Free Republic

Key Democratic lawmakers are breaking with President Joe Biden over the controversial decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine, arguing that providing the weapons, which are banned by more than 120 countries, cedes the moral high ground and will end up indiscriminately killing civilians. Top Democrats on the House Rules Committee and the panels that fund the Pentagon and State Department lashed out in rare public statements broadcasting their break with their party’s president. “The decision by the Biden administration to transfer cluster munitions to Ukraine is unnecessary and a terrible mistake,” said Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Mo.), the ranking member...

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department spent more than $2.6 billion between May and October of this year replenishing stocks of key weaponry and equipment dispatched to Ukraine to support its ongoing fight against Russia — but it will still take “multiple years” for the US to be fully resupplied, according to a fact sheet obtained by The Post. “Replacement contracts are expected to deliver over multiple years, as many capabilities delivered to Ukraine, such as advanced munitions, have two-to-three-year production times,” the Pentagon said. The money comes from a pot of more than $14 billion Congress approved earlier this year...

On November 14, the US Army announced that it had awarded a $521 million contract to Lockheed Martin for Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems to replenish GMLRS provided from the Department of Defense (DoD) inventory to Ukraine.

It would be easy to underestimate Valeriy Zaluzhny. When not in uniform, the general prefers T-shirts and shorts that match his easygoing sense of humor. When he first heard from aides to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in late July 2021 that he was being tapped to lead the country’s armed forces, his stunned response was, “What do you mean?” As it sank in that he would become commander in chief, he tells TIME in his first interview since the Russian invasion began, he felt as if he had been punched “not just below the belt but straight into a knockout.”...

What’s happening in the nearly six-month-old Russo-Ukrainian war? It’s hard to say. Moscow expected a proverbial cakewalk and bungled its initial attack. After rebuffing Russia’s assault, the Zelensky government expanded its objectives, expressing its desire to reconquer portions of the Donbas seized by separatists with Russian support in 2014, as well as Crimea, which had been formally annexed by Moscow.In recent months, however, Russian forces have made slow progress in the Donbas and now occupy a fifth or more of Ukrainian territory. But Ukraine and its advocates have been threatening counteroffensives against Moscow’s supposedly overstretched forces. Conflicting claims have been...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House announced Friday that the U.S. is sending an additional $270 million in security assistance to Ukraine, a package that will include additional medium range rocket systems and tactical drones.

A detailed list of the destroyed and captured vehicles and equipment of both sides can be seen below. This list is constantly updated as additional footage becomes available

The United States may begin training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-15 and F-16 fighter jets. "Ukrainian pilots are going to be taught to fly F-15 and F-16 fighters in the USA. This amendment to the bill on the U.S. defense budget for fiscal year 2023 was supported by the House of Representatives. It is planned to allocate $100 million for this," head of the Pesident’s Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak wrote on the Telegram channel on Friday.

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron warned his country’s people Thursday to prepare for a total cutoff of Russian natural gas by supporting alternatives, having public lights switched off at night and engaging in a period of nationwide energy “sobriety.” The Russian invasion of Ukraine and ensuing sanctions have aggravated other factors driving up prices for energy and others goods. With no end in sight for the Ukraine war, Macron said, the French should brace themselves for costs to remain high. “This war will continue,” he said in a televised interview marking France’s national holiday, Bastille Day. “The summer,...

-At least 20 dead, including three children, and 90 hurt after three Russian rockets struck city of Vinnytsya -Office block was badly damaged in Thursday morning attack, which also torched vehicles in nearby car park -Zelensky called strike 'terrorism', saying there are no military targets in city which is 450 mm the miles from the front -It is the sixth Russian strike in a little over two weeks to hit a purely civilian target, with scores of people killed At least 20 people - including three children - are dead and 90 wounded after Russian rockets hit another Ukrainian city...

The United States is fighting a proxy war in Ukraine against Russian aggression, and we’re not doing it on the cheap. The Biden administration announced on Friday that we were sending another $400 million in military aid to Ukraine. This comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory over the eastern Luhansk region last week. Putin jumped the gun a little, although Russian troops hold the upper hand throughout most of the region. The problem for Putin is that those pesky Ukrainians refuse to surrender. And the United States is making their continuing resistance possible by giving Kyiv high-powered weapons...

Neoconservative pundit Bill Kristol is among the most vociferous critics of right-wing populism. His long-time advocacy of never-ending wars and mass migration make him a sworn enemy of anyone who believes in preserving the Historic American nation and its foundational principles. Previously, a staunch Republican, Kristol has hedged his political takes to become more amenable to neoliberals in the Democratic Party. In an America where a large number of people no longer believe in its founding ethos, people have added their own spin to events like July 4 — the day the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence...