Free Republic

The incident further inflamed tensions between Hungary and Ukraine, which are embroiled in a bitter feud over Hungary’s access to Russian oil through a pipeline that crosses Ukrainian territory. Hungarian authorities have detained seven Ukrainian citizens, including a former intelligence officer, and seized two armored cars carrying large amounts of cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said Friday. Ukraine accused Hungary of taking the Ukrainians hostage and illegally seizing millions of dollars in cash. “This is state terrorism and racketeering,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X late Thursday. The seven were employees of the Ukrainian...

Robert Fico 🇸🇰@RobertFicoSVKREACTION OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC, ROBERT FICO, TO THE BLACKMAILING BEHAVIOR OF UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT ZELENSKYYI express full solidarity with the Prime Minister of Hungary, @PM_ViktorOrban. If the Ukrainian president continues like this, it may happen that other EU member states will also block the 90-billion loan for Ukraine.And I officially ask all the highest representatives of the European Union and I will be very specific: 👉🏻 the President of the European Commission, @vonderleyen👉🏻 the President of the European Council, @eucopresident👉🏻 and also the so-called EU foreign affairs chief, @kajakallas☝🏻 to distance themselves from these...

Russia is one of the biggest winners in the early days of the largest U.S. military confrontation in decades, as Iranian missiles deplete stocks of Patriot interceptors that Ukraine needs for its defense. Even before the Iran campaign, production bottlenecks in the U.S.-made Patriot system had drained Ukraine’s reserves and left European allies on yearslong waiting lists. Those shortfalls have allowed Russia to punch through gaps in Ukraine’s air defenses, devastating its power infrastructure and casting Ukrainian cities into blackouts.