Free Republic

China’s satellite coverage in the Western Pacific has doubled since 2018, the Pentagon reported last week in its annual assessment of the Chinese military. That gives China the ability to detect American surface ships with an array of sensors that can guide its 2,000 land-based missiles to moving targets, including US aircraft carriers. The Defense Department’s November 29 report “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China” reflects a grimly realistic rethinking of China’s military capacity in its home theater. China hawk Elbridge Colby, a prominent advocate of a Western Pacific military buildup to deny China access to...

In November the EU proposed to give impoverished Ukraine — with over 80% of its nation without electricity, among other necessities — $18.6 billion in critical humanitarian aid, including support for energy and healthcare facilities.But Hungary has vetoed the transfer of the critical aid package.Budapest has stood out as the only member of the 27 country organization to block the EU package, with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban having effective veto power because EU budget rules require the unanimous approval of all 27 member countries.American and European officials have been noting Orban's "persistent pattern" of obstructionism in aid to Ukraine,...

The British newspaper Financial Times called Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Person of the Year, in an article published on Dec. 5.FT reasoning for the choice was that "the president of Ukraine embodies the resilience of his people and has become a standard bearer for liberal democracy."

I apologize, the proposal began in 1991 for Russia to join NATO. But the final agreement with respect to Ukraine’s nukes was not in Belgrade but in Budapest. History has been rewritten to support the war against Russia for climate change. I have never seen any account of history that reports NATO invited Russia to join in 1991. Some people are so pro-Ukrainian that it is insane. They are really cheering for World War III and no doubt believed in COVID, Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq, and Hillary’s RussiaGate. They refuse to open their eyes to see that they...

Not long ago, many international human rights organizations were warning of anti-democratic behavior by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been lionized by the Western press since the start of Russia’s invasion, but in the not-so-distant past, many international human rights organizations and concerned Ukrainians were sounding the alarm on dangerous and anti-democratic patterns of behavior exhibited by the president.On Feb. 3, 2021, Zelensky enacted sanctions on three television stations believed to be affiliated with Viktor Medvedchuk, a leader of the Opposition Bloc party, critic of Zelensky, and duly elected member of parliament.The channels were immediately taken off...

Ukraine Russia War Status update - Col Doug Macgregor

Okay, before you go nuts, hear me out. Soccer just isn't our sport. We suck at it. The USMNT is going nowhere, and they're just a bunch of virtue signalers anyway. The Iranian team almost literally is playing for their lives. They have been protesting their government by not singing for the anthem, and there are reports their families are being threatened if they don't "behave". If they lose, there is a decent chance a few of them will just be disappeared. So lets say they beat the US. They will be national heroes. It will be very very difficult...

Kyiv relies entirely on its allies for weapons. That’s not a position any country fighting a war for its existence should be in – relying on others for its defense needs. NATO was unprepared for a big war, especially with Russia. ...

Video LinkYesterday a real information bomb exploded. Russian billionaire, Putin's authorized person and founder of ''PMC Wagner Group'' Yevgeny Prigozhin made a sensational statement. In an interview with journalists from the Finnish newspaper 'Helsingin Sanomat', Yevgeny Prigozhin said that many professional army men from NATO countries, including the US Marine general are fighting on the Side of PMC Wagner Group. At the same time, He also stated that a large number of Finnish citizens are fighting in the so-called British battalion as part of the PMC Wagner Group, the commander of which is a US citizen - retired U.S. Marine...

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says Europe supplying weapons to Kiev is draining the continent's resources and putting it in a difficult situation. Since the war began in Ukraine, Western countries such as the US and Britain, as well as European states, have supplied Kiev with billions of dollars worth of weaponry, adding fuel to the fire in the war. This comes after reports from US media said that as Washington and its western allies continue to pump weapons into Kiev, maintenance of the armaments is increasingly becoming a headache. Weapons overused by the Ukrainian military are either being wiped out...

The war in Ukraine has now lasted for almost 10 months. The Western allies remember before the beginning of the war simply had not anticipated the scale of this conflict but today it is the primary cause of domestic and international wars. ...

