Free Republic

A Republican draft of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would provide $24 billion over the next five years to boost the pay of enlisted troops. The Biden Administration opposes this allocation because "the funds have already been allocated to Ukraine as part of our commitment to pay all the costs of the Zelensky government for the next ten-years." Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind) pointed out that "the agreement signed by President Biden and President Zelensky has not even been submitted to, much less ratified by the Senate. Neither has the funding been authorized by Congress. Republicans don't agree that...

Western leaders rejected Vladimir Putin’s framework for a ceasefire while backing Ukraine’s demands that Russia return all occupied territories as the basis for any potential peace agreement. The “first annual Global Peace Summit” held in the luxury Swiss resort of Burgenstock, which did not include any representatives from Moscow, concluded with the status quo essentially remaining the same, with Ukraine continuing to demand that Russia cede territory in the East and Crimea as a prerequisite for actual peace talks to begin, a likely non-starter for Vladimir Putin.

Kyiv will hold peace talks with Russia tomorrow if Moscow pulls out of all Ukrainian territory, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. But speaking at the close of a summit for peace in Switzerland, he said Russian President Vladimir Putin would not end the war and had to be stopped "in any way we can", whether by military or diplomatic means. Western aid was not enough to win the war, he added, but the summit had shown that international support for Ukraine was not weakening. The meeting concluded with dozens of countries committing to Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Former President Donald Trump described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as being “maybe the greatest salesman of any politician.” While speaking at Turning Point Action’s “People’s Conference,” in Detroit, Michigan, on Saturday, Trump criticized President Joe Biden for “wasting money at levels never seen before” and putting money into the Green New Deal. The former president continued to add that Zelensky might be “the greatest salesman of any politician” to ever live, noting how “every time” he comes to the United States, he leaves with “$60 billion.”

Authorities are warning that a con artist is currently on the loose and scamming elderly dementia patients out of billions of dollars. They are urging anyone who sees the suspect to call law enforcement immediately. "He's very short, dresses in all green for some reason, and has an accent like some kind of Eastern European henchman from a Guy Ritchie movie," said a spokesperson for law enforcement. "Scumbags like this are always preying on confused, senile people who don't know better. People like this make me sick." Sources confirmed his most recent scam convinced a very old and disoriented man...

President Joe Biden and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a 10-year security agreement Thursday that they hailed as a milestone in relations between their countries, but that alone was not enough to stop Zelenskyy from wondering how much longer he could count on America's support. Zelenskyy also said his country “urgently” needed additional air defense systems to protect Ukrainians and the nation's infrastructure from Russia's continued bombardment. The leaders signed the agreement on the sidelines of the annual Group of Seven summit, held this year in Italy, and Biden said the goal "is to strengthen Ukraine's defense and deterrence capabilities.”...

resident Joe Biden is set to sign a deal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky intended to commit the U.S. to a decade of military support – a move that could pressure rival Donald Trump if he takes the White House. The move is a key 'deliverable' of Biden's G7 meetings set to begin in the Apulia region of Italy Thursday. The president arrived last night, and meets one on one with Zelensky before the two leaders are set to hold a joint press conference Thursday evening local time. 'We want to demonstrate that the U.S. supports the people of Ukraine,...

U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky just can’t get enough of each other, with the two leaders set for their second head-to-head in a week alongside the G7 meeting that begins Wednesday in Italy. The octogenarian departs for Europe just hours after his son Hunter was found guilty of three federal gun charges. The Hill reports the Biden and Zelensky are due to meet up again for talks on Thursday, marking the second time in seven days the two have got together while Biden is abroad.

With his constitutional Presidential mandate expired, the ‘champion for democracy’, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky is facing the discredit by the Russian enemies. Recently re-elected in a landslide, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s has been repeatedly clear about how Moscow sees the Ukrainian leader as lacking legitimacy. For the first time, in a press conference in France alongside President Emmanuel Macron, Zelensky addressed the allegations and dismissed them. ... Volodymyr Zelensky .. cancelled elections sees himself as more legitimate than the one who held them and won in a landslide. So it goes. The Presidential elections in Ukraine were supposed to take...

With his constitutional Presidential mandate expired, the ‘champion for democracy’, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky is facing the discredit by the Russian enemies. Recently re-elected in a landslide, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s has been repeatedly clear about how Moscow sees the Ukrainian leader as lacking legitimacy. For the first time, in a press conference in France alongside President Emmanuel Macron, Zelensky addressed the allegations and dismissed them. Reuters reported: President Volodymyr Zelensky said his legitimacy is recognized and determined by the Ukrainian people while criticizing that of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “‘President Zelensky’s legitimacy is recognized by the people of Ukraine....

President Biden is set to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky while in France for the 80th anniversary of D-Day this week. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan previewed the meeting to reporters, which comes ahead of the Ukraine peace summit that the president is skipping. “While he’s in Normandy, he’ll have the opportunity to sit down with President Zelensky and have an engagement with him to talk about the state of play in Ukraine and how we can continue to deepen our support for Ukraine,” Sullivan said in a briefing on Air Force One en route to France...

Message for U.S. Citizens: Elimination of “Residence Abroad” Exception to Dual Citizen Departure Date: June 4, 2024 Location: Ukraine (countrywide) Event: The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv understands that, effective June 1, Ukraine has eliminated a “residence abroad” exception that previously allowed certain Ukrainian males aged 18 to 60 to depart the country. After this change, U.S.-Ukrainian dual citizens, including those who live in the United States, may no longer be able to depart the country. Ukrainian law does not recognize dual citizenship. U.S.-Ukrainian dual citizens are therefore treated solely as Ukrainian citizens while in Ukraine and are subject to the...

4:22 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that if Donald Trump tries to force Kyiv into accepting a peace deal with Russia he would become a “loser” president and would risk sparking a Third World War. While asserting that he has “no strategy yet” if former President Trump returns to the White House, Zelensky appeared to set out his opening negotiating position in case the presumptive Republican nominee and current frontrunner defeats 81-year-old Democrat President Joe Biden in November. Speaking with Britain’s left-wing Guardian newspaper, Zelensky said of Trump’s desire to end the war: “Does he want to become a...

Defence and security is a major election issue in the UK for the first time in decades, with vote frontrunner committing to Britain’s independent nuclear deterrent. Sir Keir Starmer, polled to be the likely next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom this summer with the nation’s July general election, has joined a growing chorus of voices in Western nations saying the post-Cold War era is now over. Speaking while flanked by military veterans, the left-wing Labour leader enunciated his position that the world is becoming less safe while criticising the incumbent Conservative Party government for having run the military down...

Donald Trump risks being a “loser president” if he wins November’s election and imposes a bad peace deal on Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said, saying it would mean the end of the US as a global “player”. – In an interview with the Guardian in Kyiv, Mr Zelenskiy said he had “no strategy yet” for what to do if Trump returned to the White House, and that the former British prime minister Boris Johnson had approached him on his behalf. If Trump beats Joe Biden, he is widely expected to cut off US military support to Ukraine. Last year Trump...

SINGAPORE (AP) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused China on Sunday of helping Russia to disrupt an upcoming Swiss-organized peace conference on the war in Ukraine. Speaking at Asia’s premier security conference, Zelenskyy said that China is pressuring other countries and their leaders not to attend the upcoming talks. He did not say which ones. “Russia, using Chinese influence in the region, using Chinese diplomats also, does everything to disrupt the peace summit,” he said at a news conference at the Shangri-La defense forum. “Regrettably this is unfortunate that such a big independent powerful country as China is an instrument...

(AFP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived Saturday at a Singapore security forum, as he seeks to rally support for Kyiv while a Russian offensive gains ground. AFP reporters saw Zelensky enter the lobby of the luxury hotel hosting the Shangri-La Dialogue, which is attended by defence ministers from around the world. Zelensky will speak at the security forum on Sunday, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, which organised the three-day event.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a warning to his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on Tuesday over his attendance at a Kyiv-led peace summit in Switzerland next month."If [Biden] is not present, it will be just like applauding Putin: personally applauding and doing so standing," Zelensky said, as he urged as many countries as possible to participate in his peace summit."If you want peace, you will be there and you will speak, even if you don't agree with something," he said. "And if you want war, you will go to the mob that Russia wants to organize.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Western leaders to pressure Russia into peace using "all means" necessary. ... Mr Zelensky has long said he will not negotiate with Russia directly until Moscow's forces leave all Ukrainian territory, including Crimea. ... The Ukrainian president rejected the idea of inviting Russia to a planned peace summit in Switzerland next month. ... Delegates will "try and chart a course for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine" based on 10 demands set forth by Kyiv calling for the return of all invaded territory, reparation payments for war-related damages and the creation of a...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukrainian forces have secured “combat control” of areas where Russian troops entered the northeastern Kharkiv region earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. “Our soldiers have now managed to take combat control of the border area where the Russian occupiers entered,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Friday evening. Zelenskyy’s comments appeared to be at odds with those made by Russian officials.