Free Republic

In recent days, the news feed has been flooded with all kinds of headlines like “Starlink was shut down in Iran,” “The regime learned how to jam satellite internet,” “Starlink is broken,” and other similar nonsense. Naturally, many journalists and media outlets were happy to exploit clickbait headlines. As a result, many people perceived this narrative as an actually documented fact. Understandably… when such claims are published by well-known media, they surely cannot be false, right?Is Starlink even available in Iran at all?To begin with, a small historical excursus is needed, one that is absolutely essential for understanding the background...

Iran has supplied millions of rounds of ammunition and shells, according to estimates, which is not the full extent of what Moscow has purchased from Tehran. Tehran has also supplied Shahed-136 kamikaze drones and joint technology that has enabled Russia to produce them domestically under the name Geran-2 as part of a $1.75 billion contract signed in early 2023.... In total, Russia has spent more than the equivalent of $4 billion on Iranian military equipment and weapons since the end of 2021, according to the estimate... Russia is not among Iran’s largest trading partners. China tops the list, with trade...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the US wants the war with Russia to end by June, adding that both sides had been invited to the US for talks next week. "America proposed for the first time that the two negotiating teams – Ukraine and Russia – meet in the United States of America, probably in Miami, in a week. We confirmed our participation," he said. There was no immediate comment from Washington or Moscow, but US President Donald Trump has been pushing for an end for the conflict since he took office again more than a year ago. Meanwhile, Russia...

The ultimate question - maybe even more important than "Who's two points up in Iowa?" - is: Why is this happening to us? On our present course, within the next generation the two most valuable continents on earth plus a third "island-continent" in the South Pacific are about to be surrendered to ...something other. And all without a shot being fired - save (in America) the occasional psychotranny, (in Australia) Isis associates armed to the hilt by His Majesty's Government, and (in Europe) a demographically catastrophic war Lindsey Graham and Victoria Nuland want to fight till the last Ukrainian under...

A new poll shows 76% of Greenlanders say they wouldn’t benefit from becoming part of the U.S., noting their concerns about exchanging the Danish welfare system for American healthcare, elder care and education. Only 3% of Greenlanders had a “very positive” view of U.S. government-provided benefits, while 59% held a mainly or very negative view of it, the poll shows. The U.S. has some of the highest healthcare costs in the world. In a new survey conducted by Verian in Denmark for Berlingske and Sermitsiaq, Greenlanders are asked: "Do you want Greenland to leave Denmark and become part of the...

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov warned on Tuesday that Moscow would take "military and technical compensatory measures" if the United States deploys elements of its proposed "Golden Dome" missile defense system on the Arctic island. Ryabkov made the remarks during a briefing at the Russian Embassy in China. His remarks came as US President Donald Trump seeks to assert greater control over Greenland, the semi-autonomous Danish territory, and advances plans to deploy the "Golden Dome" missile defense system — a multibillion-dollar project he says will be operational before his term ends in 2029. ...His controversial plan comes as the...

NATO’s tactic of using AMRAAM missiles against cheap decoy drones, the Gerbera, in the event of a large-scale war could lead to a rapid depletion of weapons stockpiles.The exact “net” price of these missiles is not disclosed. However, an analysis of contracts for sales to US allies shows that their cost ranges between $1.5 and $2 million....In 2017, the Netherlands agreed to sell 26 AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM missiles under a contract worth $53 million. This amounts to approximately $2 million per unit, excluding additional components of the deal (gross)....In 2019, the U.S. State Department approved the sale of 180 AIM-120C-7 missiles...

Russia has used a record number of ballistic missiles to target Ukraine's energy sector, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. The combined missile and drone strikes hit power plants and infrastructure in Kyiv and multiple locations causing "the most powerful blow" so far this year, according to private energy company DTEK. The strikes were launched as temperatures dropped to -20C (-4F) and left more than 1,000 tower blocks in the capital without heating once again and damaged a power plant in the eastern city of Kharkiv beyond repair. Zelensky said Russia was "choosing terror and escalation" rather than diplomacy to end...

“Zelensky is mentioned in one of the published emails, which dates back to 2024. The identities of both the author and the recipient are concealed. The letter claims that Zelensky is involved in trafficking women and children from Ukraine and suggests that he may have been associated with modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel. The latter was charged in France in 2020 with raping minors and committed suicide in his cell before the court's decision.”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has arrived in Kyiv and meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "Maidan Nezalezhnosti. The People’s Memorial of National Remembrance," Zelenskyy wrote Tuesday on X. "A memorial honoring our heroes, warriors, our people who defended Ukraine against the enemy, fought, and made the ultimate sacrifice in this war. Together with @SecGenNATO Mark Rutte, we honored the memory of fallen Ukrainian defenders today. Eternal honor to our warriors. "Eternal gratitude for their sacrifice and for defending the country. It is our duty to preserve the memory of our fallen heroes." Rutte's visit comes after Russia attacked Ukraine...

