p Russia vs Ukraine
Russia vs Ukraine


The Editor says...
 I have neither the time nor the inclination to write an introduction for this fully self-explanatory page.


Musk doubts White House Ukraine claims.  Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has challenged the administration of US President Joe Biden to define what "victory" would look like in the Ukraine conflict, after a senior White House official claimed that Kiev can defeat Russia.  National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan backed Ukraine's capabilities on MSNBC on Friday, as he hailed Biden's drawdown of an additional $1 billion worth of weapons for Kiev's war effort against Moscow.  A delay in arms supplies caused by partisan clashes in the US Congress has put Ukrainian forces into a "hole" from which they are yet to dig themselves out, Sullivan said.

Congress Burns Billions On A War It Can't Control.  The Republican-controlled House of Representatives last Saturday voted 311 to 112 to approve a bill to spend $60.89 billion on aid for Ukraine.  Among House Republicans, this bill lost 112 to 101.  Among House Democrats, it won 210 to 0.  On Tuesday, the Senate voted 79 to 18 to approve it — with Republicans casting 15 of the 18 votes against it.  On Wednesday.  President Joe Biden signed it into law.  Just two days after the House approved this $60.89 billion in aid for Ukraine, the State Department released its 2023 report on human rights in that country.  It cited both the Russian military, which has invaded Ukraine, and the Ukrainian government itself for human rights abuses.

U.S.'s $1B aid package to Ukraine will aggravate world crisis.  Reports indicated that President Joe Biden's administration has been preparing a new aid package for Ukraine that is worth around $1 billion.  The legislation passed at the Senate on Tuesday night at 79-18, with 31 Republicans joining 48 Democrats to pass the legislation.  The bill now awaits the president's signature at the White House.  In recent Congress briefings, administration officials have indicated that the U.S. will likely send Ukraine long-range ATACMS, or Army Tactical Missile Systems, for the first time as part of the new aid package, three of the sources familiar with the matter said as per CNN.  Upon learning about this, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Washington's hybrid war against Russia will turn into a humiliating fiasco as approval of a large aid package is the same as funding terrorism.

Massie Threatened With Fine for Exposing Betrayal.  It was enraging enough to watch our supposed representatives waving the flag of a foreign nation (compliments of congresscommie Diana Degette [D-CO]) as they bestowed upon it another $60 billion of our money.  Then they compounded the outrage with this:  [Tweet with video clip]  Do Mike Johnson et al. think they can keep it secret that they do not represent the American people?

US secretly sent long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine.  The United States has confirmed that it secretly sent long-range missiles to Ukraine for use on the battlefield against Russia.  US President Joe Biden approved the delivery of the long-range Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, in February and March, and Ukraine has reportedly used them twice.  Speaking at a press conference in Washington, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the missiles had been shipped in response to Russia procuring weapons from other countries.  "This followed Russia's procurement and use of North Korea's ballistic missiles against Ukraine, as well as Russia's renewed and escalating attacks against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine," he said.  Sullivan did not say how many ATACMS had been sent to Ukraine or if they would be part of the latest military aid package signed into law on Wednesday.

The Betrayal Of America By The US House Of Representatives.  You'll never see this many Congressmen waving American flags[.]  [They are waving Ukrainian flags.]  [Video clip]

What's on TV tonight?  Nothing.
 Russian Cruise Missile Destroys TV Tower in Ukraine's Second Largest City Kharkov.  In the last weeks, there has been increased chatter on the Ukrainian side about an imminent Russian attack on the large city of Kharkov, located near the border.  Sure enough, its power facilities have been heavily damaged by massive missile strikes.  Today, the attacks went a little further, as a cruise missile struck and broke in half a 240-meter television tower.  The attack would be part of a 'deliberate effort by Moscow to make Ukraine's second largest city uninhabitable,' according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

When the U.K. sends money to Ukraine, who gets the "10 percent for the Big Guy?"
 U.K. Announces $500 Million in Aid to Ukraine.  The U.K. announced today [4/23/2024] that it is providing Ukraine with $500 million pounds in addition to Storm Shadow and other missiles.  [Tweet]

