Free Republic

Moscow’s deadly air assault on Ukrainian cities has ramped up pressure on Western nations to rush air defense systems to the embattled country, but it is still unlikely to receive one of the world’s most effective tools against incoming projectiles. Israel’s Iron Dome air defense, which boasts a 90 percent success rate against rockets fired against it, will stay out of Ukraine’s reach, said experts, as Jerusalem seeks to maintain strategic relations with Russia in Syria and other hot spots.

Russia’s defense ministry on Saturday admitted its forces had retreated from key towns in northeastern Ukraine after a stunning advance by Ukrainian troops. The Defense Ministry said it had pulled forces out of the village of Balakliya and the strategically crucial city of Izyum in the Kharkiv region, after a decision to “regroup” and transfer them to Donetsk in the south.” The retreat represents one of the biggest setbacks for Russia since President Vladimir V. Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February. “In order to achieve the goals of the special military operation, a decision was made to...

In Washington, high-profile funerals often fall to vice presidents. “You die, I’ll fly” was how George H.W. Bush summed up the frequent funeral part of his portfolio when he was Ronald Reagan’s No. 2 in the 1980s. (Bush attributed the quip to Secretary of State James A. Baker.) But sometimes, the passing of an august figure requires words from the highest political voice in the country, a sitting or former president. President Trump did not attend Saturday’s memorial service for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) at Washington National Cathedral. Nor has Trump spoken at a funeral since moving into the White...