Free Republic

Under pressure in various sectors of the frontline, with its power plants and energy grid under relentless attacks, and trying to find a peace proposal that would keep it from losing 20 per cent of its former territory for good, Ukraine is also under financial threat, as concerning news arise over its debt restructuring efforts. Kiev could default on its enormous debts as early as next month unless it manages to negotiate a restructuring deal with its creditors, The Economist reported (behind paywall). With the onset of the war in February 2022, bondholders granted Ukraine a two-year debt freeze. That...

Ex-US President Donald Trump promised to put an end to "never-ending" multi-billion payments to Ukraine in case he wins the presidential election in November. "I think [Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is maybe the greatest salesman of any politician that's ever lived," Trump said when speaking before his supporters in Detroit. "Every time he comes to our country, he walks away with $60 billion," TASS quoted him as saying. "And he gets home and he announces that he needs another $60 billion. It never ends. It never ends. I will have that settled," he added. Trump repeatedly stated earlier that he...

Vice President Kamala Harris announced a $1.5 billion aid package for Ukraine in its war against Russia at the Summit for Peace Saturday in Switzerland. “This war remains an utter failure for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin,” Harris, said during a meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. “I am here in Switzerland to stand with Ukraine and the leaders from around the world in support of a just and lasting peace,” she added. “As we look forward to that peace and work toward that, the United States is committed to helping Ukraine rebuild.” Of the new aid total, $500 million of...

A US, UK, and European government-backed Ukrainian publication called “Data Journalism Agency” (TEXTY) has released a new report labeling hundreds of Americans as adversaries due to their refusals to endorse more war and more funding for the Ukrainian government. Titled “Roller Coaster: From Trumpists to Communists,” the report identifies top U.S. politicians, journalists, and social media influencers, claiming all the individuals and organizations in question are Russian propaganda tools. The list includes former President Donald J. Trump, the Real America’s Voice network, Laura Loomer, Jack Posobiec, Ben Shapiro, Ron DeSantis, Matt Gaetz, RFK Jr, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, Tucker Carlson,...

NATO is drawing up plans to send American troops to the frontlines of Europe in the event of an all-out conflict with Russia, it has been revealed. New 'land corridors' are being carved out to quickly funnel soldiers through central Europe without local bureaucratic impediments, allowing NATO forces to pounce in an instant should Putin's devastating war in Ukraine move further west. The plans are said to include contingencies in case of Russian bombardment, letting troops sweep into the Balkans via corridors in Italy, Greece and Turkey, or towards Russia's northern border via Scandinavia, officials told The Telegraph. Tensions have...

Republican lawmakers are facing an internal battle over defense spending as prominent Republicans including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Sen. Roger Wicker (Miss.), the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, are pushing for big increases while conservatives are raising alarms over the debt. The battle within the GOP over how much to increase defense spending to deter threats from Russia, China and Iran will burst into public next month when the Senate is set to debate the annual National Defense Authorization Act. McConnell and Wicker are laying the groundwork for that debate by calling for major...

The US is "rushing ammunition, armoured vehicles, missiles [and] air defences" to Ukraine's front line, Anthony Blinken has said.During a trip to Ukraine, the US secretary of state announced that $2bn would be spent to speed up delivery. His comments came as Russian advances forced Ukrainian to retreat from several villages in the Kharkiv region. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has cancelled all his foreign trips to concentrate on the new incursion. Speaking in Kyiv on Wednesday, Mr Blinken said weapons would be rushed to the front lines to "protect soldier, to protect citizens". He said that the air defence systems,...

Well, as suspected, the war in Ukraine isn't about Democracy. It is about business and appeasing investors, the same investors who are also donators to the political parties. Col Douglas MacGregor talks about BlackRock and other investors who wanted to carve up Russia & Ukraine.

Ukraine last week got a vital $61 billion lifeline from the United States. But it still needs a medium-term funding plan to withstand Russia’s onslaught. A multi-year funding plan would have several benefits. For a start, it would provide some insurance against U.S. political swings. It would also boost Ukrainian morale and give Western arms manufacturers greater confidence to ramp up production. Ukraine is straining every sinew to hold the line against Russia, an adversary whose $2 trillion, opens new tab economy was 11 times bigger than its own last year. How much Kyiv needs in future depends on what...

Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he “apologized” to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for failing to send the millions of tax dollars in aid to the country “fast enough.” During an appearance on “Face the Nation,” McConnell discussed approving the supplemental aid, which provides further funding to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.

The House speaker’s comments wrecked one of the far right’s most ridiculous, reprehensible tropes.It was a remarkable moment: After introducing a package of bills that includes military aid to Ukraine, Mike Johnson flatly told reporters on Wednesday that enabling Ukraine to defend itself is in the best interests of America and the world. This surprised a lot of people who had wrongly assumed the House speaker was effectively functioning as a stooge for Vladimir Putin—and Donald Trump—and would thus slow-walk Ukraine aid to death before ever allowing a vote on it.Johnson’s new stance has attracted a good deal of positive...

President Trump released a statement this afternoon on the massive amount of aid that the United States is providing to Ukraine as Europe does next to nothing, and Congress announces a new $95 billion foreign aid package. “Why is it that the United States is over $100 Billion Dollars into the Ukraine War more than Europe, and we have an Ocean between us as separation!” said Trump in a scathing Truth Social post.

Unlike America First Republicans, Uniparty RINOs receive all of the praise and awards when they sell out their country and their constituents.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer bragged on the Senate floor on Wednesday about how House Speaker Mike Johnson gave into Democratic demands in foreign aid packages. Human Events' Jack Posobiec said he heard from a senior Republican official that Schumer "was just on the Senate floor bragging to other members about Speaker Johnson giving Democrats everything they wanted in the Ukraine and foreign aid packages." Posobiec said on Human Events Daily Wednesday that there’s "nothing" in this package for the southern border. "Not one penny of this should be spent. None of these bills should go forward and any Republican...

The inside story of how House Speaker Mike Johnson was flip-flopped on Ukraine aid starts with his top policy adviser, a former lobbyist whose clients include a number of major companies who have issued corporate statements indicating some kind of interest in the war. The Speaker intends to set up a Saturday evening vote in the House of Representatives on the plan that completely abandons border security and instead pushes to funnel tens of billions of more U.S. tax dollars to foreign countries like Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. In a string of recent betrayals by the Speaker–the recent government funding...

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) unveiled a gambit to burst a legislative logjam and unleash a four-vote flood including a standalone vote on tens of billions in American taxpayer aid to Ukraine. The plan appears to exploit the sense of urgency in Congress for sending aid to Israel in the wake of Iranian missile attacks in a scheme to bypass Republican animosity towards continuing to fund Ukraine’s war against Russia. Johnson unveiled his plan to his colleagues during a Monday night House Republican Conference meeting. His plan is to hold a single vote on a rule — the product specifying which...

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday he will try to advance wartime aid for Israel this week as he attempts the difficult task of winning House approval for a national security package that also includes funding for Ukraine and allies in Asia. Johnson, R-La., is already under immense political pressure from his fellow GOP lawmakers as he tries to stretch between the Republican Party’s divided support for helping Kyiv defend itself from Moscow’s invasion. The Republican speaker has sat for two months on a $95 billion supplemental package that would send support to the U.S. allies, as...

One of the worst kept secrets in Washington is no one actually knows just how much money the United States has spent in support of Ukraine. Over the past year, however, conservatives in Congress have been pushing President Joe Biden and his administration for the real number, and they’re finally getting some answers. In a letter sent to Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young on Tuesday, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, along with Sens. Roger Marshall, Rand Paul, Mike Lee, and twelve other members of Congress, chronicled the immense difficulty Congress...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is planning to devote much of his energy in the remaining months of his term as Republican leader, as well as the next few years of his term, to ensuring Ukraine is supported as its war with Russia rages on. "It may not be fashionable now, but I’m a Ronald Reagan Republican: peace through strength," the longtime Senate GOP leader said during a speech in Shelbyville, Kentucky, per local outlet the Kentucky Lantern. McConnell has been a proponent of continued support for Ukraine, even after members of his party began to push back.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) challenged his Republican colleague, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), to a debate regarding his “Ukraine first policy.”In an opinion article in the Courier-Journal, Paul slammed McConnell for vowing to go after the “isolationist movement” in the Republican Party, specifically in terms of monetary support for Ukraine. While McConnell had announced in February that he plans to step down as Senate minority leader at the end of the current term, he has said that he has plans to remain in the U.S. Senate.“Mitch McConnell has pledged to fight ‘GOP isolationism’ in the remainder of his career,” Paul wrote....