Free Republic

Russia’s top diplomat has admitted that the Kremlin’s overarching goal in Ukraine is to boot out President Volodymyr Zelensky “The Russians are using the scorched-earth tactics across the entire Donbas. They fire from the ground and from the air to wipe off entire cities,” Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said in televised remarks.Lavrov argued that Russia was ready to negotiate a deal to end hostilities in March when Kyiv changed tack and declared its intention to rout Russia on the battlefield. He said the West has encouraged Ukraine to keep fighting.“The West insists that Ukraine must not start negotiations until Russia...

Russia has said its forces have destroyed two U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, also known as HIMARS, in Ukraine. The number adds to the four HIMARS launchers that Russia claimed to have destroyed over a two-week period in July. A "high-precision" strike in Kharkiv took out the systems and killed 53 people, Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov, a spokesperson for the Russian defense ministry, said in an announcement on Monday, according to Russian state news agency TASS. "As a result of a high-precision strike in the city of Kharkiv, on the territory of the Ukrainian Energy Machines plant, two American launchers...

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and former Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard have been listed by Ukraine among a number of American politicians, academics and activists Kyiv claims have promoted “Russian propaganda.”The list was compiled by the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation, founded in 2021 by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to study the impact of Russian disinformation. The center is part of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.The list—which also includes retired U.S. Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor, military strategist Edward Luttwak, political scientist John Mearsheimer and journalist Glenn Greenwald—does not explain what the consequences are for those who Ukraine clearly considers responsible...