Free Republic

More than two years after the whole-scale invasion of Ukraine, is Russia still a near-peer threat to the United States? What are the capabilities of the Russian military after 24 months of heavy fighting against a determined Ukrainian military equipped with Western weapon systems? How soon can the Russian armed forces replenish the devastating losses they have been taking in the fighting? These are just some of the questions the U.S. Intelligence Community analyzes in its latest annual threat assessment. Released every year in early spring, the annual threat assessment delves into the most acute threats to U.S. national security...

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has hailed the "return" of Crimea to Russia at a concert marking the 10th anniversary of the illegal annexation of the territory from Ukraine. He said Crimea had "returned to its home harbour" and that it would move forwards with Russia "hand in hand". ... On Monday, Mr Putin said the "return" of those four Ukrainian regions to Russia had turned out to be "much more grave and tragic" than Crimea. "But in the end we did it. It is a big event in the history of our country," he said, describing the occupied territories as...