Free Republic

Since Ukraine’s population has shrunk dramatically, the army’s number one problem is no longer the lack of weapons, such as ballistic missiles and air defense systems, but the lack of soldiers to operate them, writes Világgazdaság. The competent authorities in Kyiv, however, must bring the army size required by Commander-in-Chief Zelensky (800,000 active soldiers), and since the number of men eligible for military service (between the ages of 18 and 60) is slowly running out, the Ukrainian leadership is now trying to fill the gaps by conscripting women. As of early 2024, approximately 5 million men are considered to be...

Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed the UK must rejoin the EU if the US leaves NATO, as US President Donald Trump has threatened to pull away if the pact does not support his Middle East war. Trump, a fierce critic of the defence bloc, has been left unimpressed by fellow members and their refusal to get involved in his war with Iran. The Ukrainian leader said that in order to bolster Europe's defence against Russia, the UK ought to reset relations with the continent. Zelensky said on Friday: 'If the United States truly thinks about withdrawing from NATO, then European security...

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán conceded defeat Sunday in the country’s parliamentary election, calling the result "clear" and "painful" as partial vote counts showed a decisive win for opposition leader Péter Magyar.

Viktor Orbán has conceded in a speech to supporters, telling them: "The result of the election is clear and painful."

Anyone know what’s become of Freeper Kiryandil? Last post was sometime in January.

Ever since World War Two, America’s aircraft carrier fleets have served as imposing instruments of imperial power, roaming the oceans to cow recalcitrant nations into obedience. Favored by the Trump administration for this purpose, current experience indicates their day is done thanks to the proliferation of anti-ship missiles and the increasing ubiquity of drones. In America’s last Middle Eastern war but two, against the Yemeni Houthis in 2025, the carrier USS Harry S.Truman, complete with its attendant escorts, was driven into retreat, leaving antagonists in control of the Red Sea. On one occasion, the carrier’s desperate maneuver to avoid a...

Russia is ready to contribute to resolving ​the Iran conflict and President Vladimir ‌Putin is continuing to talk with regional leaders, Kremlin spokesman ​Dmitry Peskov said on ​Thursday. "The president is continuing these ⁠contacts, and if our ​services are somehow required, we ​are, of course, ready to make our contribution to ensuring that ​the military situation transitions ​to a peaceful course as soon as ‌possible," ⁠Peskov told reporters. Peskov was responding to a question about U.S. President Donald Trump's speech ​to the ​nation ⁠about the Iran war and his separate ​comment that he was ​considering ⁠pulling the United States out...

The more NATO/EU hypocrisy creates friction with President Trump; the less U.S. support exists for Ukraine. That’s the dynamic Zelenskyy is trying desperately to navigate with his EU allies.During a lengthy interview with Reuters, Zelenskyy says he has been directly told the only way for Ukraine to get security guarantees from USA participation is if he concedes the contested Donbas region to Russia and ends the conflict. (snip) That said, when Zelenskyy once again starts asking who is going to pay for the needs of his country, the U.S. taxpayer eyeroll commences. (snip) It’s never enough for this guy. Ukraine...

Moscow proposed a quid pro quo to the U.S. under which the Kremlin would stop sharing intelligence information with Iran, such as the precise coordinates of U.S. military assets in the Middle East, if Washington ceased supplying Ukraine with intel about Russia.Two people familiar with the U.S.-Russia negotiations said that such a proposal was made by Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev to Trump administration envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during their meeting last week in Miami.The U.S. rejected the proposal, the people added. They, like all other officials cited in this article, were granted anonymity due to the sensitivity of...

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security and foreign policy committee in the Iranian parliament, wrote on X that Ukraine had effectively entered the war by supporting Israel with drones A senior Iranian lawmaker warned Saturday that Ukraine could become a “legitimate target” for Iran, accusing Kyiv of assisting Israel during the ongoing conflict. Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security and foreign policy committee in the Iranian parliament, wrote on X that Ukraine had effectively entered the war by supporting Israel with drones. “By providing support to the Israeli regime with drones, the collapsing Ukraine has in fact become...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office reached out to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to request a phone call, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel. The official does not say what Netanyahu wishes to discuss. According to Ynet, Netanyahu wants to discuss cooperating on countering Iranian drones, which Ukraine has been facing for years.

