Free Republic

The United Kingdom has clarified that it has not granted permission for Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles inside Russian territory, contradicting earlier statements. This clarification has created an awkward diplomatic moment for Sir Keir Starmer, as reported by The Telegraph. Downing Street stated on 12 July that the government’s policy “had not changed” regarding the deployment of the long-range missiles. The British Government has allowed Kyiv to fire the missiles against targets in Crimea and mainland Ukraine since their delivery last year but has banned their use against targets inside Russia due to concerns about escalating the war. Zelenskyy...

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - An air defense missile that hit a children's hospital in Kiev was likely fired from a Norway-supplied NASAMS system, and Russia is waiting for a reaction from Oslo in this regard, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said on Tuesday.

KYIV — Ukrainian forces are pulling back along parts of the frontline under fierce Russian pressure; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed the difficult situation on a lack of weapons for his soldiers. That's likely to increase pressure from Kyiv during next week's NATO Washington summit for its allies to speed up arms deliveries. “This is not a stalemate, but a problematic situation," Zelenskyy told Bloomberg on Thursday. "A problem can be solved if there are tools and desire. We have the desire, but the tools have not arrived. We have brigades without weapons. We have 14 brigades that do not...

The Justice Department said Tuesday it had uncovered and dismantled a Russian propaganda network with nearly 1,000 accounts pushing pro-Russia posts on the social media platform X. The accounts on X posed as Americans, including a bitcoin investor in Minneapolis, but in reality they were masks for Russian operatives who had the approval and financial support of the Kremlin, the Justice Department said in court affidavits and in a news release. The Russian operatives made the fictitious accounts with the help of artificial intelligence, which made it easier to produce images and generate text, the department said.

ransomnote: emphasis mineKYIV. Nov 20 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian members of parliament have demanded the presidents of Ukraine and the United States, Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump, investigate suspicions of the legalization of $7.4 billion by the "family" of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych through the American investment fund Franklin Templeton Investments, which they said has ties to the U.S. Democratic Party.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txohpK6WV9IAt a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Wednesday, MP Andriy Derkach announced that deputies have received new materials from investigative journalists about international corruption and the participation of Ukrainian officials in it."Last week, November 14, the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO),...

Three weeks before Trump and Biden sparred over their respective golf games at last Thursday’s presidential debate, “The Courses at Andrews” Air Force Base hosted a charity golf tournament for wounded Ukrainian veterans of the neo-Nazi Azov movement. Joint Base Andrews, located fifteen miles southeast of the White House in Prince George’s County, Maryland, is home to Air Force One and three 18-hole golf courses long favored by U.S. presidents and members of Congress. Brute fascists are starting a new tradition on the green. Retired four-star general David Petraeus addressed at least a half dozen Azov veterans at the June...

It’s odd how no one in the American media seems to ask how Obama and Biden went from a friendly “reset” with Russia in 2009 to full geopolitical antagonism in 2011.♦ What exactly led to the complete reversal of intent?I digress…. However, having some deeper understanding of the current status of the conflict, I also find it curious how the New York Tims can just seemingly bury the lead in their story about how U.S-led military “mercenary” soldiers are on the ground fighting, while seemingly forgetting their prior outline about how the CIA was conducting all the military operations in...

Russia attacks in Toretsk, opening new front in Donbass. Surprise attack using a tunnel. Ukrainian conscripts abandon strategic fortified positions. Ukraine sends urgent reinforcements to halt and counterattack enemy gains. As of now, Russian forces have advanced 4 KMs and heavy fighting is taking place in the towns of Pivnichne and Niu-York.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is advocating a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, revealed that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made clear that peace talks can only happen after Ukraine essentially surrenders. "If we sit in Brussels, we won’t be able to get any closer to peace. Action must be taken," Orban said during a regular interview on Hungarian state radio following his visit. Orban turned heads this week when he made back-to-back trips to Kyiv and Moscow just days before a major NATO summit in Washington, D.C., next week.

