Free Republic

Russia is deploying between 10,000 and 20,000 mercenaries in Ukraine, a European official said. Some are Syrian and Libyan fighters, though the exact breakdown of the force is still unclear.

When we read the papers or turn on the television (for those of us who have television), hardly a day or two passes by without the mention of new (or ongoing) actions by the Chinese government in a military capacity. Within the past year alone, China has extended her reach steadily beyond her own territorial waters and nearby sea-lanes. She has participated in numerous exercises, some of them jointly with foreign nations. Anyone can clearly witness her aggressive, outwardly expanding policies regarding territory and flexing her muscle. The most recent maneuver comes on the heels of the Russian actions in...

PARIS/KIEV — Russia said on Wednesday it could not order "self-defense" forces in Crimea back to their bases ahead of the first face-to-face talks with the United States on easing tensions over Ukraine and averting the risk of war. Russia and the West are facing the most serious confrontation since the end of the Cold War over influence in Ukraine, a major commodities exporter and strategic link between East and West. Ukraine pulled out of a trade deal with the European Union under Russian pressure last year, leading to months of street protests in Kiev and the February 22 ouster...

GEORGIA CONFLICT 2008 SEPTEMBER 13, 2008 - Russians withdraw from Poti At long last, and after much negotiation and foot dragging by the Russians, hundreds of Russian personnel withdrew from positions Saturday in western Georgia and Georgian officials indicated that Russia met a deadline for a partial pullout agreed to with French President Sarkozy. Russian soldiers and armored vehicles withdrew from six checkpoints and temporary bases in the Black Sea port of Poti and other areas nearby, Georgian Security Council chief Alexander Lomaia said. "They have fulfilled the commitment" to withdraw from the area by Sept. 15 under an...

AUGUST 29, 2008 Ethnic cleansing of Georgians in the now seperated Provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which Russia has officially recognized as indepenednet, is now proceedingat a rapid pace. Georgian homes and villages are being burned and raised and Georgian civilians are being forced to leave...many with nothing but what they can wear and carry, if that. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili announced that Georgia was officially breaking diplomatic ties with Russia, ordering its diplomats and staff to leave Moscow and return to Georgia. The action comes as a direct Georgian response to Moscows recognition of its two Provinces...

AUGUST 27, 2008 The US Coast Guard Cutter, Dallas, docked at Batumi and began unloading its humanitarian supplies, ending speculation that the ship might first go to the port of Poti where Russian soldiers were blocking entrance to the port, and where Russian vessels of the Black Sea fleet were patrolling. The Russians moved their six to eight vessels from a station in the vicinity of the Georgian port Poti into Abkhazian territorial waters, in possible anticipation that the US warships, USS McFaul and the USCGC Dallas might arrive, but also bolstered their fleet around the area. The Moscow,...

BATUMI, Georgia (Reuters) - The first U.S. warship to bring aid to Georgia arrived in the country's main Black Sea port of Batumi on Sunday, in a strong gesture of support for the ex-Soviet republic in its conflict with Russia. The USS McFaul, a guided missile destroyer, is loaded with humanitarian aid including beds and food for the tens of thousands displaced by the confrontation that erupted on Aug 7-8 over Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia region. GEORGIA COMNFLICT 2008

The US Navy AEGIS guided missile destroyer, the USS McFaul, was pictured passing through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles Straits into the Black Sea on Friday and is nearing Gerogia. A potential flash point is developing around the Georgian port city of Poti where Russian forces continue to occupy areas around the city, where the American vessels would most likely unload their humanitarian supplies. The US views the pull back from Poti, in conjunction with other Russian pull backs, as a key to diffusing the situation. GEORGIA CONFLICT 2008

<p>IGOETI, Georgia - Russian forces pulled out of positions deep inside Georgia on Friday, two weeks after thousands of troops roared into the small Caucasian nation aboard hundreds of armored vehicles.</p> <p>The movements came after Russia's defense minister said President Dmitry Medvedev had ordered a pullback and promised that Russian forces would withdraw to separatist regions and surrounding security zones by the day's end.</p>