Russia has a question for the European countries that have shunned its energy exports: Do you miss us now? The Kremlin is enjoying a sudden resurgence of its importance as a global supplier of oil and gas, as the conflict in Iran disrupts energy production and shipment across the Middle East and sends global energy prices soaring. “Now other markets are opening up, and perhaps it’s more advantageous for us to stop supplying the European market right now,” Mr. Putin said on Wednesday to a state television reporter, Pavel Zarubin, who chronicles the Russian leader. “We are seeing an increase...

Russia has been sharing intelligence with Iran on the location of US forces in the Middle East in an attempt to help Tehran fight back, according to a new report. The Kremlin has passed on the locations of American warships, aircrafts and other military assets ever since “Operation Epic Fury” kicked off a week ago, three sources told the Washington Post Friday. “It does seem like it’s a pretty comprehensive effort,” one official familiar with the intel told the outlet.

Russia is one of the biggest winners in the early days of the largest U.S. military confrontation in decades, as Iranian missiles deplete stocks of Patriot interceptors that Ukraine needs for its defense. Even before the Iran campaign, production bottlenecks in the U.S.-made Patriot system had drained Ukraine’s reserves and left European allies on yearslong waiting lists. Those shortfalls have allowed Russia to punch through gaps in Ukraine’s air defenses, devastating its power infrastructure and casting Ukrainian cities into blackouts.

The port of Novorossiysk was struck on the night of March 2 by drones of the Security Service of Ukraine and the Defense Forces — military ships, air defense systems, and oil infrastructure were hit, sources told Ukrainska Pravda. Source: interlocutors of Ukrainska Pravda in the Security Service of Ukraine. Direct quote from a UP source: “The season of spring ‘bavovna’ has begun… Drones of the Special Operations Center ‘Alpha’ of the SSU, together with other components of the Defense Forces (the State Border Guard Service, Defense Intelligence, the Unmanned Systems Forces and Special Operations Forces), staged a bright ‘bavovna’...

Ukraine's government says Russia indicated during recent talks in Geneva that it could accept U.S.-backed security guarantees as part of a potential post-war settlement, though major differences remain unresolved. On Saturday, Kyrylo Budanov, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in a televised interview that Russian representatives signaled openness to security guarantees proposed by the United States, reported Reuters. "At the last talks, the Russian side said for example that they would accept the security guarantees offered to Ukraine by the United States," Budanov said.

"This is the proportional response that Russia has the right to," the Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman stressedMOSCOW, February 24. /TASS/. A nuclear strike on targets in Ukraine, as well as in France and the United Kingdom, would be considered lawful and justified in the event that London and Paris provide Kiev with nuclear capabilities, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Max, commenting on Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service’s (SVR) reports about such plans by the two European countries. According to Medvedev, this information "radically changes the situation." "This is a direct transfer of nuclear weapons to a...

US-mediated peace talks on Ukraine collapsed in less than two hours after Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky claimed it was unfair that Donald Trump was placing more pressure on his country than on Russia.The second day of talks concluded on Wednesday, though neither side signalled they were any closer to ending Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.The talks wrapped up after just two hours, much shorter than the six hours of meetings on Tuesday, according to the head of Russia's delegation.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday questioned Russia's seriousness about ending the Ukraine war, as Washington pushes for a swift peace deal. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Rubio said the conflict was approaching its fifth year and that there was still no clarity over Moscow's willingness to negotiate.

Meanwhile, Moscow is citing fictitious Ukrainian counter-offensives to explain why it doesn’t control territories its forces were claiming they’d seized in Zaporizhia oblast; it looks like Putin’s frontline commanders are afraid to tell the high command they’re failing. Poor Vlad: Having caught on to how Putin’s thugs were using hijacked Starlink terminals to guide their drones in massive long-distance attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid and civilian population, Elon Musk’s SpaceX is now blocking of Russian access to Starlink, disabling Moscow’s frontline command-and-control communications for another game-changer. Russia’s damning whine: Blocking it from Starlink is (somehow) a violation of international law....