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If the cause of Ukraine is righteous, there is no reason to chill debate.It’s not exactly a sign of a healthy democratic discourse that it’s virtually impossible to ask a critical question about the United States’ role in the Ukraine-Russia conflict without being smeared as a Putin apologist or an “isolationist.” We’ve been bombarded with bromides about a civilizational struggle that pits the forces of autocracy and liberalism against each other. “It’s not just about freedom in Ukraine,” Biden tells us. “It’s about freedom of democracy at large.” Yet Ukraine — which, before the war, regularly slotted in somewhere beneath...

BERLIN — Nearly a month after Berlin gave European allies permission to send German-made tanks to Ukraine, the flow of tanks so many leaders vowed would follow seems more like a trickle.Some nations have discovered that the tanks in their armory don’t actually work or lack spare parts. Political leaders have encountered unanticipated resistance within their own coalitions, and even from their defense ministries. And some armies had to pull trainers out of retirement to teach Ukrainian soldiers how to use old-model tanks.The struggle to provide Leopard tanks to an embattled Ukraine is just the most glaring manifestation of a...

Some 10,000 to 20,000 troops comprising the Ukrainian army in Bakhmut are now trapped. Reports say that the city is operationally encircled with diminishing chance of a breakout. To the west of Bakhmut is a lot of open country and not much to prevent a Russian advance all the way to the Dnieper River. There is no hard evidence yet that the Ukrainian army has prepared a second line of defense. This means the way may be open for a possible major offensive by Russian forces. Whether that will happen and what Russia’s goals are remain to be seen. Most...

Putin chillingly threatens 'response' if UK gives fighter jets to Ukraine: Kremlin sabre rattlers warn of 'military-political consequences for Europe and entire world' if Britain 'escalates' conflict - as Sunak tells Zelensky NOTHING is off the table President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded for aircraft during a visit to Britain today But Russian Embassy in London has warned UK against supplying warplanes Vladimir Putin has threatened a 'response' involving 'military-political consequences' if the UK supplies planes to Ukraine in the fight against Russian forces. President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday made his first visit to Britain since the outbreak of the invasion last year,...

Ramzan Kadyrov, the president of Chechnya whose troops are fighting for Moscow in Ukraine, has reportedly said that the war will end by the end of the year with Russian forces prevailing..."The West will kneel, and as usual, European states will have to cooperate in all areas with the Russian Federation," he said...The comments were made in an interview with Chechen minister Akhmed Dudayev, widely shared on Telegram and reported by news outlets such as Gazeta.ru...Kadyrov wrote that the "fight against Satanism should continue throughout Europe, first of all on the territory of Poland."

With Russia back on the offensive after significant Ukrainian combat successes around Kharkiv and Kherson in the second half of 2022, the past few weeks have been the bloodiest so far of an already bloody war, with both sides taking extraordinarily heavy casualties. Expect it to get worse.Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov says Russia has mobilised “much more” than 300,000 troops, perhaps up to half a million, and these are pouring into Ukraine in preparation for what is expected to be a major offensive in the coming days and weeks. Although Kyiv has also been building up its forces and...

AZ 🛰🌏🌍🌎 @AZgeopolitics 🇷🇺⚔️🇺🇦☠️Ukrainian report form the Bakhmut "meat grinder":According to the journalist sources the life expectancy of a Ukrainian fresher there is just 4 hours. The Ukrainian official doubts, hesitates a few seconds and mumbles his opinion as an excuse. 7:30 AM · Feb 5, 2023 · 31.5K ViewsVideo at link

Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose Wagner Group of mercenaries has dominated headlines in Ukraine, has reportedly been sidelined by Vladimir Putin after failing to make good on his promises of military gains. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Prigozhin's "star has begun to set" following his boasts that his forces could capture the Donetsk city of Bakhmut. The think tank said on Sunday that Putin wanted to see what Prigozhin and his previous commander in Ukraine, General Sergey Surovikin could do after the conventional Russian military had suffered disastrous setbacks. "Both efforts failed," the ISW said, as Prigozhin's attempts...

In a statement, the SVR said U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers, air defence systems and artillery ammunition had been delivered to the Rivne nuclear power station in the northwest of Ukraine."The Ukrainian armed forces are storing weapons and ammunition provided by the West on the territory of nuclear power plants," it said, adding that an arms shipment to the Rivne power station had taken place in the last week of December.

Russia’s “nuclear war” rhetoric appears every few months, on a kind of cycle. Whenever the West and Ukraine appear to be winning and Ukraine is being strengthened, then Russia will roll out this talk. It will also mobilize other voices to make it seem that Ukraine isn’t interested in “peace” and that Ukraine is “escalating.” This terminology is misplaced because it is Russia that escalated and invaded Ukraine. However, Moscow wants to shift focus to what the West is doing...

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a tragedy and a crime, but it does not threaten American security. Even the Brookings Institution’s Robert Kagan, who has yet to find a war he doesn’t want the U.S. to fight—his new book blames America for not having stopped Adolf Hitler—admitted that Ukraine is not important for this country’s defense. Kagan was categorical: “There is no way that Putin’s conquest of Ukraine has any immediate or even distant effect on American security.” Yet he still supports Washington’s proxy war against Russia, like many others. Those who, like Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of...

In November 2013, Yanukovych refused to sign the long-awaited Association Agreement with the European Union, shortly thereafter receiving a loan from the Kremlin. His refusal to sign the agreement sparked protests all over the country, with the largest demonstration taking place in Kyiv on Independence Square, known in Ukrainian as Maidan Nezalezhnosti. The protests would turn into a revolution that lasted until February 2014, ending with Yanukovych fleeing to Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Russia that “no one will ever forgive you” for spreading terror following a series of missile attacks on New Year’s Eve. Zelensky said in an address on Saturday that the missile attacks will not mark the end of the year but the outcome of Russia’s fate in that it will not be forgiven. He mentioned that Russia launched missile attacks during the war at other holidays such as Easter and Christmas. “They call themselves Christians. They are very proud of their orthodoxy. But they are following the devil. They support him and are together with...

BREAKING: Explosions reported in Kursk, Belgorod, Voronezh and Rostov moments ago. The picture is from Rostov. Happy New Year’s Eve to Russia from Ukraine.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping vowed Friday to deepen their bilateral cooperation against the backdrop of Moscow’s 10-month war in Ukraine, which weathered another night of drone and rocket attacks following a large-scale missile bombardment. Putin and Xi made no direct mention of Ukraine in their opening remarks by videoconference, which were broadcast publicly, before going into private talks. But they hailed strengthening ties between Moscow and Beijing amid what they called “geopolitical tensions” and a “difficult international situation,” with Putin expressing his wish to extend military collaboration. “In the face of...

Russia and Ukraine are at a stalemate in the 10-month-old war, a Ukrainian defense official told the BBC. Major General Kyrylo Budanov, chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, said that the war is "deadlocked" until either side can gain an advantage, such as from more weapons or troops. In the fall, Ukraine initiated a counteroffensive that pummeled Russian troops in certain regions, leading to a withdrawal of Russian troops from Kherson in November. Ukraine reclaimed several key territories, but then the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut began bearing the brunt of Russian attacks. Russia adopted a...