Free Republic

KYIV — As Russia steps up airstrikes and once again advances on the battlefield in Ukraine more than two years into its bloody invasion, there is no end to the fighting in sight. And President Volodymyr Zelensky’s options for what to do next — much less how to win the war — range from bad to worse. Zelensky has said Ukraine will accept nothing less than the return of all its territory, including land that Russia has controlled since 2014. But with the battle lines changing little in the last year, militarily retaking the swaths of east and south Ukraine...

Daniel Kawczynski, Member of Foreign Affairs Select Committee and Chairman of the All Party Group for Poland, is the latest high profile Member of Parliament to call for a change in the relationship between NATO and Russia, specifically asking for a reversal of the military build-up on the Russian and NATO borders and a de-escalation of the recent tensions. Mr. Kawczynski, writing in a letter to the Telegraph newspaper, said whilst acknowledging that many in the London political circles “are suspicious of Russian motives and intentions” and see Russia as “causing concern for European security particularly over her actions in...

NATO made a formal invitation on Thursday to tiny Montenegro to join the alliance as its 29th member. NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels signed the accession protocol under the eyes of the Montenegrin prime minister, Milo Djukanovic. The membership must be approved by all 28 national governments or parliaments, including the United States Senate. When an informal invitation was made to Montenegro in December, Russia responded angrily. Montenegro has a population of about 600,000 and little military capacity, but in December, Adm. Vladimir Komoyedov, the chairman of the Russian Parliament’s defense committee, said, “They are ready to admit even...

Russia is preparing an "asymmetric" response to the increase in NATO troop rotation in Eastern Europe, and in particular the United States' military presence near Russian borders, Russia's ambassador to NATO said on March 31. "Of course, our response will be completely asymmetrical. It will be calibrated to match our ideas about the degree of military threat, to be most efficient and not overly expensive," Alexandr Grushko said on Rossiya-24 television. "We can see that the U.S. continues to increase its military presence in Europe with an emphasis on the Eastern front... We are not passive observers. We consistently implement...

The 28-nation US-led group agreed to start the entry process at a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels this morning, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. The move will be seen as a warning to the Kremlin that its influence in the region is waning, despite a show of strength during last year's annexation of Crimea and the subsequernt bombing campaign in Syria. In retaliation, Russia has warned that Montenegro will be punished for the action.