Free Republic

President Joe Biden's apparent call for Vladimir Putin's exit reverberated instantly around the world, sparking an administration rush to course-correct -- and risks scrambling US efforts to rally a united front on the Ukraine conflict. Biden's comment that the Russian president "cannot remain in power" -- delivered in Warsaw at the close of three days of marathon diplomacy -- was termed "a horrendous gaffe" by one Republican senator. A senior US analyst said it could have the effect of lengthening the war. And even France's president warned such language could "escalate" a conflict the United States and its NATO allies...

The intrigue is growing over the Federal Security Service's involvement in Ukraine. On April 11, Ukraine's Deputy Prosecutor General said there was no evidence implicating the FSB in events on Maidan Square. At the same time, it is officially confirmed that FSB generals visited Kiev on Feb. 20 to 21. Recall that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry sent a note to Moscow on April 4 demanding to know why FSB Colonel General Sergei Beseda visited Kiev on Feb. 20 and 21, and that the very next day Interfax cited a source in Russian intelligence confirming that visit. The answer as to...