Free Republic

... For too long Washington has refused to think strategically about some of the major foreign policy issues of our time. In the rare instance where Washington’s policymakers do think strategically, the strategies they concoct seem less like realistic attempts at applying state power and more like they were conceived over a game of Risk while under the heavy influence of alcohol. Such is the case with the current American preoccupation in Ukraine. The Russians have invaded Ukraine. They’ve committed their entire society to the war. In the words of popular geopolitical analyst Peter Zeihan, this is “Russia’s last war.”...

On February 16, 2022, a full week before Putin sent combat troops into Ukraine, the Ukrainian Army began the heavy bombardment of the area (in east Ukraine) occupied by mainly ethnic Russians. Officials from the Observer Mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) were located in the vicinity at the time and kept a record of the shelling as it took place.

The former commanding US general in Europe, Ben Hodges, has told DW that the West should provide Kyiv with fighter jets. He said that providing Ukraine with the planes could lead to a victory for Kyiv within the year. The former commanding general of the United States Army in Europe, Ben Hodges, said that Ukraine could achieve a quick victory if the West provided swift help with fighter jets. He predicted that the defeat of Russia could otherwise take three to five years, given the current level of Western support. What the former general said "The sooner we deliver them...

Both Moscow and Kiev appeared to have been ready for a ceasefire, Naftali Bennett says. Peace might’ve been agreed between Russia and Ukraine shortly after the start of the conflict, but Kiev’s Western backers blocked the negotiations between the two neighbors, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who mediated those contacts, has said. Bennet, who gave an almost five-hour-long video interview to Israel’s Channel 12 on Saturday, claimed that his efforts as a middleman came close to succeeding as both Moscow and Kiev appeared to be ready to make concessions and agree to a truce. Read more: Azerbaijan unveils recent...

Denis Pushilin, acting governor of DPR accuses ukes of chem warfare usage No response from Kremlin so far; the idea seems to be let's figure our wtf is happening and then say/do something about it if evidence require it.

Realizing NATO’s war with Russia will likely end unfavorably, the US is test-driving an exit offer. But why should Moscow take indirect proposals seriously, especially on the eve of its new military advance and while it is in the winning seat? Those behind the Throne are never more dangerous than when they have their backs against the wall. Their power is slipping away, fast: Militarily, via NATO’s progressive humiliation in Ukraine; Financially, sooner rather than later, most of the Global South will want nothing to do with the currency of a bankrupt rogue giant; Politically, the global majority is taking...

Bennett speaks out. Former Israeli PM talks about Zelensky the coward.

Nixon's Prediction...

Central European countries like Croatia, Hungary, and also recently Austria too are beginning to emerge as voices of reason in the West after their de facto New Cold War bloc’s proxy war on Russia through Ukraine over the past year failed to defeat that Great Power. They rightly realize how counterproductive this NATO-led campaign has been for their collective interests, ergo why they’re urging restraint and even an outright reversal of policy at this point in time. Croatian President Zoran Milanovic is unexpectedly giving Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban a run for his money when it comes to being the...

Ukraine scored 33 out of 100 on corruption in 2022, which puts the country near the bottom third out of 180 countries scored, according to the annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) published this week by non-profit Transparency International. Out of 180 countries scored, Ukraine was the 116th most corrupt, according to the yearly ranking published on Tuesday. Ukraine’s score of 33 was one point higher than in 2021, but the same as the year before, 2020.

While Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been pushing back against demands of Ukraine for fighter jets now after the tanks, there have been those in Germany eager to support Ukraine to destroy Russia. They have filled their heads with such propaganda that Russia will conquer all of Europe if it is not completely destroyed NOW. They are placing not just the lives of European citizens at risk but the entire future of Europe as a whole. I know Ukraine very well and the Neonazis there will never stop. Russia must protect the Donbas for they would actually slaughter every ethnic Russian...

Die Welt tells its readers the truth

World War III has started. I hope that more Americans are starting to understand that the war in Ukraine is not a battle between the forces of Kiev and the forces of Moscow. Ukraine is a mere proxy. Russia is fighting NATO and Russia fully understands this. Russia realizes it confronts an existential threat and is conducting itself accordingly. It appears that most Western leaders think Russia is bluffing and, if faced with enough international pressure, will back down. It is that kind of stupidity that makes global war a looming possibility.Up to this point, Russia has confined its military...

Meet Ryan O’Leary. He currently is in the Bakhmut area of operations fighting under the command of Ukrainian officers. Mr. O’Leary is not happy. He is a 34 year old alumni of Carroll High School in Iowa and a National Guard veteran who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, He reports that his unit is undermanned and lacking in heavy weapons because “they’ve gone missing.” In other words, the weapons are being sold on the black market. O’Leary blames the logistics problems on the corrupt, criminal behavior of his Ukrainian chain of command — from the Major General to his Captain....

Many new streets and monuments have been erected since a new government took over in 2014 This list is part of an ongoing investigative project the Forward first published in January 2021 documenting hundreds of monuments around the world to people involved in the Holocaust. We are continuing to update each country’s list; if you know of any not included here, or of statues that have been removed or streets renamed, please email editorial@forward.com, subject line: Nazi monument project. Note: In the years since the Maidan uprising brought a new government to Ukraine in 2014, numerous monuments to Nazi collaborators...

What hegemon USA created, Russia is systematically annihilating. And there’s nothing that the empire of lies and its Western vassals can do to change the course of history. In challenging Russia militarily, they bit off more than they can chew and swallow. Russia is a preeminent military power, China heading in the same direction — while the US-dominated West is in decline. The battle to demilitarize and NeNazify Ukraine is proceeding as planned. Russia’s liberation of Soledar assures deNazification of Artyomovsk to follow. These triumphs hasten the end of Nazi occupation throughout Donbass, Zaporozhye, Kherson, Kharkov and demise of the...

Patriarch Kirill speaks to the nation on Christmas EveIt has become a tradition on Russian mainstream television for the head of the Russian church, Patriarch Kirill, to give a lengthy interview on Christmas Eve, (Russians celebrate it on December 6th). This year, the Kirill shared his thoughts on Dostoevsky, the effect of the Ukraine war on state and society, priests on the front lines, the return of Christian morality to Russian society and its continuing collapse in Europe, the future of Christianity in the Ukraine as its church comes under violent persecution, the Russian church's lead role in providing humanitarian...

Russian Navy ships and submarines have suddenly left their base at Novorossiysk, in the Black Sea, en-masse. This is highly unusual and many fear that this is a change in tactics. The Western Press keeps trying to paint Russia as losing the war so, quite frankly, they can get more people to volunteer to join the military if they think they are on the winning side. There is no question that the US and Russia are waging the most intense confrontation since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Our model on that confrontation aligned with our major war model showing that...

Marty, I just read that Ukraine seized control of a Russian Orthodox Church that has been there for a century. You were correct. Zelensky has also made this a holy war. The Ukrainian people should rise up against this guy. He is killing them all for hatred. I have had staff on both sides in Ukraine. I have been well aware of the hatred and animosity that I do not see will ever be resolved. This is like the battle between the Shite v Sunni in Islam or the Catholic v Protestants in Christianity. Zelensky has shut down free speech...

Rebuilding Ukraine from the devastating consequences of the conflict with Russia will require a significant investment of capital. Since Ukraine currently survives mainly on foreign money, it is not surprising that the severe attraction of foreign investments is necessary to implement plans to return the country to its pre-war state. In September, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting via video link with Larry Fink, head of one of the largest international investment companies BlackRock, during which potential opportunities for attracting public and private investments to Ukraine were discussed. As a result of these negotiations in November, a memorandum...