Free Republic

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 26, contains this invaluable insight: “As dogs return to their vomit, so fools repeat their folly. You see those who are wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for fools than for them.” Invaluable because, in connection with the Russia-Ukraine War, the passage powerfully illuminates the current debate about Ukraine’s future strategic prospects.The past few months have witnessed the dog returning to its vomit in the form of any number of efforts to once again make the case that Ukraine still has a path to total victory in its war against Russia. In...

Things are not always as they seem, and I am convinced that the drama that we witnessed at the White House on Friday is a perfect example. Right now, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is being endlessly ridiculed by the conservative media in the United States. One of the words that is being used to describe Zelenskyy is “stupid”, but the truth is that Zelenskyy is not stupid at all. I strongly disagree with Zelenskyy on a lot of things, but I also recognize that he is an incredibly cunning individual. He has used the war with Russia to become one...

A drone struck a residential building in Romania’s city of Galati near the Ukrainian border, injuring two people and triggering a fire after impact, authorities said on Friday. The incident, which prompted the evacuation of dozens of residents, comes amid continued drone activity in the region linked to the war in Ukraine.

"Russia is considering limiting exports of diesel and jet fuel," Bloomberg and other sources reported Tuesday, "as refinery run rates fall to multi-year lows amid Ukraine’s escalating attacks." An Interfax source claimed that the decision to ban exports is at "an advanced stage," but no date has been set. If it comes to pass, that would be bad for diesel prices and inflation right here at home, but worse for Moscow's finances. Just the fact that the Kremlin is considering an export ban is more evidence that Kyiv's drone campaign is increasingly effective — against Russia's energy production at home,...

It has been more than four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. And although polls show that a majority of Americans support Ukraine, military and financial assistance to bolster its defensive and offensive capabilities have fallen dramatically. This is in no small part due to President Trump’s and Vice President JD Vance’s open antipathy toward President Volodymyr Zelensky, which has led to the blatant slow walking of implementing support already appropriated by Congress. As co-founder of a humanitarian organization, I have traveled frequently to Ukraine and seen the devastation caused by Russia’s relentless attacks on non-combatant civilians, including children....

Russia tells foreign nationals, including diplomatic missions and staff, to leave Kyiv ASAP

Today's video investigates the absurdities of the policies, and how they lead to inefficiencies both domestic and international. We then try to understand why autocratic governments nonetheless offer subsidies despite knowing all of their drawbacks. Turkmenistan prior to 2019? Free natural gas for everyone. Great. But it gave rise to the saying, "A Turkman does not turn off his stove because then he will have to pay for matches." Hence why I had to add the prior to 2019 qualifier there because that policy sure as heck was not sustainable.

Ukraine Just LOCKED The Door — 85,000 Russian Troops Are Now TRAPPED Forever Ukraine has sealed off a critical escape route, leaving 85,000 Russian troops with nowhere to go. In this video, we break down exactly how Ukrainian forces executed this strategic move, what it means for the front lines, and whether Putin's army can survive what's coming next. 🗺️ What We Cover: ✅ How Ukraine closed the last exit for Russian forces ✅ The military significance of trapping 85,000 troops ✅ Russia's desperate options — and why none of them work ✅ What happens next on the eastern front...

In 2020, just 246 people tried to sneak into Poland from Belarus through the marshy wetlands on the border, according to the Polish government’s records. There was a pandemic on, after all. But over the following year, almost 40,000 migrants from Syria, Somalia, Iran, Afghanistan, India and other countries crossed or attempted to cross this frontier. Those migrants didn’t end up in Belarus by accident. Some were carrying Russian visas or entry stamps. Russia and its ally — some would say lackey — Belarus were, in effect, importing migrants, delivering them to the Polish-Belarusian border and telling them to head...

Riding a wave of political momentum in 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky, a showman turned wartime leader, could have hardly imagined the path his presidency would take. Some argue that Zelensky's 2019 election was less of an endorsement of his political platform, a populist one, rather a rejection of the old entrenched elite seen as ineffective and corrupt. Years later, Zelensky still faces the domestic challenges that confronted his predecessors — issues he once promised to resolve. On the international stage, however, he has amassed significant support for Ukraine, actively working to maintain global backing as his country defends itself against a...

Russia's ambassador to the United Nations said on Tuesday Moscow had information that Ukraine planned to launch military drones from Latvia and other Baltic states, warning that ​membership in NATO would not protect those countries from retaliation. The ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, ‌speaking during a UN Security Council meeting on security in Ukraine, said Kyiv had already dispatched Ukrainian drone forces to Latvia and Russian intelligence could determine the launch sites for such aircraft. "The foreign intelligence of Russia ​did say that the coordinates of decision-making centers in Latvia are well known, and membership ​in NATO will not protect you from...

Russia has unleashed rare attacks on international civilian shipping approaching Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea on Monday, hitting at least two vessels in the Odesa region, including a cargo ship owned by a Chinese company and crewed by Chinese nationals, Ukrainian authorities said. Ukraine’s navy said one strike hit the KSL Deyang, a Chinese-owned cargo ship with a Chinese crew sailing under a Marshall Islands flag, as it approached ports in the region and posted images showing scorch damage to the ship’s hull. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X that a Russian drone had struck a vessel owned by...

MOSCOW, May 14 (Reuters) - Russia is establishing a "full-fledged partnership" with Afghanistan's ruling Taliban and is encouraging ‌other countries in the region to expand cooperation ‌with Kabul, a senior Russian security official was quoted on Thursday ​as saying. Russia last year became the first country to formally recognise the Islamist Taliban government that seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces staged a chaotic withdrawal ‌from Afghanistan after ⁠20 years of war. Interfax news agency quoted Russian official Sergei Shoigu as saying cooperation ⁠with Kabul was important for the security and development of the region. Shoigu, who is secretary...

The House will have to take up a major security package for war-torn Ukraine after enough Republicans joined Democrats to give the needed 218 signatures to force a vote. A vote is likely to come in the next few weeks on the package that would marshal $1.3 billion in security aid to Ukraine and allow the war-torn country to get up to $8 billion in additional loan support. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced the bill in the House last year, where it sat for months. It would also slap tighter sanctions...

Former presidential spokesman Iuliia Mendel accused the Ukrainian president of prolonging the war with Russia to preserve his political position, while alleging corruption, propaganda tactics, and growing authoritarianism inside Ukraine. Former Ukrainian presidential press secretary Iuliia Mendel has launched a scathing attack on President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing him of prolonging the war with Russia for political survival and personal enrichment, while claiming that many ordinary Ukrainians and officials increasingly desire peace. Speaking in an interview with American commentator Tucker Carlson, published on Monday, May 11th, Mendel—who served as Zelensky’s spokesman between 2019 and 2021—described her former employer as “one of...

President Volodymyr Zelensky's former chief of staff has been charged with money laundering tied to the construction of a luxury residential compound outside Kyiv, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) said in a statement. Although not named in SAPO's statement, the chief of staff in question is Andriy Yermak, a source in law enforcement familiar with the case told the Kyiv Independent. Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) allege that more than Hr 460 million ($8.9 million) was funneled through the project over several years using a network of shell companies, cash transactions, and...

NATO/EU/eurowanker house of cards falling apart...

Laurel/Hardy vision of warfare,,,,

Ukraine now about where Japan was in July 1945...

Ukraine collapse in progress... Zelensky may have to go back to his XXX-rated Vaudeville acts.....