Free Republic

Nearly five months into its senseless war against Ukraine, Russia has concocted a wild new explanation for why the Kremlin’s plans for a quick takeover fell apart so spectacularly—because Ukrainian troops were turned into superhuman killing machines during “secret experiments” in American-run biolabs, of course. Never mind the myriad reports of Russian troops refusing to fight by the thousands, sabotaging their own shoddy equipment and even deliberately wounding themselves to abandon the war, Russian lawmakers claim the real setback for Moscow was “drugged up” Ukrainian soldiers. That claim was made Monday by two Russian lawmakers heading up a commission to...

Is Russia worthy of being called a “great power,” let alone a superpower? Not to kick someone when they’re down, but it’s difficult to argue that Vladimir Putin represents anything other than a middling regional state, albeit the largest country in the world and one with nuclear weapons. In the first place, until the Russo-Ukraine War, consider how irrelevant and inconsequential Russia was. For the most part, regarding international relations, Russia scarcely mattered. Moscow has nary a footprint in the Middle East (mainly Syria) and is nonexistent in Asia and other parts of the world. Russia has lost influence in...

Ukrainian troops inflicted a massive blow on the military part of the air defense, which ensures the security of Luhansk, Reported LPR People's Militia Officer Andrei Marochko. "VFU (armed formations of Ukraine - ed.) inflicted a massive blow on the military part of the air defense, which ensures the security of the city Lugansk. At the moment, all measures have been taken to ensure the safety of civilians," Marochko wrote in his Telegram channel.

The speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament threatened Wednesday to “claim back” Alaska if the United States froze or seized Russian assets as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine. “Let America always remember: there’s a piece of territory, Alaska,” Vyacheslav Volodin said at the last session of parliament, the State Duma, before it goes on summer break. “When they try to manage our resources abroad, let them think before they act that we, too, have something to take back,” Volodin said. He noted that deputy speaker Pyotr Tolstoy had proposed holding a referendum among Alaskans to join Russia.

The fast food restaurants that replaced McDonald’s in Russia after the American company left the country over the invasion of Ukraine have been serving up moldy hamburgers to their customers. Diners who patronized “Vkusno & Tochka,” translated from Russian as “tasty and that’s it,” posted photos of the rotted food on social media. The disturbing images show mold on hamburger buns. Other customers have reported finding insect legs in the meat patties, according to the Daily Mail.

So, the G-7 leaders are in agreement, more war with Russia. Without actually saying exactly that, that was the main takeaway from he meeting of the most feckless leaders in the world. They also pledged $600 billion they don’t have to fund global infrastructure projects to ‘combat China’s Belt and Road Initiative.’ One wonders where all this money and, in the case of Europe, energy is going to come from to fund all of this. But the question I’ve had from the beginning of this obvious war of attrition the West wants to impose on Russia is the following: Do...

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - Syria said Wednesday it will recognize the "independence and sovereignty" of Ukraine's eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions and contacts will be established to set up diplomatic relations. (snip) Earlier this month, Russia claimed to have taken control of 97% of one of the two provinces that make up Ukraine's Donbas, bringing the Kremlin closer to its goal of fully capturing the eastern industrial heartland of coal mines and factories.

PARIS AND WASHINGTON — Congress is pushing for more U.S. soldiers in Europe in its fiscal 2023 draft defense policy bills as the Russian invasion of Ukraine grinds on into its fifth month.The move aligns with President Joe Biden’s June 29 remarks at the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, where he said the U.S. will establish a permanent base in Poland and will also send two additional F-35 fighter jet squadrons to the UK as well as more air defense, among other capabilities, to Italy and Germany.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization officially offered membership to Sweden and Finland Wednesday. "We reaffirm our commitment to NATO's Open Door Policy. Today, we have decided to invite Finland and Sweden to become members of NATO and agreed to sign the Accession Protocols," the organization said in a press release Wednesday. "In any accession to the alliance, it is of vital importance that the legitimate security concerns of all allies are properly addressed. "We welcome the conclusion of the trilateral memorandum between Turkey, Finland, and Sweden to that effect. The accession of Finland and Sweden will make them safer, NATO...

Russia said on Wednesday that restrictions imposed by Norway were blocking the transport of goods to Russian-populated settlements on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and called on Oslo to resolve the issue as soon as possible or face consequences. The ministry said that it summoned Norway's Chargé d'Affaires to protest the restrictions, which it said were blocking the transport of food and medical equipment. Svalbard is part of Norway, although Russia has the right to exploit the archipelago's natural resources under a treaty signed in 1920 and maintains a diplomatic presence in the largely Russian- and Ukrainian-populated settlement of Barentsburg.