Ukraine has only six months left.  Last summer there were high expectations that Ukraine's major counter offensive would succeed in driving Russian forces back, setting the stage for victory.  That didn't happen; instead the offensive faltered and gained little ground.  This failure can be laid squarely at the feet of Western refusal to supply adequate military aid.  The result was a silent backlash in domestic politics both sides of the Atlantic, which undoubtedly contributed to the US president's failure to get a further aid package through Congress in time, as well as reluctance in European countries to step up their own aid.  The combination of huge Ukrainian losses and starvation in munitions allowed Russian forces to return to the offensive and seize the strategic initiative across the war zone.  In incremental advances they have made limited but concrete gains at the front, forcing Ukraine to give up ground, as well as causing severe damage to Ukrainian infrastructure through air attacks.

Source = Pravda
 EU is doing its best not to transfer Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine.  Without air defence systems Ukraine will suffer inglorious defeat.  A few days ago, Volodymyr Zelensky said that in order to resist Russia's destructive attacks, Ukraine would need 25 Patriot or similar air defence systems.  Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that Kyiv wanted to receive seven new batteries out of the hundred that he could find available in the world.  The United States has 60 Patriot batteries on duty, but the Pentagon does not want to expose its skies.

Two Years And $113 Billion Later, D.C.'s 'America Last' Crew Has No Plan For Ending The Russia-Ukraine War.  Another week has come and gone, and America's political leaders are still focused on one thing:  shipping more money to Ukraine.  On Friday, the GOP-controlled House advanced a rule allowing the lower chamber to pass what effectively amounts to a massive foreign spending package.  The bills under consideration seek to ship U.S. taxpayer dollars to Ukraine, Israel (and Hamas-controlled Gaza), and Taiwan.  A "divest-or-ban" bill that would prohibit TikTok from operating in the U.S. under its current China-based ownership will also reportedly be considered.  The aforementioned rule was passed Thursday night by the House Rules Committee with help from Democrats.  The rule effectively allows the House to vote on each funding measure separately without having to combine them into one package before sending it to the Senate for consideration.

New York Democrat Congressional Candidate Slammed for Wishing Death on All Trump Supporters.  New York Democrat congressional candidate Nate McMurray wished death on Trump supporters on Saturday [4/20/2024] in a post on X.  McMurray is running to represent New York's 26th congressional district — and Ukraine.  The unhinged Democrat posted the death wish to social media after the House of Representatives passed a foreign aid package that allocated billions of dollars to Ukraine and Israel.  Lawmakers waved Ukrainian flags on the House floor which angered many conservatives.

Warner: Military equipment will be 'in transit' to Ukraine by next week if Biden signs bill.  Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Sunday said U.S. shipments of long-range missiles "will be in transit" to Ukraine next week as long as President Biden signs the foreign aid bill.  "I hope once the president signs, we've been told that there it is, the president's signature, making sure Congress does its job that these materials will be in transit by the end of the week," Warner said Sunday on CBS News's "Face the Nation."  "And on that schedule, what it will do is it's clearly been the case that the Ukrainians' morale has been great, but it's been undermined over the last couple of months, when they have been literally given out rationed bullets, eight to 10 bullets a day," he added.

The Editor says...
 The U.S. has been providing billions of dollars to Ukraine for years.  Why are they down to ten bullets a day?  Is it because of the "ten percent to the Big Guy?

House Passes $95 Billion Aid Package For Ukraine, Israel And Taiwan — But Not US Border.  The House on Saturday passed a set of foreign aid bills that would send $61 billion to Ukraine, $26 billion to Israel, and $8 billion to the Indo-Pacific region.  In total, the foreign assistance package totals $95 billion — which only passed after Speaker Mike Johnson cut a deal with Democrats in order to force it through by a vote of 311 to 112.  The Senate is expected to pass the package, which was negotiated in conjunction with the White House, marking a victory against conservative lawmakers who insisted on protecting the US border before sending money abroad to protect those of other countries.

