Free Republic

Sitting alone at a desk in a grand, columned Kremlin room, Vladimir Putin looked across an expanse of parquet floor at his security council and asked if anyone wished to express an alternative opinion. He was met with silence. A few hours later, the Russian president appeared on state television to give an angry, rambling lecture about Ukraine, a country that in Putin’s telling had become “a colony with a puppet regime”, and had no historical right to exist.

"We urge Russia to cease its destabilizing activities in Ukraine and elsewhere and its support for hostile regimes including Syria and Iran, and to instead join the community of responsible nations in our fight against common enemies and the defense of civilization itself," he said. Trump reiterated his criticism of low defense spending levels by many European nations and praised Poland for meeting the alliance's target of spending 2 percent of economic output on defense. "To those who would criticize our tough stance, I would point out that the United States has demonstrated not merely with words but with its...

President Biden is scheduled to spend at least part of his President’s Day weekend at his home in Delaware, the White House announced Sunday, amid warnings from administration officials that a Russian invasion of Ukraine is imminent. Mr. Biden was expected to stay at the White House throughout the holiday weekend, but the White House scrapped those plans Sunday afternoon

The 4 p.m. remarks will come after Biden calls transatlantic leaders. President Joe Biden was set to speak to the nation Friday afternoon on what the White House said are U.S. efforts to ease tensions over Ukraine, amid increased shelling and possible false-flag attacks Russia could use to falsely justify an invasion. Biden will make remarks after he holds a call with translatlantic leaders to discuss continued efforts at deterrence and diplomacy and what the White House called "Russia's buildup of military troops on the border of Ukraine." -snip- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will participate in the call, along...

President Biden on Thursday said the U.S. has reason to believe that Russia is "engaged in a false flag operation," and said he believes that an invasion into Ukraine "will happen in the next several days."Tensions have spiked along the line that separates Ukrainian forces from Russia-backed separatists in the country’s east, with the parties accusing each other of intensive shelling.As he departed the White House, Biden said the threat of a Russian invasion into Ukraine is "very high," and that he believes it could happen "in the next several days." "They have not moved their troops out. They've moved...

I just got a cryptic message from my nephew. He and his pals are getting ready to take a trip overseas. A big group, lots of packing. No other details available. I believe that uncle Joe is really going to do this thing. Please Pray for my nephew and his friends.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Mr. President, this council was convened today to discuss the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, a goal that we all share, despite Russia’s persistent violations. These agreements, which were negotiated in 2014 and 2015 and signed by Russia, remain the basis for the peace process to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine.