Free Republic

<p>Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration considered making a deal that would have lined Melania Trump’s pockets in order to curry favor with the new president, according to a report.</p><p>As part of a desperate scramble to make inroads with Donald Trump, the Ukrainian president’s aides floated brokering the purchase of the Ukrainian language rights to the first lady’s memoir, unnamed Ukrainian officials told The New York Times.</p>

Russia's ability to outmatch Ukraine with artillery barrages on the battlefield has significantly reduced to just 1.5 Russian rounds for every Ukrainian shell fired back, Western officials have said. This compares with Russian forces launching at least five times as many artillery rounds as Ukraine could in the war previously - with the ratio at times much higher even than that. The Western officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, put the levelling out down to a "wide variety of factors". These factors include limitations in Russia's defence production lines, difficulties with transporting more rounds to the frontline by rail,...

Salemi) Officials in the US-led multinational coalition that is reportedly preparing to assist in repelling an expected Iranian attack have preemptively warned Israel not to respond too strongly to such an assault, according to a Tuesday report. “Don’t push it,” the unnamed officials told Jerusalem, according to Kan news. “Think carefully before you attack in return. The goal at the end of the day is not to lead to an all-out war.” In April, a massive drone and missile attack from Iran was foiled by a coalition that reportedly comprised Israel, the United States, Britain, France, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi...

The United States has determined that Russia is suffering "severe manpower shortages" in its six-month-old war with Ukraine and has become more desperate in its efforts to find new troops to send to the front lines, according to a new American intelligence finding disclosed Wednesday. Russia is looking to address the shortage of troops in part by compelling soldiers wounded earlier in the war to return to combat, recruiting personnel from private security companies and even recruiting from prisons, according to a U.S. official who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss the downgraded intelligence finding....

More than six months of war in Ukraine have led to huge losses of manpower and military equipment of the terrorist state of Russia. By the end of this year, the Russian Federation will run out of shells for artillery and armored vehicles, there are also very few guided missiles, and the state of military aviation does not allow for a full-scale air campaign. According to the Insider, due to Western sanctions, Russia cannot continue full-fledged industrial production of weapons and replenish supplies that are rapidly being depleted. It is noted that the Arsenal left in the Russian Federation since...

Russian cargo planes left Tehran 10 days ago with UAVs, some of which have already malfunctioned, U.S. and allied officials say Russian cargo planes have quietly picked up the first of scores of Iranian-made combat drones for use against Ukraine, U.S. officials said, in a move that underscores deepening ties between Moscow and Tehran while also highlighting Russia’s struggles to supply its overstretched military. But while the weapons could provide a significant boost for Russia’s war effort against Ukraine, the transfer has been marred by technical problems, security officials from the United States and an allied government said in interviews....

Russia is pulling all of its fighter jets out of Crimea in an apparent response to recent explosions at Russian military outposts in the region, a secret NATO report seen by Insider said. Russia has already moved ten aircraft — six Su-35S and four MiG-31BM jets — out of Crimea and into Russia and is set to continue until all fighter jets are removed, the report, which was dated August 22, said. The first ten jets were moved from Belbek airfield in Crimea to Kushchevskaya and Marinovka, two regions in Russia, the report said. "Russia has dispersed 10x fighter aircraft...

The disclosure came in a report Wednesday night, citing unnamed U.S. officials. FBI suggests that President Donald Trump may have worked alongside Russian officials to release information aimed at Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election. The FBI has information indicating that associates of President Donald Trump were in communication with suspected Russian agents and that they may have coordinated on releasing hacked emails and other information to undercut Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, CNN reported Wednesday, citing unnamed U.S. officials.