Ukraine's Zelensky 'Personally' Thanks Mike Johnson for $61 Billion Gift from U.S. Taxpayers.  Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was "personally" grateful to "Speaker Mike Johnson for the decision that keeps history on the right track" after Johnson shepherded a $61 billion Ukraine aid package through the House Saturday.  The image of scores of Democrats waving Ukraine flags and cheering on the House floor as the bill passed will forever sting the conservatives from whose ranks Johnson rose, only to serve them with the ultimate betrayal.

House Dems slammed for waving Ukrainian flag in chamber of US House: 'Disgusting'.  House Democrats have come under fire for waving the Ukrainian flag in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives during a vote to approve $60 billion in aid for the country's defense.  "Ukrainian flags fly in the chamber of the UNITED STATES House of Representatives as they vote to send more of your hard-earned money to a corrupt foreign regime," Sen Rand Paul, R-Ky., said in a post on X Saturday.  "And just like that they shout 'UKRAINE! UKRAINE!' while happily working to secure Ukraine's borders, not ours."  Paul's post comes after the House approved a spending package that will send $60 billion to Ukraine to aid in its defense against Russia's invasion, part of an overall $95 billion foreign aid plan that also includes additional aid for Israel.

House passes $61B in Ukraine aid package.  House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Saturday crushed a putsch by far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Republican rebels — pushing through a $95.3 billion aid package that funds the fight against Russia, the defense of Israel and resistance against China.  Lawmakers in a rare bipartisan effort overwhelmingly approved the four-bill package, including one measure providing $60.8 billion for Ukraine.  About 80% of that money will go toward replenishing supplies of US-made weapons and ammunition and other direct military assistance.  Another $9.5 billion is in the form of a forgivable loan.

Byron Donalds:  Johnson Violated Hastert Rule on Passage of Ukraine Aid.  Reps.  Byron Donalds (R-FL) and Chip Roy (R-TX) slammed Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for violating the Hastert Rule after the $60 billion Ukraine aid bill passed on Saturday without a majority of Republican support.  The longstanding rule directs that a Republican speaker will only put legislation up for a floor vote if a majority of the GOP conference supports it.  The rule is meant to prevent a GOP speaker from colluding with Democrats to pass bills.  But most of the GOP did not back the Ukraine bill.  While 101 Republicans and 210 Democrats voted for it, 112 Republicans voted against advancing it to the Senate, meaning Johnson has once again broken the Hastert Rule weeks after passing a $1.2 trillion government funding plan that most of his conference rejected.

US House approves $61 [billion] in military aid for Ukraine after months of stalling.  After months of stalling, the US House of Representatives finally approved more than $61 [billion] worth of military assistance to help Ukraine in its desperate defense against Russia, as well as billions for other allies including Israel and Taiwan.  In a bipartisan vote, 210 Democrats and 101 Republicans joined to support Ukraine, with 112 Republicans — a majority of the GOP members — voting against.  It came after the Republican speaker, Mike Johnson, forced a series of bills onto the floor in the face of fierce resistance within his own Republican party, many of whom oppose spending more on Ukraine's defense.  Voting began hours ahead of schedule in an extraordinary Saturday session that delayed the House's planned recess.  The House erupted into applause when the Ukraine bill passed, with the chair, Marc Molinaro of New York, admonishing members not to wave Ukrainian flags.

Democrat Representatives Wave Ukrainian Flags on House Floor After Voting to Give Them Another $60.8 Billion.  Democrat members of Congress waved Ukrainian flags on the House floor after voting to give them another $60.8 billion in taxpayer funds.  The $95.3 billion foreign aid package funds Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan — with nothing for Americans.  [Tweet]  On Saturday, the package was approved 311-112 with all of the "nay" votes from Republicans.  "Ukrainian flags fly in the chamber of the UNITED STATES House of Representatives as they vote to send more of your hard-earned money to a corrupt foreign regime.  And just like that they shout 'UKRAINE! UKRAINE!' while happily working to secure Ukraine's borders, not ours," Senator Rand Paul wrote in a post on X.