We can see that Kiev is not ready to give up waging war until the end, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a statement to the press after holding talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban."The way we see the situation, including what the prime minister said today, Kiev is still not ready to give up waging the war until the ‘victorious’ end," the president told the press. Putin added that implementing Russia’s peace initiatives would allow the cessation of hostilities and the start of the negotiation process. "Our [Russia's] peace initiatives have been recently presented at my meeting with...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday he believed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was sincere about wanting to end the war in Ukraine, but that he did not know how Trump planned to do so if elected. Putin, speaking at a news conference in Kazakhstan at the end of a regional security conference, commented after being asked about Trump's statements that he could end the Ukraine war swiftly if he won the White House race on Nov. 5. "The fact that Mr Trump, as a presidential candidate, declares that he is ready and wants to stop the war in...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s army has retreated from a neighborhood in the outskirts of Chasiv Yar, a strategically important town in the eastern Donetsk region that has been reduced to rubble under a monthslong Russian assault, a military spokesperson said Thursday. Chasiv Yar is a short distance west of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russia last year after a bitter 10-month battle. For months, Russian forces have focused on capturing Chasiv Yar, a town which occupies an elevated location. Its fall would put nearby cities in jeopardy, compromise critical Ukrainian supply routes and bring Russia closer to its stated...

In a brutal and terrifying three days, Russia has wreaked havoc on the tiny, battered Ukrainian air force – lofting drones to surveil the air force’s front-line airfields and then firing ballistic missiles to destroy hard-to-replace warplanes. As the missile campaign continues and the toll mounts – four or five aircraft were destroyed in 72 hours – it’s increasingly clear just one thing can save what’s left of Ukrainian air power. More Western-made air defenses. But they’d better come fast. The current wave of attacks began on July 1, when a Russian drone spotted six Ukrainian air force Sukhoi Su-27...

Today we talk about the Russia's offensive and look at the war map updates. If you're new here thanks for coming across, I served in the Australian Infantry from 2014-2021, With specialist qualifications in Heavy Weapons/Anti-Armour, Combat First Aid, With a tour to Afghanistan as a crew commander of a Armoured Mobility Vehicle. Upon my Return I was unexpectedly diagnosed with a Incurable and Inoperable Brain tumour that is slowly killing me. I was also awarded the Queens Order of Australia Medal (OAM) hence the post nominals after my name. Then Being medically separated from the Army I flew to...

The World Bank has upgraded Russia from an “upper-middle-income” to a “high-income” country with per-capita gross national income (GNI) totaling $14,250 in 2023. “Economic activity in Russia was influenced by a large increase in military-related activity in 2023,” the international financial institution said Monday. Russia’s move up the ranks was also boosted by growth in trade (+6.8%), the financial sector (+8.7%), and construction (+6.6%), according to the U.S.-based institution. “These factors led to increases in both real (3.6%) and nominal (10.9%) GDP, and Russia’s Atlas GNI per capita grew by 11.2%,” it said.

Ukrainian journalist Diana Panchenko reveals incredible corruption. This is the greatest time to be a Ukrainian politician or well placed official, there has never been a greater money making opportunity in history! This video is 5 minutes long, click link to watch.

A network of Russia-based websites masquerading as local American newspapers is pumping out fake stories as part of an AI-powered operation that is increasingly targeting the US election, a BBC investigation can reveal. A former Florida police officer who relocated to Moscow is one of the key figures behind it. It would have been a bombshell report - if it were true. Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukraine, allegedly bought a rare Bugatti Tourbillon sports car for 4.5m euros ($4.8m; £3.8m) while visiting Paris for D-Day commemorations in June. The source of the funds was supposedly American military aid...

Ukraine is too corrupt to join NATO, the US is set to tell leader Volodymyr Zelensky in a major blow to his nation's security ambitions. The defence bloc will request at its annual summit next week, in Washington DC, that Ukraine takes 'additional steps before formal membership talks progress', a senior US official told the Telegraph. Zelensky has been pushing for NATO ascension after Russia's brutal invasion ends to protect itself from future invasion, as the pact compels its members to militarily defend allies if they are attacked.

Ukraine will be told it is currently too corrupt to join Nato, in a major blow to Volodymyr Zelensky.The alliance will request “additional steps” from Kyiv before membership talks progress, a senior official in the US State Department said.The position will be set out in writing in the Nato communique to be signed at the alliance’s annual summit on July 9.Mr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, is pushing for swift Nato membership after the war ends to protect from future invasion. It would compel the US and Europe to come to the defence of Kyiv in the event of any Russian attack.But...

Donald Trump is considering scenarios to end the war in Ukraine. The Republican candidate for the U.S. presidency is reportedly already negotiating with Vladimir Putin about how much Ukrainian territory Russia will be able to keep, reports the "Politico" website. Trump is also considering an agreement under which NATO would pledge not to expand eastward.Perhaps Trump is so confident that he is already preparing to take over the presidency after Biden. According to "Politico," the former U.S. president is reportedly negotiating with Putin about how much Ukrainian territory Russia can take. "Politico" cites national security experts from the Republican candidate's...