NATO meets in Madrid on June 28. As the West’s peace camp increases its din, it’s a good moment to consider the consequences of a Ukrainian defeat. They would be catastrophic. Any peace that secures Russian assent will be tantamount to Russian victory. Russian victory will divide and in time destroy the Atlantic Alliance, severely weakening the United States’ long-term position in Eurasia. Putin may not have entered this war with grandiose ambitions vis-a-vis NATO. But his war has become his defining policy action. The West should understand that Russian victory would fundamentally transform the Eurasian order.

Kyiv on Saturday accused Russia of officially dragging Minsk into the war after missiles were fired at Ukraine from within Belarus’ borders. The Main Intelligence Agency of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine said "a mass rocket-bomb strike was launched" after 12 cruise missiles were fired from 6 planes. Another 24 missiles, also reportedly fired from within Belarus, were said to have hit Ukrainian military targets near Zhytomyr, an area less than 90 miles west of Kyiv, first reported Ukrainian news outlet Pravda.

Russian occupiers fired at Khotyn community, Sumy region on June 24, 2022 Russian occupants fired phosphorus munitions at Sumy region - OС "North". VIDEO On June 23, the enemy once again shelled the Chernihiv and Sumy regions from the territory of the Russian Federation, including with the use of prohibited munitions. This is stated by Censor.NЕТ with reference to Operational Command "North". Thus, around 17:15 - 17:25, four explosions were recorded near the village of Gremyach in Chernihiv region, probably from an 80 mm mortar and about 40 shots from AGS. At 17:28, 20 explosions (arrivals) were recorded, probably a...

Beacon of democracy’ cracks down on dissent.. Ukrainian authorities have banned the country’s main opposition party and seized all its assets, once again undermining the narrative that President Zelensky is presiding over a beacon of democracy. The country’s Ministry of Justice announced the move via Facebook, revealing that the Opposition Platform — For Life had been shut down and its assets, money and property transferred to the state. The party had previously had its operations suspended in March after it was accused of being complicit with Russia and being “anti-Ukrainian.” The ban means that Zelensky’s main political opposition has been...

A Russian lawmaker called for Lithuania's independence to be repealed, submitting a draft bill claiming the Baltic republic illegally left the Soviet Union more than three decades ago. The proposed legislation was submitted to the Russian lower house, the Duma, on Wednesday by Yevgeny Fyodorov, a member of the ruling United Russia party. In March 1990, Lithuania became the first republic to announce it intended to restore its independence from the disintegrating USSR, under whose control it had been for five decades after the Soviet army occupied it in 1940.

LONDON, June 20 (Reuters) - Russia warned NATO member Lithuania on Monday that unless the transit of goods to Russia's Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea was swiftly restored then Moscow would take undisclosed measures to defend its national interests.With east-west relations at a half-century low over Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, Vilnius banned the transit of goods sanctioned by the European Union through Lithuanian territory to and from the exclave, citing EU sanction rules.Russia's foreign ministry summoned Lithuania's top envoy in Moscow to deliver a protest while the Kremlin said the situation was beyond serious."The situation is more...

Thirty years since German reunification, the “new states” from the former East still suffer the effects of mass deindustrialization and emigration. But if reunification hasn't delivered the promises of 1990, socialists should recognize why most East Germans didn't defend the old system — and why welfare and public services aren’t enough to build a viable socialist society. Today marks the thirtieth anniversary of German reunification — a decisive event in the end of state socialism in Eastern Europe. On October 3, 1990, the German Democratic Republic (GDR), formerly one of the most enthusiastic members of the Warsaw Pact, was annexed...

Ukraine is closing the book on scores of Russian authors and turning a deaf ear to its foe’s music, too. The Ukrainian parliament Sunday approved a law that stops the printing of books by Russian citizens unless they give up their Russian passport and become Ukraine citizens. The ban only applies to those authors who held Russian citizenship after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Colllapse of Ukrainian military and US foreign policy. Speaker notes that top economic advisors need to attempt to explain nature of reality to Breadline Joe Biden and if he ignores them (most likely case), resign and take their case to the world. Present policy is not worth sacrificinig the United States over.

Ukraine's newest heroes: Brave Russian defectors have joined Kyiv's forces on frontlines against Putin's regime to liberate their beloved country from his rule Scores of Russians have defected to fight alongside Ukrainian armed forces They risk severe treatment and most likely the death penalty if they are captured But fighters say they see Putin and the Kremlin as a 'cancer' preventing peace Like all his Ukrainian army comrades, Volodymyr Grotskov is fuelled by deeply-held patriotism as he risks his life on the bloodstained frontline of the brutal war against Russia. The 48-year-old electrical engineer says he loves his country and...