Free Republic

During an appearance on 77 WABC radio, former President Donald J. Trump was asked by host John Catsimatidis what things “keep you up at night.” The former President quickly answered: “I think more than anything else, I think we could end up in World War III and it could be all of the horrible things that took place in Ukraine,” A growing number of people believe Trump is correct in his chilling assessment. The question then becomes: How did we ever get to such an increasingly surreal and dangerous position? A few weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, simply asking questions...

The Russian leader has a record of weaponising fuel supplies and believes his people can endure economic pain longer than western Europe The suspected sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines could be a page ripped straight from Vladimir Putin’s playbook of panic, escalation and misdirection. The former KGB agent’s illegal war on Ukraine resulted in unprecedented Western sanctions against Moscow. But the Russian president is confident that his people can endure economic pain longer and better than Europeans. His calculation is that soaring gas prices and the cost of living crisis in a continent hopelessly addicted to Russian energy will...

AP) — A Russian operative under the supervision of one of the Kremlin’s main intelligence services has been charged with recruiting political groups in the United States to advance pro-Russia propaganda, including during the invasion of Ukraine, the Justice Department said Friday. The indictment of Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov reflects what U.S. officials say are ongoing Russian government efforts to meddle in the American political process, to shape public opinion and to sow discord and dissent on hot-button social issues. In this case, the authorities say, Ionov from 2014 through last March recruited political groups in Florida, Georgia and California and...

President Biden has borrowed a page right out of Vladimir Putin’s playbook. As someone who was raised in the USSR, I am all too familiar with the tactic of divisive, inflammatory rhetoric and scapegoating that the Soviet government used to foment hatred among its own citizens in order to keep permanent control. As a former DIA intelligence officer who specializes in Russian affairs and Putin’s doctrine, I am stunned at how adept the Democrats have become at Soviet-style tactics.

The mother of Egor Shkrebets, a conscripted sailor who had served on the cruiser Moscow and went missing, told The Insider she and her husband were at a hospital in Rocky Bay, where the wounded from the cruiser were brought. There were about 200 injured sailors, she said. In all, according to Schkrebets' mother, there had been over 500 people on board the ship. «We looked at every burnt kid. I can't tell you how hard it was, but I couldn't find mine. There were only two hundred people, and there were more than five hundred on board the cruiser....

Russia is modifying its invasion of Ukraine into a broader war against the West, The Wall Street Journal reports. Kremlin leaders and state media have been warning Russians that the war with Ukraine could become a global war. The U.S. and some allies, increasingly seeing an opportunity to contain Russia’s possible imperial ambitions, have increased military assistance to Ukraine. In response, Moscow has been preparing the Russian population for a potential larger war. The Kremlin has been using the May 9th celebrations, which commemorate the Allied victory over Nazi Germany, to draw parallels between World War II and the invasion...

Germany will support the European embargo of Russian oil, marking another significant turnaround in the nation’s position as the invasion of Ukraine continues. Ambassadors will reportedly table the proposal at an ambassadors summit in Brussels on Wednesday, with expectations to approve the embargo by the end of next week. Germany has resisted such an embargo, but government sources told German news agency dpa on Sunday that Chancellor Olaf Scholz will back the embargo. Scholz previously urged caution against any outright ban over concerns of the consequences, which he believed would prove devastating to Germany’s economy and the continent as a...

Poland has been preparing to give up Russian gas fuel for a long time, so Gazprom's decision to turn off the tap did not surprise her. Rather, the inevitable has accelerated. Poland's energy security should not be jeopardized, but the gas turmoil may again have an impact on Poles' bills in a few months. The former president of PGNiG draws attention to one important element of the entire gas puzzle. On Wednesday at 8.00, Gazprom will officially suspend gas supplies to Poland under the Yamal contract . The day before, journalists reported that gas fuel transmission from the east fell...

Authorities in Moldova are gathering Tuesday for an urgent security meeting following a series of blasts in a Russia-aligned separatist region, just days after one of Vladimir Putin’s generals suggested that country could be the next target of Moscow’s military aggression in eastern Europe. At least two blasts this morning targeted radio antennas that broadcast Russian programs in Maiac, a town around seven miles from Moldova’s border with Ukraine, according to officials in the Trans-Dniester region. They come a day after several explosions believed to be caused by rocket-propelled grenades were reported to have hit the Ministry of State Security...

Flight tracking info suggests Putin may be in a hideaway near Surgut, in Siberia Defence minister Sergei Shoigu is believed to be in a bunker in Ufa, in the Urals Use of bunkers would be alarming as they suggest nuclear option is on the table New evidence has emerged Vladimir Putin and his highest ranking commanders are running the war in Ukraine from top secret nuclear bunkers. Movements of planes used by top Kremlin officials show Putin may be in a hideaway near Surgut, in western Siberia, it has been claimed. His defence minister Sergei Shoigu - who has been...