Free Republic

Without Iraq-style lies about Russia, the collusion hoax, the impeachment farce, and the 51 intel officials laundering deception for political gain, there likely would have been no Russia-Ukraine war. The proposed Ukraine peace deal has shaken the political class that insisted escalation with Moscow was the only acceptable course. How, they ask, can Russia possibly walk away with concessions? Part of this is simply material: Russia has ground out battlefield gains and retains the manpower and resources to sustain the war indefinitely. But that is only one dimension of it. The fuller answer reaches back long before the first tanks...

It is a fantasy that just will not die. Another Kremlin security scare, another flash of speculation online, another round of breathless commentary. Maybe someone is finally trying to kill Vladimir Putin. Maybe that is what it will take to end the war. One clean shot. One collapsing regime. Peace at last. But if that idea is serious – if we are not just indulging a lurid Western daydream – then we need to ask a much harder question.

Two hours of non stop 'Western values' in Ukraine.

New U.S. sanctions against Russia will shut down trading in dollars and euros on its leading financial marketplace, the Moscow Exchange, the bourse and the central bank said on Wednesday. "Due to the introduction of restrictive measures by the United States against the Moscow Exchange Group, exchange trading and settlements of deliverable instruments in U.S. dollars and euros are suspended," the central bank said. -snip- The bank rushed out a statement, despite a public holiday in Russia, to reassure people that their dollar and euro bank deposits were secure. "Companies and individuals can continue to buy and sell U.S. dollars...

A large part of Russia's mauled Black Sea Fleet was seen leaving the port of Novorossiysk this week, with satellite images suggesting the berths of the southern Russian port had been largely emptied despite the ever-present threat posed by Ukrainian maritime drones and missiles. The intentions of the vessels departing Novorossiysk—further from Ukrainian-controlled territory and considered safer than the Crimean ports repeatedly bombarded by Kyiv's forces—remain unclear. -snip- The Black Sea Fleet has been forced to largely abandon its traditional bases of choice on the occupied Crimean Peninsula because of numerous—and ever more sophisticated—Ukrainian long-range attacks. Despite having no conventional...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called out the US government for neglecting to even ask questions after an American journalist was tortured to death in a Ukrainian jail earlier this year.Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday in St Petersburg, Putin was asked whether Russian officials would help facilitate an investigation of a French journalist who was reportedly killed last month in a missile strike west of Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine). He offered to help enable the probe, but he also contrasted the response to the Frenchman’s death to how the administration of US President Joe Biden reacted...

HORRIFYING pictures show a Ukrainian prisoner of war left extremely skinny and fragile after being trapped in one of Putin's 'concentration camps'. An emaciated Gorilyk Roman Vasilyevich was seen returning to his homeland in a harrowing state after two years of savagery at the hands of thuggish Russian officers. -snip- Vasilyevich was a National Guardsman before his capture and was one of 74 prisoners exchanged in a prisoner swap on May 31. Upon his return to Ukraine, photos were taken of the seriously malnourished man to prove the horrors of Putin's regime during the Ukraine war. His rib cage can...

Ukraine last night claimed it successfully hit a missile system inside Russia using U.S. weapons. It said the country’s forces destroyed Russian missile launchers with a strike in the Belgorod region. Senior politician Yehor Chernev claimed Ukrainian forces used a High Mobility Rocket Artillery System, or HIMARS, The New York Times reported. It comes just days after the U.S. granted permission for Ukraine to fire American weapons into Russia.

Synopsis: A discussion panel on Russia 1 (Russian state television) led by Vladimir Solovyov discusses nuclear attacks against Ukraine and Europe. The panel also discusses the notion of attacking Poland and the Baltics in the expectation that the USA and NATO will abandon these countries. At the 2:30 mark Andrey Gurulyov denies the existence of Ukraine and also states that a threat to Russian-occupied Kaliningrad is present. He promotes an attack on the coast of Holland, destroying dikes in order to flood the country. Andrey Gurulyov also promotes the notion of proxy war by employing hostile groups to shut down...

NATO is flirting with war and extinction. France is now “officially” sending troops to Ukraine (they have been there for some time) and NATO countries are demanding strikes deep inside Russia. Meanwhile, the US has secretly made a “policy shift” that somewhat falls short of what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wanted but opens the door to deep strikes by the US on Russian territory.

