Free Republic

Fearing that Donald Trump will pull out of NATO if he’s reelected president, and alarmed that the U.S. Congress is close to cutting off military aid to Ukraine, many Europeans are discussing the possibility of building their own independent defense force to deter and, if necessary, stave off an expansionary Russia. Here’s the problem: The task is impossible. At least for the next several years, Europe requires the North Atlantic Treaty Organization—an alliance that must be led by the United States—for its protection.NATO’s 30 European members (in addition to their trans-Atlantic partners, the U.S. and Canada) have been spending more...

Polish President Andrzej Duda has said that Kyiv's allies have not reached an agreement to send troops to Ukraine, as French President Emmanuel Macron had previously suggested.Source: Duda, after an informal summit on support for Ukraine in Paris, quoted by the AP news agencyDetails: Duda said that the hottest debate was over whether to send troops to Ukraine and "no agreement was reached regarding this issue.""Opinions differ here, but there [have been] no such decisions," he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced the creation of a coalition to provide Ukraine with "medium- and long-range missiles and bombs".Source: Le MondeDetails: Macron said Western leaders decided to "create a coalition for deep strikes, and therefore for [supplying Ukraine with] medium- and long-range missiles and bombs."He also called on European countries to produce more munitions.

Between groceries and restaurants, Americans are spending more of their income on food than they have in 30 years.That's according to the latest data from the USDA, which shows that U.S. consumers spent more than 11% of their disposable income on eating — whether at home or at a restaurant — in 2022, the highest percentage since 1991."This is really a metric that's about the share of our disposable personal income which the USDA tracks, and which recently was at essentially a 31-year high," Jesse Newman, food reporter for the Wall Street Journal, told CBS News.Why does food cost so...

The political network financed largely by billionaire Charles Koch announced Sunday that it will no longer spend funds to support Nikki Haley's presidential bid.Former President Donald Trump on Saturday swept to victory over Haley in South Carolina, her home state, where she once served as governor.In an email obtained by NBC News, which was confirmed by two sources who received it, the network's advocacy arm said that following Haley’s loss in South Carolina, the group no longer believes it can make a meaningful difference for her in the race, senior adviser Emily Seidel said. Instead, Americans for Prosperity Action will...

MUNICH — As the leaders of the West gathered in Munich over the past three days, President Vladimir Putin had a message for them: Nothing they’ve done so far — sanctions, condemnation, attempted containment — would alter his intentions to disrupt the current world order.Russia made its first major gain in Ukraine in nearly a year, taking the ruined city of Avdiivka, at huge human cost to both sides, the bodies littered along the roads a warning, perhaps, of a new course in the 2-year-old war. Alexei Navalny’s suspicious death in a remote Arctic prison made it ever clearer that...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Dwindling ammunition threatens Ukraine’s hold on the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line under withering assault by Russian artillery. Defensive lines are in jeopardy.Ukrainian forces withdrew from the city of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region on Saturday after daily Russian onslaughts from three directions for the last four months.Avdiivka was a stronghold for Ukrainian positions deeper inside the country, away from Russia. A frontline city ever since Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, the fortified settlement with a maze of trenches and tunnels served to protect important — less strengthened — logistical hubs further west.Its seizure boosts Russian...

The Tavriia Operational Strategic Group has explained why it is important to hold Avdiivka and stressed that in the most difficult circumstances on the battlefield, soldiers’ lives are the priority.Source: Dmytro Lykhovii, spokesperson for the Tavriia Operational Strategic Group, in an interview with RBC-UkraineQuote: "Holding Avdiivka is important in order to prevent Russian artillery and Russian terror from moving further to the west of Donetsk Oblast. To grind down Russian resources and reserves, to deplete their armada.But I would like to emphasise once again that in the most difficult circumstances on the battlefield, the priority is the lives of the...

Democrats are eying a plan to bypass House Speaker Mike Johnson and force a vote on a sweeping foreign aid package, but it’s quickly running into hurdles — and not just from Republicans.Progressive firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. told Semafor Tuesday evening that she would not sign onto a discharge petition to force a vote on the national security package in part because of the assistance it would provide to Israel. “Am I signing it? No,” she said.The foreign aid bill combines billions of dollars in aid for Ukraine, Israel, and allies in the Asia Pacific.Ocasio-Cortez is one of multiple...

Russia has concentrated more troops on the Orikhiv front than on the Avdiivka front. It is likely that the Russians will try to make progress towards the liberated village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.Source: Dmytro Lykhovii, spokesperson for the Tavriia Operational Strategic Group, on air during the 24/7 national joint newscastQuote: "The enemy group that has concentrated on the Orikhiv front (Zaporizhzhia Oblast – ed.) over the past few days or weeks is larger in size than the group that is currently involved in the Avdiivka front.It is obvious that the Muscovites did not go there for a stroll in...

