Free Republic

Five months into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there remains a startling lack of understanding by many Western policymakers and commentators of the economic dimensions of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion and what it has meant for Russia’s economic positioning both domestically and globally. Far from being ineffective or disappointing, as many have argued, international sanctions and voluntary business retreats have exerted a devastating effect over Russia’s economy. The deteriorating economy has served as a powerful if underappreciated complement to the deteriorating political landscape facing Putin.

As Russia's invasion of Ukraine hit the five-month mark on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged to continue inflicting "the greatest possible losses on the enemy." "Even the occupiers admit we will win," Zelenskyy said in a video address on Sunday. "We hear it in their conversations — all the time, in what they tell their loved ones when they contact them." Ukraine will celebrate the Day of Ukrainian Statehood on Thursday, a new national holiday that was decreed by Zelenskyy last August.

"The war in Ukraine is in its sixth month, and there’s no end in sight. Here’s what we know… Almost everything you heard about the war in Ukraine from U.S. media over the course of March, April and May was a lie. **** It’s not that I’m pro-Russian — I’m not. I’m pro-truth. And I don’t defend the Russian invasion in any way (although I do understand it). Even Bloomberg and The New York Times are now starting to admit that the war is a lost cause for Ukraine and the U.S. economy is suffering from sanctions aimed at Russia....

The biggest loser is Ukraine itself. Towns and villages have been destroyed, thousands of civilians and soldiers have been killed or wounded, four million civilians have become refugees, six million are internally displaced, the country’s farmland and manufacturing plant have been devastated, and its economy has been wrecked. The damage and destruction inflicted on Ukrainian infrastructure is estimated at $60 billion at this point.Having stoked the fires of war, Biden and Johnson are also losers. Despite his engagement in Ukraine’s war effort, Biden’s overall approval rating has sunk to 38 per cent with 53 per cent disapproving of his performance....

It was apparent months ago that the Kremlin’s intensive focus on Donbas risked creating vulnerabilities elsewhere. At the peak of the fighting in Donbas in early July, three-quarters of the Russian army’s roughly 110 front-line battalions in Ukraine were in Donbas. Just a handful of battalions defended Russian gains in and around Kherson. The Ukrainian army also concentrated its best forces in Donbas, of course—but not at the expense of the southern front. In late May, Ukrainian troops began pushing south toward Kherson, then 40 or so miles from the line of contact. Two months later, Kyiv’s southern counteroffensive has...

Beginning in 2014, when the Maidan uprising brought a new government to Ukraine, the country has been erecting monuments to Nazi collaborators and Holocaust perpetrators at an astounding pace — there’s been a new plaque or street renaming nearly every week. Because of this, the Ukraine section represents an extremely partial listing of the several hundred monuments, statues, and streets named after Nazi collaborators in Ukraine. L’viv and Ivano-Frankivsk — 1.5 million Jews, a quarter of all Jews murdered in the Holocaust, came from Ukraine. Over the past six years, the country has been institutionalizing worship of the paramilitary Organization...

Throughout his 20-plus year rule, Vladimir Putin has consolidated power through graft, intimidation, manipulation of the Russian legal system, and forcefully silencing critics. Putin’s ability to sustain subservience and loyalty to his authority is no small feat, especially in a political culture of ruthless power politics. His reputation as a master tactician abroad has also been carefully cultivated, if not exaggerated.

President Joe Biden’s administration is supporting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s decision to ship natural gas pipeline equipment to Germany, which will lead to the European economic hub importing more Russian natural gas. State Department spokesman Ned Price expressed Washington’s support for the move in a statement Monday. Trudeau’s government plans to ship the equipment for the Nord Stream 1 pipeline back to Germany after it had been kept in Montreal due to sanctions on Russian gas, according to Bloomberg. The decision is aimed at preventing serious economic turmoil in Germany due to high energy prices.

Can you imagine what it would be like to literally starve to death? Most Americans believe that if a nuclear war with Russia actually happens the vast majority of the U.S. population will be instantly wiped out. But that is not what the science says. What the studies have shown is that only about 20 percent of the U.S. population will be instantly killed during a nuclear exchange. If you live near a military base or some other highly strategic target you will probably be among that 20 percent. Otherwise, it is likely that you will starve to death during...

BERLIN - The main natural gas pipeline between Russia and Germany shut down for scheduled maintenance Monday, raising concerns that Moscow could use the repairs as a pretext for a longer shutdown as it wields energy supplies as leverage in the Ukraine war.European ministers warned that it was unclear whether Moscow would turn the taps on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline back on after the 10 days of scheduled work. Germany's economy minister, Robert Habeck, said Berlin was concerned about a "nightmare scenario" this winter if Russia decides against doing so."Everything is possible, everything can happen," he told Deutschlandfunk radio...