The Biden administration has greenlit the use of American long-range strike systems by Ukraine to launch attacks deep into Russia. This puts the entire planet in a “shockingly” dangerous situation, says former DoD analyst and US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski. President Biden has knowingly or unwittingly brought the risk of a world-ending nuclear conflict much, much closer after listening to “neoconservative advisors who really don’t have a lot of perspective on the nuclear dangers that they’re walking into” instead of military specialists and okaying Ukraine’s use of NATO weapons to strike the Russian hinterland, Kwiatkowski told Sputnik. “The...

Ukraine destroyed seven boats in a devastating attack on Russia's Black Sea navy in the Crimea. Ukraine launched a spectacular and devastating attack on Russia's Black Sea Fleet, inflicting major damage on Putin's navy. The Black Sea Fleet is stationed in Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Throughout the current war, Ukraine has managed to sink a number of vessels from the fleet including the Moskva flagship missile cruiser. Through a combination of missiles and drones, Kyiv's army has succeeded in nullifying the threat from Putin's navy in the Black Sea, regularly inflicting huge humiliations on the...

Russia launched plans to sharply raise taxes on high earners and companies to fill state coffers and fund what it sees as a long war in Ukraine. A government commission on Wednesday approved a Finance Ministry plan to introduce a new progressive income tax as well as raise corporate tax rates. The proposed amendments, which would come into force from next year, are expected to bring an additional 2.6 trillion rubles, or around $29 billion. -snip- Per capita household income is around $7,100, according to data provider CEIC. Russia’s military expenditures are already running at over 6% of gross domestic...

Poland's foreign minister said the US had told Russia that it would strike Russian targets in Ukraine if Putin were to use nuclear weapons.In an interview with the Guardian, Radosław Sikorski seemed doubtful of Russia's threats about using nuclear weapons, saying: "The Americans have told the Russians that if you explode a nuke, even if it doesn't kill anybody, we will hit all your targets [positions] in Ukraine with conventional weapons, we'll destroy all of them.""I think that's a credible threat," he said. "Also, the Chinese and the Indians have read Russia the riot act. And it's no child's play...

Since the start of the war, Western allies have asked Ukraine to refrain from using their donated weapons to strike deep inside Russia. Ukraine urgently needs the West's go-ahead to launch attacks on Russian territory with donated weapons, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday after signing a long-term security deal with Belgium that includes the provision of 30 F-16s fighter jets by 2028. The deal, however, prohibits Ukraine from deploying the sought-after aircraft to strike targets located on Russian soil. This follows a long-held policy by Western allies that compels Kyiv to use donated weapons and ammunition strictly within its...

In mid-2022, Gazprom restricted gas flows to Europe in what was seen as a move by Putin to get both leverage against Kyiv's allies ahead of the winter season and retaliate against Western sanctions and support of Ukraine. But the EU managed to find alternative long-term sources of gas imports and free itself from most Russian piped-gas imports ... Gazprom's revenue fell by 41 percent year-over-year in the first half of 2023, while sales profits dropped 71 percent and gas production by 25 percent... The report said the company's upstream gas-production base is now isolated because infrastructure connecting its main...

Volodymyr Zelenesky's constitutionally-mandated term as Ukraine's president expired on May 21. The leader canceled elections planned for March or April last November, claiming it was "utterly irresponsible" to discuss such matters amid the ongoing conflict with Russia. President Zelensky's legitimacy has expired, and Russia will proceed from this fact, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said."Of course, we are aware that the legitimacy of the current head of state [of Ukraine] has ended," Putin said at a press conference in Minsk on Friday after talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Putin recommended anyone looking for answers regarding Zelensky's legal status to...

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Wednesday appeared to back allowing Ukraine to use American-provided weapons to strike Russia or Russian-controlled territory. One reporter asked Johnson about a House Intelligence Committee letter calling on the Biden administration to allow Ukraine to strike Russia with American-supplied weapons. The letter stipulates that this would allow Ukraine to strike “Russian-controlled territory” as well as Russian territory and represents a significant escalation in America’s seemingly endless proxy war against Russia.

Synopsis: A panel of Russian commentators discusses the failure of democracy and representative government in Russia. The discussion immediately descends into angry invective and personal attacks. One member of the panel storms off. Quote of the Day is from the host Vladimir Solovyov: "German Nazism is the highest level of development in this line of German society"

“Here, these are the girls who can get pregnant.” This is video footage depicting the horrific kidnapping of 5 female Israeli hostages: Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniela Gilboa and Naama Levy. They have been held hostage by Hamas terrorists for more than 230 days (8 months). The families of Liri, Karina, Agam, Daniella and Naama have approved the release of the footage to raise awareness about the horrors their daughters are facing as hostages in Gaza