Other types of NATO assistance will still be provided to Ukraine, Mark Rutte saidMOSCOW, February 3. /TASS/. The armed forces of the so-called coalition of the willing will be deployed in Ukraine on land, at sea, and in the air once a peace agreement with Russia is concluded, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said. Speaking in the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament), he emphasized that as soon as Russia and Ukraine sign a peace agreement, the coalition of the willing countries that have agreed to support Kiev will deploy their armed forces to Ukraine, dispatch jets, and provide sea support....

U.S. and European officials are growing increasingly worried as hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. energy assistance previously pledged for Ukraine remain unreleased, even as a bone-cold winter pushes the nation's war‑damaged power grid to the brink, said several sources familiar with the matter. The funds in question were originally slated to be distributed by the U.S. Agency for ​International Development to help Ukraine import liquefied natural gas and rebuild energy infrastructure damaged by Russian strikes, said the sources, who include a U.S. official and a Ukrainian official. But after USAID was effectively shuttered in the ‌opening weeks of...

Ukraine is racing to reinforce its air defenses as a brief pause in Russian strikes on Kyiv and other cities approaches its expiration, and military and diplomatic experts warn the move may do little to change conditions on the battlefield and could strengthen Moscow’s negotiating position. Earlier Friday, President Donald Trump said at the White House, "I think we’re getting very close to getting a settlement," expressing optimism about the upcoming Russia-Ukraine talks. "Zelenskyy and Putin hate each other, and it makes it very difficult, but I think we have a good chance of getting it settled." The Kremlin said...

They've hung him upside down like a slab of meat. Stripped to his underwear. Arms bound tight with tape. Ankles lashed to a tree trunk in the open winter air. The second man, attached to a neighbouring tree, is at least taped upright. A man screams at them in Russian. He stuffs a fistful of snow into one of the men's mouths. Both cringe in terror, whimpering protestations and pleas. This is no medieval dungeon - it's the Russian army in Ukraine in the 21st century. The men's 'crime'? Refusing to walk, yet again, into what they call 'the meat...

Donald Trump said in 2016 to the Republican National Convention, “We must abandon the failed policy of nation-building and regime change.” Earlier this month, after the current administration launched a war against Venezuela and ousted—one might say changed the regime of—President Nicolás Maduro, Trump said, “We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.” U.S.-led regime change in Venezuela seemed to fly in the face of Trump’s prior warnings against regime change wars. But the president’s defenders said this was a different kind of military operation, unlike the Iraq,...

"Ukraine saw a rare overnight lull in attacks on energy infrastructure after President Trump personally urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to pause strikes — but the Kremlin said Friday the brief reprieve will last only through Sunday. There were no overnight strikes on energy facilities in Ukraine after Trump called on Putin to spare them as frigid temperatures leave civilians in danger of freezing to death, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post to X. “Over the past night, there were no strikes on energy facilities,” Zelensky wrote. But that didn’t stop Moscow from continuing to hit other civilian...

I really respect Judge Andrew Napolitano. I love his "stable" of guests, especially Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski–you gotta love the lady. But when the Judge says that the ICE Officers who applied lethal force to civil conflict situations, "murdered" those who foolishly placed themselves in harm's way for no advantage to anyone, let's apply the Judge's own standards of judgment, as a Constitutional Expert. There is a customary spread of categories applied to homicides, condensed in this list of classifications, from intentional and pre-planned murder, negligent manslaughter, and justifiable self-defense. What would be the typical scenario for "murder" in a...

I took a few images from the 2 minute video for this post:Andrew Bridgen@ABridgenMore fraud uncovered in Ukraine a $3bn ‘redirect’ of aid for Ukraine linking the deputy prime minister who has been arrested, the EU and AstraZeneca. All ultimately benefiting Zelenskyy. You could not make this up - no wonder they want the war to continue. Please watch and share.Jan 29, 2026·

"In a big setback to Donald Trump's Ukraine peace efforts, Russia has hardened its stance on Donbas ahead of the tripartite talks in the United Arab Emirates. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov reiterated Moscow's demand that Ukraine withdraw from the Donbas region. The Russian official's remark comes amid Trump saying that both Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky had agreed to a deal."

Volodymyr Zelenskyy dropped a barrage of truth bombs on his European allies about their collective failure to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and be respected by his US counterpart, Donald Trump. Invoking the spectacle of Bill Murray's classic comedy, Groundhog Day, at a speech in Davos, the Ukrainian president said the UK and Europe are stuck in a doom loop, repeating rhetoric about what needs to be done - without taking the action required to make things change. This, he said, meant they were left scrambling to respond to world events instead of standing united as a great...