Free Republic

Ukrainian troops have made a tactical retreat from three more villages as Russian forces press forward across the eastern front line and take advantage of Kyiv’s exhausted military, which is desperately awaiting the arrival of new U.S. assistance. Ukraine’s commander in chief, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said in a Telegram post Sunday that the “situation at the front has worsened” and described some of the toughest fighting west of Avdiivka, the city that fell to Russian forces in February. In that direction, Ukrainian troops withdrew from the villages of Berdychi, Semenivka and Novomykhailivka. “Trying to seize the strategic initiative and...

After the humiliating defeat in Afghanistan, NATO needed another war to justify its existence. This war was supposed to contrast with previous NATO misadventures. It would be sharp and short with no Western casualties. And, this time, NATO would be victorious.NATO leaders seemed to relish the prospect of war. When in December 2021, in a last-ditch effort, Putin demanded that NATO stop eastward expansion and committed to not admitting Ukraine to NATO, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrogantly rejected any discussion of the subject.Nothing prevented Zelensky from avoiding the war either. If he had renounced his request for NATO membership,...