American Service veteran currently in Ukraine. An American Veteran plea arm Ukraine or Surrender Freedom. This man's name is John Roberts call sign name is Jackie Not everyone has and uses social media. Not everyone wants to be on camera. So today, I'm going to use my platform and my voice to share his message. This is...

Ukraine’s military has destroyed a Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said on Friday. “The A-50 with the call sign ‘Bayan’ has flown its last!” Oleshchuk wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Developing

Russian opposition leader challenging Vladimir Putin in March's presidential election can expect to be poisoned or imprisoned, according to prominent Putin ally Vladimir Solovyov. Boris Nadezhdin, a former State Duma member who is known for opposing Russia's war in Ukraine, announced on Wednesday that he was filing papers to challenge Putin in the election. The announcement came after a successful campaign to collect at least 100,000 voter signatures required to appear on the ballot. Solovyov, the host of a popular Russian state television show known for pushing Kremlin propaganda, warned Nadezhdin during a broadcast a short time later that his...

On Tuesday, Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the suspension of support by several countries to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) amounts to punishment for the population of Gaza. "What has happened and is happening is collective punishment, prohibited by international humanitarian law," he said, commenting on the decision of 16 countries to stop funding this UN agency. Such a decision came after Israel said that a dozen UNRWA workers participated in the Hamas attack on October 7, which triggered the Israeli offensive against Gaza. Lavrov criticized the "wrong decision" to proceed...

The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions against 19 tankers that transported Russian oil under the flags of Liberia and Panama. SOURCE: US Department of Treasury DETAILS: It is noted that sanctions are imposed in connection with the violation of the restriction on oil prices. 18 tankers fly the flag of Liberia, and one sails under the flag of Panama. Two companies own the tankers: Hennesea Holdings Limited (UAE) and Cielo Marine Ltd (Hong Kong). It is known that the shipping firm Hennesea Holdings Limited (Hennesea), which is headquartered in the United...

Russian strategic culture: Why Russia does things the way it does By Martti J. Kari, former intelligence Colonel in the Finnish Defense Forces BACKGROUND My background is that I have served in military intelligence for most of my career. I am an officer and an intelligence colonel who retired last fall. I started here in January at the university as a teacher. I teach intelligence. As I have spent most of my career in intelligence, Russia and the Soviet Union have always been my point of interest. As a young lieutenant, I was sent to what was then Leningrad to...

The United States and the EU are yet to allocate additional—and much needed—financing for Ukraine. State budget funding, payments in the public sector and, ultimately, the salaries of Ukrainian troops depend on this allied assistance. Otherwise, Kyiv’s only option is to print currency, leading to hryvnia devaluation and soaring inflation.U.S. President Joe Biden has called on Republicans in Congress to approve additional funding, including more than $60 billion for Ukraine, after the 2024 government funding deal. The debate on this issue reached an impasse in the U.S. House of Representatives in late 2023. However, there are prospects that U.S. aid...