Mike Johnson's Spending Bill Includes $300 Million for Border Patrol — in Ukraine.  A spending bill backed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) includes hundreds of millions of dollars in American taxpayer money for border patrol agents in Ukraine as illegal immigration at the United States-Mexico border remains at record levels.  The spending bill, which 151 House Republicans helped 165 House Democrats advance on Friday, would see more than $95 billion sent to foreign countries — including about $61 billion to Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia.  Slipped into the funding package's Ukraine spending is $300 million for "the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine 20 and National Police of Ukraine, including units supporting 21 or under the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine."

How Aid to Ukraine May Deep-Six Another House Speaker.  House Speaker Mike Johnson has introduced aid bills for Israel, Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific, with voting scheduled to take place on either Friday night or Saturday.  Several House Republicans have indicated their intention to oust the speaker from his position.  Despite his repeated pledges to bring foreign aid bills to the House floor only when a solution to the border crisis is found, Speaker Johnson unveiled three separate funding packages, namely $26 billion for Israel, $61 billion for Ukraine, and $8 billion for Taiwan and allies in Indo-Pacific, at the time when the US southern frontier still remains wide open.

The Ukraine End Game.  One of the enduring truths about war is that the side that wins is usually the side that starts with a clear objective.  That understanding of the goal allows for a strategy to accomplish the goal, which then becomes the framework for the tactics required to implement the strategy and win the war.  Starting with the end in mind also allows for changes in strategy and tactics to account for the unknown unknowns that are always a part of a military conflict.  No plan survives contact with the enemy.  We may be about to see this in the Ukraine war.  From the start the Russians have had a very clear understanding of their interests in Ukraine.  This predates the war by about a thousand years.  Russia is a land power without natural barriers between itself and its neighbors, so the goal of Russian foreign policy since forever has been to maintain space between Russia and its neighbors.  The Ukraine has always been part of that space controlled by the Russians.

Zelensky Issues Ultimatum, Warns Ukraine 'Will Lose' If U.S. Refuses Further Aid.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Ukraine will lose the war against Russia unless the U.S. provides further military aid. [...] "It's important to specifically address the Congress: if the Congress doesn't help Ukraine, Ukraine will lose the war," Zelensky said. "If Ukraine loses this war, other countries will be attacked.  This is a fact."

Muslim Terrorists Who Killed 145 People In Moscow Testify That Ukraine Was Paying Them.  Footage of the interrogation of terrorists who attacked Crocus City Hall:  "We were told to go to Ukraine in Kiev"  The terrorists were promised that it was there that they would be given 1 million rubles each.  The detainees until the last minute received instructions from their curator, who promised that they would wait for the creatures at the border and help them get to Kyiv.  [Video clip]

Vance: Inviting Ukraine to Join NATO is to 'Invite Our Nation into War'.  U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) said that it's irresponsible for Sec. of State Antony Blinken to declare that Ukraine will become a NATO member.  [Advertisement]  "This is completely irresponsible," Vance posted on X.  "Ukraine should not join NATO, and to invite them during a war is to invite our nation into war."  [Advertisement] [Tweet] [Advertisement]  Vance was responding to a video of Blinken, posted by William Wolfe, in which Blinken declared confidently that Ukraine will become a NATO member.  [Tweet] [Advertisement]  Blinken's comments come as U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson pushes for a vote for additional U.S. taxpayer funding for the "Ukraine war."  American Greatness reported yesterday that U.S. Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) said it's "absurd" that the U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is considering sending more money to Ukraine, and said funding should [b]e replaced with an effort to hold peace talks.  [Tweet]

