Free Republic

Russia’s parliamentary leaders plan to consider exiting an international treaty banning nuclear tests as a means of retaliation against Western support for Ukraine. “We are talking about the withdrawal of ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty,” State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin wrote Friday on social media. “The situation in the world has changed. Washington and Brussels have launched a war against our country. Today's challenges require new solutions.” Volodin embraced the idea after Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled his interest in the exit during his address to the Valdai Discussion Club. The Kremlin chief also positioned the withdrawal...

Ukraine Rebuild Conference hosted by EU: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Ukraine for being a digital society — the most digitized after Estonia among European countries — and having systems work even with a war raging. One of the main messages of the conference, she said, was that Ukraine had everything it takes to rebuild itself — the determination, a vibrant civil society, friends around the globe and an impressive resilient economic base despite the atrocities of the war.

Can Brussels raid the tens of billions of euros in Russian assets frozen by the European Union to pay for Ukraine’s recovery? This thorny legal question is currently under examination by the EU Commission as the cash-strapped bloc looks for potentially €18 billion ($18 billion) next year to keep Ukraine afloat as it fends off Moscow’s invasion. Ursula von der Leyen, the EU Commission's president, told reporters on Tuesday in Berlin that she had set up a task force to both map what assets exist as well as the preconditions that must be met to seize them. “The will is...

Last week on October 19 the US Navy announced that “General Michael ‘Erik’ Kurilla [lead image, lower right] , commander of CENTCOM, conducted a visit aboard the USS West Virginia [top], a U.S. Navy Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine at an undisclosed location at sea in international waters in the Arabian Sea. Kurilla was joined on the USS West Virginia by Vice Admiral Brad Cooper [lower left], commander of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet and NAVCENT.” The Fifth Fleet and the Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) are headquartered at Bahrain on the Persian Gulf. From Bahrain down the Gulf to...

This story is developing…Tsarizm has been on the ground in Ukraine for a decade, and has built a strong network of sources in and out of government. We can report tonight from a trusted source that 40% of Ukraine is now without power. The Ukrainian people are very angry with officials as the harsh winter approaches. Millions of Ukrainians face the winter without electricity, water, infrastructure. Riots could ensue.We are also reporting from sources that the billions in aid sent from the West to Ukraine is not getting in large part to the Ukrainian people. The aid is not showing...