Editor’s Note: There are many ways in which I often disagree with Caitlin Johnstone. I absolutely respect her intellect and writing skill and most of the time I agree with her perspectives, but sometimes we diverge. On the issue of Ukraine, I agree with her wholeheartedly. Just as Americans woke up to the realities of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, opposing them eventually despite widely approving of them in the beginning, so too do I hope more Americans will realize we’re being sold a false narrative in order to get our dollars and potentially our troops over to one of...

For years, Russian officials have used trolling to sow division and confusion abroad. Give them a taste of their own medicine. ...It can and will make you feel better. And yes, you can do it in English. These people monitor their replies, on Twitter especially. It’s how their bureaucracy works, they are interested in engagement... 1. Use superstitions like: “Hellfire is getting closer” [Ад близок] “You are cursed. And you know it.” [Ребята, вы давно прокляты. И вы это отлично знаете]... Make sure to impart a sense of doom. They feel it already. It’s why many are hysterical online. 2....

But Russia has adjusted during the second phase of the war by hiding its men behind its fearsome artillery. “Russian artillery has been the decisive factor, but only because it’s had to be the decisive factor,” says Mason Clark, a senior analyst and Russia team lead at the Institute for the Study of War. Russia has at least 10 times as many artillery and missile systems as Ukraine, and in some places on the front line the disparity is closer to 20 to 1, former Defense Minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk says. With a range of hundreds of miles Russian missiles can...

As Ukraine continues to lose ground in the east, its leaders are inexplicably demanding three-quarters of a trillion dollars to "reconstruct" areas controlled by Russia. Once widely considered the most corrupt country in Europe, Western leaders have already dumped in billions with zero oversight. Will they keep writing checks? Podcast ...

Jews have been fleeing Russia in droves | Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images As Vladimir Putin’s war rages on for the fifth month in Ukraine and repression suffocates civil liberties back home, Russian Jews are worried they’ll soon become the Kremlin’s targets. Jews have been fleeing Russia in droves; those who’ve stayed behind are terrified of directly criticizing the war, which Putin has cynically claimed he launched to “de-Nazify” Ukraine. “In our congregation, we don’t talk about any political issues,” said a Moscow rabbi who asked not to be named. He added that after a 2011 crackdown on protests linked...

LUGANO, Switzerland (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday the reconstruction of his war-battered country is the “common task of the entire democratic world,” as his prime minister laid out a $750 billion recovery plan once invading Russia’s guns fall silent.“The reconstruction of Ukraine is not a local project, is not a project of one nation, but a common task of the entire democratic world — all countries, all countries who can say they are civilized,” Zelenskyy told hundreds of attendees in Lugano. ”Restoring Ukraine means restoring the principles of life, restoring the space of life, restoring everything that...

The war in Ukraine risks turning into a protracted conflict that Russia will eventually win, a leading think-tank has said.The report by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) warned that current Russian advantages and Ukrainian weaknesses are leading to a style of conflict that favours Moscow.The capture of the city means that Russia has essentially gained control of the entire Luhansk region, marking Russia's biggest victory since it captured the southern port of Mariupol in late May.Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrlo Budnov said his defence forces had withdrawn "to advantageous positions in order to gain tactical superiority" after the Russians...

VLADIMIR Putin health fears have escalated after the tyrant appeared to fall asleep during a meeting at the Kremlin with his defence minister. The Russian leader appeared bloated and is rumoured to be undergoing debilitating cancer treatment. He was seen slumped over and bleary-eyed in the incredible footage - which mysteriously cut away as he appeared to drift off. Putin, 69, is seen in the Kremlin hunched over his desk as he unenthusiastically congratulates his troops on "liberating" the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk. Sitting in a staged televised meeting with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, a worn-out Putin tells his...

Kyiv Pride was never supposed to be held outside of Ukraine's capital, but among the rainbow flags at Warsaw Pride in neighboring Poland, Ukraine's ubiquitous blue and yellow stood out. "I'm here because I can't go to Pride in Ukraine," one participant said. "We're all people regardless of who you love." Central Europe's biggest Pride march kept a focus on Ukraine's fight against Russia, as well as its LGBTQ+ community's fight for equal rights. ...

NATO just announced a new commander and a massive troop increase as the U.K. puts troops on high alert. World War 3 is unfolding before our eyes, they're just not calling it that yet.