Vectoring Dangerously.  Antony Blinken, our Secretary of State, who announced yesterday that Ukraine will get rushed into NATO ASAP.  Do you understand that would mean a direct, automatic, peremptory declaration of war against Russia, requiring all of NATO — that is, their combined militaries — to go kinetic inside Ukraine and theoretically inside Russia, too, (a move that has not worked out well for anyone in all of history), because Article Five of the NATO charter states that an armed attack against one is an attack against all, and must be answered with counter-attack?  Thus, you see, Mr. Blinken just announced World War Three.  You might also consider that NATO does not have the capacity to fight that war.  The European members don't have sufficient troops and equipment, or financial reserves for that matter.  And there is, of course, America's under-recruited DEI army of transsexuals and video-gamers, with equipment that has already proven inadequate on-the-ground in Ukraine, and a logistical route for delivery of all that which runs 5,000 miles across an ocean and then another continent... whereas our opponent (Russia) is right next door to the battlefield and churning out munitions like there is no tomorrow (which there might well not be for all concerned).

Mile Long Train of Heavy Armor Entering Ukraine from Slovakia.  Video has emerged from inside Slovakia showing a train, estimated to be one mile long, hauling Dozens of M1A1 Abrams Tanks and other heavy armor into Ukraine from Slovakia.  The Ukraine War is being escalated by the importation of massive amounts of military equipment, weapons, and materiel, for the eventual aim for the US/NATO invasion of Russia in May, 2024.  [Video clip]

Pentagon Spent Every Last Penny of Latest Ukraine Package Before Congress Even Approved It.  The Pentagon spent hundreds of millions in aid to Ukraine four months before Congress ever approved it, Politico reported on Monday.  President Joe Biden on Saturday signed off on Congress' $1.2 trillion 2024 spending bill which included roughly $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), as Kyiv has not received funding from Congress in over a year.  The $300 million had already been spent by the Department of Defense (DOD) in November because it was obligated under a continuing resolution at the time, according to Politico.  Therefore, the $300 million in aid included in the appropriations bill has no current physical value and "is not available to us right now," a U.S. official speaking anonymously told Politico.  The Pentagon previously announced a $300 million aid package to Ukraine in November but warned it "exhaust[ed] the remaining USAI funds currently available to support Ukraine."  The USAI was set up when Russia invaded the Ukrainian region of Crimea in 2014 and serves to provide aid for longer-term purposes, according to Politico.

Ukraine Sinks Two Russian Ships and Russia Sinks One.  The Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out a strike on the Black Sea Fleet's port in Sevastopol in Occupied Crimea on Sunday.  In addition to destroying a communications and oil depot, the attack by Storm Shadow or SCALP-EG cruise missiles also destroyed or severely damaged two more of the Russian Navy's Ropucha-class landing ships.  The Ropucha landing ships have become critical to sustaining Russian forces in Occupied Crimea and Occupied Kherson as the railway from Russia to Crimea via the Kerch Strait Bridge has limited capacity due to damage.  Russia's Black Sea Fleet started the war with 13 of these ships.  Three are now operational.  Four are undergoing repairs of some type, and six have been either sunk or severely disabled by Ukrainian attacks.  At least 20 Russian Navy ships, a third of the Black Sea Fleet, are combat losses to a country that no longer has an operational navy.

Joe Biden's winners.  [Scroll down]  Mike Pence, Nikki Haley, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Victoria Nuland, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Lindsey Graham, Volodymyr Zelensky, and of course the whole of the military industrial complex — all love war and are being rewarded for their lust for war.

This explains everything you didn't understand about Ukraine and Biden.  Hunter Biden was advancing a CIA project in Ukraine to swing the natural gas market towards NATO & that's why he's untouchable.  [Video clip]

Can You Guess Why the Biden Admin Is Warning Ukraine Not to Attack Russian Oil Refineries?  The absolutely, positively last thing Joe Biden wants to see before the election is a rise in gasoline prices at the pump.  Nothing would be more damaging to his re-election chances than reminding people about his failed energy policies.  Ukraine is fighting for its existence as an independent country.  Kyiv has had great success attacking Russian oil refineries, hitting Russia where it hurts most — in its pocketbook.  It's one of the few weapons that Ukraine possesses that materially affects Moscow's ability to wage war.  But hitting those refineries causes the price of refined oil to rise on the world market, and Biden absolutely, positively can't have that.  So the administration has repeatedly warned Ukraine to leave the Russian refineries alone.

