Free Republic

UNITED NATIONS — Europe alone is not responsible for helping Ukraine bring an end to its war with Russia, EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas warned Thursday. That is particularly true when considering President Donald Trump’s pledge to halt the fighting, she said in an interview on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. “He was the one who promised to stop the killing,” Kallas said. “So it can’t be on us.” Her comments come as Ukraine and its allies try to divine the meaning of Trump’s sudden about-face on the war between Kyiv and Moscow. In a Truth Social post...

Explanation: A study in contrasts, this colorful cosmic skyscape features stars, dust, and glowing gas in the vicinity of NGC 6914. The interstellar complex of nebulae lies some 6,000 light-years away, toward the high-flying northern constellation Cygnus and the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy. Obscuring interstellar dust clouds appear in silhouette while reddish hydrogen emission nebulae, along with the dusty blue reflection nebulae, fill the cosmic canvas. Ultraviolet radiation from the massive, hot, young stars of the extensive Cygnus OB2 association ionize the region's atomic hydrogen gas, producing the characteristic red glow as protons and electrons recombine. Embedded Cygnus...

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Tuesday agreed fresh sanctions to impose on Russia, notably targeting almost 200 ships from the shadow fleet illicitly transporting oil to skirt Western restrictions imposed over the war on Ukraine. The 27-nation bloc targeted 189 ships in all, and imposed asset freezes and travel bans on several officials as well as on a number of Russian companies. The measures were endorsed by EU foreign ministers in Brussels. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that while President Vladimir “Putin feigns interest in peace, more sanctions are in the works. Russia’s actions and those...

Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia intend to withdraw from the Ottawa Convention banning the use and stockpiling of anti-personnel mines, the defense ministers of the four countries have announced in a joint statement. The ministers said that since signing the treaty, “the security situation in our region has fundamentally deteriorated.” Leaving the 1997 treaty, which has been ratified or acceded to by more than 160 nations but not by Russia, will allow Poland and the three Baltic countries to start stockpiling landmines again. The ministers highlighted the threat posed by Russia since its invasion of Ukraine, describing the situation as...

The European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas, a legend in international diplomacy (kidding), lashed out at President Trump after Volodymyr Zelensky’s disgraceful and rude display on Friday in the Trump White House.Earlier today, ungrateful Ukrainian President Zelensky waltzed into the Trump White House and treated President Trump and the American people with total disdain.President Trump ended the talks after several minutes due to Zelensky’s rude behavior.Secretary of State Marco Rubio and NSA advisor Michael Waltz then went into the Roosevelt Room to ask Zelenskyy to leave, Rubio made it clear that any further engagements today would be counterproductive. Waltz told...