Ukrainians’ mass exodus from their recently liberated city of Kherson continued Sunday as Russia’s sustained shelling on the area has made it virtually unlivable. The city, which was freed by Ukrainian forces more than two weeks ago, has faced intense attacks by nearby Russian soldiers as Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor reaches the nine-month mark. Residents facing awful conditions and fearing imminent strikes kept fleeing the city over the weekend. One resident said he was devastated he had to leave especially since the city had just regained its freedom from Russian occupation.

President Biden's administration is scrambling to track the nearly $20 billion in military aid it has sent to Ukraine as Republicans warn of impending audits when they take control of the House in January. Likely future House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said his party will not be giving Ukraine a "blank check" to fend off Russia's invasion. A potential audit would determine how much, if any, of the U.S. aid is ending up in the wrong hands. The Biden administration's previous tracking efforts have inspected only a fraction of the aid provided to the country. While some staunch Ukraine allies...

A collection of high-ranking European officials are fed up with the Biden administration for what they view as war profiteering during the conflict in Ukraine. The comments come amid rising gas prices and mounting tension toward US legislation that offers tax credits to those who “Buy American.” Meanwhile, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is pushing European economies toward recession while the US is benefitting, some officials claim. “The fact is, if you look at it soberly, the country that is most profiting from this war is the US because they are selling more gas and at higher prices, and because they...

Ukraine is facing technical problems with western artillery amid war with Russia. According to New York Times, one-third of the howitzers sent to Ukraine have developed snags. A U.S. official said that a third of the 350 howitzers sent by the west to Ukraine are out of action. The New York Times reported that the United States Department of Defense is concerned over the development. The U.S. reportedly set up a repair facility in Poland to fix "faulty" weapons, the NYT reported. ...

NEW YORK – What if they had a tech war and nobody came? This updated version of a meme from the 1960s Vietnam War protests may well apply to America’s most drastic trade restrictions against a rival since the Cold War. The world’s top player in semiconductor technology, Holland’s ASML, has opposed high-profile US demands to stop selling its machines to China, and there’s no indication the Dutch government is ready to yield to Washington. Indeed some media reports have interpreted a statement by the Dutch trade minister as a rejection. ASML makes the world’s best lithography machines, and has...

There was no U.S. statesman who advocated for Ukraine more than John McCain. He was right about Putin’s nefarious intentions. Today we are driven by Sen. McCain’s legacy in Ukraine and we stand behind the Ukrainians who are fighting for freedom and democracy. From the 2022 Sedona Forum, watch Stand Up & Fight: The Story of John McCain and Ukraine. Video: https://www.mccaininstitute.org/resources/in-the-news/stand-up-fight-the-story-of-john-mccain-and-ukraine/

ITALIAN police have arrested several neonazis affiliated with the Ukrainian Azov Battalion fighting against the Russians.The police arrested five members of the Italian organisation called the Order of Hagal on Tuesday while another member of their gang is still wanted by the authorities.The remaining gang member, Ukrainian national, Anton Radomsky, is in Ukraine fighting the Russians alongside the Azov Battalion — a neonazi unit within the Ukrainian army.The group is accused by the Italian authorities of stockpiling weapons and planning to conduct terror attacks against civilian and police targets in the country.

Each year at this time, schoolchildren all over America are taught the official Thanksgiving story, and newspapers, radio, TV, and magazines devote vast amounts of time and space to it. It is all very colorful and fascinating. It is also very deceiving. This official story is nothing like what really happened. It is a fairy tale, a whitewashed and sanitized collection of half-truths which divert attention away from Thanksgiving's real meaning. The official story has the Pilgrims boarding the Mayflower, coming to America, and establishing the Plymouth colony in the winter of 1620–21. This first winter is hard, and half...

TOKYO -- On Saturday morning, some of Asia's best-known politicians, corporate leaders and academics gathered at a hotel conference room just steps away from the Japanese prime minister's office. At each place on the table was a large envelope that contained the detailed biographies of the roughly 50 attendees and a white folder with the words "The Trilateral Commission." First time attendees were elated. One Japanese professor told one of the panels he "truly appreciated" the invitation, because "The Trilateral Commission has been a big enigma to me." "Some websites say that all the significant events in the world have...