A House Republican is calling for an inquiry into House Intelligence Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio), saying his vague call to declassify a national security threat was done with “reckless disregard.”Turner on Wednesday called on President Biden to declassify intelligence on a “serious national security threat,” writing that it was needed “so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond to this threat.”But Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) on Thursday accused Turner of having ulterior motives, citing the battle over both funding for Ukraine and a bill to reauthorize the nation’s warrantless spy powers —...

The White House on Thursday bashed Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for starting the House recess without bringing the Senate-passed Ukraine aid package to the floor for a vote.The Senate early Tuesday approved a bipartisan funding measure providing aid to Ukraine, Israel and other allies with 70 votes.But Johnson says the Senate bill lacks the tougher border security measures demanded by House Republicans and that he won’t move it in the lower chamber.White House spokesperson Andrew Bates argued in a memo, first obtained by The Hill, that Johnson is cutting and running early to go on recess “instead of ending the...

The US has new intelligence on Russian military capabilities related to its efforts to deploy a nuclear anti-satellite system in space, according to multiple sources familiar with the intelligence.The intelligence was briefed to Congress and key US allies, and some lawmakers say it is serious enough that it should be declassified and made public. While the intelligence is concerning, multiple senior members of Congress briefed on the information on Wednesday emphasized that it does not pose an immediate threat to the US or its interests. The system remains under development and is not yet in orbit, according to three US...

As the second anniversary of Russia's unprovoked invasion approaches, the situation is beginning to look bleak for Ukraine.Last year's counteroffensive brought hopes that Ukraine could capitalize on its successes in 2022 and drive back Russian forces from occupied territories in southern and eastern Ukraine.But the offensive failed to achieve a breakthrough, and Ukraine is now seeing crucial support from its allies bleed away. Meanwhile, its troops are experiencing shortages of personnel and ammunition.There are problems at the top, too. Its senior command has been engulfed in chaos, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy replacing Valery Zaluzhny, a senior commander, amid reported...

WASHINGTON — Aides have President Joe Biden take the shorter stairs to board Air Force One. When it comes to news conferences, they yell loudly — and quickly — to end the questions, sometimes stealing a classic awards show tactic and playing loud music to signal the conclusion of the event. And forget about regular interviews with major news publications, including a traditional presidential sit-down on Super Bowl Sunday.Over the years, some of Biden’s key aides have gone from letting “Joe be Joe” to wrapping a presidential cocoon around him that is intended to shield him from verbal slips and...

The White House on Thursday announced that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will soon be "forced" to reduce operations at the southern border due to lack of funds.Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that because Republicans have not passed the bipartisan border security agreement with funding for Israel and Ukraine, the administration is left with no choice but to pull back from the border."Because congressional Republicans are choosing partisan politics over our national security and refusing to pass the bipartisan national security agreement that includes significant border reforms and funding, over the coming weeks, ICE will be forced to reduce...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans blocked a bipartisan border package Wednesday, scuttling months of negotiations with Democrats on legislation intended to cut back record numbers of illegal border crossings.Many Republicans said the election-year compromise wasn't enough, even as supporters of the bill insisted it was the best possible in divided government.The 49-50 vote, far short of the 60 ayes needed to take up the bill, came after most Republicans said they would vote against the legislation, which also includes $60 billion in wartime aid to Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel and was backed by President Joe Biden. GOP lawmakers...

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, lashed out at Republican leadership over the botched bipartisan border deal that Republicans are planning to shoot down Wednesday afternoon."The bill is flawed from top to bottom," Paul told Fox News Digital in an interview. "No conservatives in the Senate will vote for this. No conservatives in the House are going to vote for it. The House speaker says it's dead on arrival. It really shows incredibly bad strategy on Senate Republican leadership to bring this up at all." Paul made his comments after Sen. Ted...

The Russian military has concentrated about 40,000 troops, more than 500 tanks, and 650 armored combat vehicles near Kupyansk, Illya Yershash, the head of the press service of the Khortytsia operational and strategic troop grouping, said on national television on Feb. 2.In the Lyman-Kupyansk sector of the front, Ukrainian defenders eliminated more than 228 troops and 75 pieces of weapons, including tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, video surveillance systems, and various types of field electronic warfare equipment.The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War said on Jan. 21 that Russian forces had advanced along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line and captured Krokhmalne...

JERUSALEM (AP) — Iran threatened Wednesday to “decisively respond” to any U.S. attack on the Islamic Republic following President Joe Biden's linking of Tehran to the killing of three U.S. soldiers at a military base in Jordan.The U.S. has signaled it is preparing for retaliatory strikes in the Mideast in the wake of the Sunday drone attack that also wounded at least 40 troops at Tower 22, a secretive base in northeastern Jordan that's been crucial to the American presence in neighboring Syria.Any additional American strikes could further inflame a region already roiled by Israel's ongoing war on Hamas in...