2 killed, 1.2M without power after Russian missile barrage slams Ukraine.  Ukraine came under sustained aerial assault for a second night after Russian forces unleashed at least 150 rockets and attack drones against mainly power infrastructure targets across the country, killing two people and injuring 14 and knocking out electricity to more than a million people.  The Air Force said its air defense systems shot down 37 cruise missiles and 55 Iranian-made "Shaheed" drones but dozens made their targets in Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih and Zaporizhzhia where the Dnipro Hydroelectric Station was set ablaze, blacking out factories and homes in Donets-Kryvyi Rih region.

Putin Wins Transparent Russian Reelection, Biden Calls it a Dictatorship - Zelensky Cancels Ukraine Elections, Biden Calls it a Democracy.  It really is a transparently obvious contrast that highlights how far the west has fallen.  Russia holds transparent elections and Vladimir Putin wins 87% of the vote, resoundingly being reelected; yet Biden calls it a dictatorship.  Meanwhile Ukraine cancels all elections, Zelensky declares the political opposition party unlawful; yet Biden calls it a democracy.  The totalitarian areas and liberty areas are ideologically inverting as a direct outcome of western governments deliberately cleaving the globe.  What they call "globalism" is actually a fracturing of the international compact.  This reality is now transparent and obvious to the ordinary person, and the Ukraine vs Russia example stands as direct evidence of just how abusive the Western government gaslighting has become.

Russia 'destroys two $400m US-made Patriot surface-to-air missile systems in one hypersonic Iskander strike' in costly blow to Ukraine.  Dramatic aerial footage reportedly shows the moment two US-made truck-mounted quad-launchers for the Patriot surface-to-air missile systems are destroyed.  A giant explosion followed a strike by a Russian hypersonic Iskander missile.  The Russians have called it the first video-confirmed destruction of the Patriot complex displayed by Ukraine.  Each system is believed to cost $400 million, while missiles can cost up to $6 million each.

This Is What The Ukrainian Goverment Is Doing To Men Fleeing To Romania To Avoid Getting Killed In The Russian Meat Grinder.  A video showing Ukrainian goons pulling men out of a van close to the Romanian border and beating them has gone viral.  90% of Ukrainian refugees are women and children, while most Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 are banned from leaving the country.  [Video clip]

The military-industrial complex changes the subject:
 Haiti replaces Ukraine.  The internal polling on Dark Brandon's state-of-the-union speech must be horrible because Democrats and their deep-state go-fers in the media quickly changed the subject.  First, they tried to make the story about Republican Katie Britt's Karen-in-the-kitchen response to Biden's speech, but no one outside DC cares about these responses. [...] With the Ukraine war wearing out its welcome, the only diversion left was the uncivil war in Haiti.  Suddenly riots in its capital became the most important story in the world!  We are sending troops to Port-au-Prince, something we failed to do to Minneapolis, Seattle and Portland four years ago.  Apparently it is OK to give rioters in Baltimore space, but not in Haiti.  Haiti has replaced Ukraine as the 51st state, just like Dick Sargent replaced Dick York as Darrin on Bewitched.  There was no discussion and no explanation.

The Moral Case for Aid to Ukraine.  One can oppose aiding Ukraine without wanting Russia to win, but withholding aid would likely have that result.  I want Russia to lose.  It's in our interest and a Russian victory would have consequences similar to a Hamas victory.  Russia, China, Iran, and a series of other entities are united in one cause.  They want to displace America as the dominant world power.  Tucker correctly maintains that this group is working to replace the dollar as the world's reserve currency.  That would cause a dramatic reduction in our standard of living.  It's in our national interest to degrade the power of this coalition.  The Biden administration is confused.  It's limiting China's access to advanced chips while also appeasing Iran.  It's conservatives who are penny wise and pound foolish by inhibiting Ukraine's ability to degrade Russian power and influence.  Most conservatives are revolted by the horrors committed by Hamas.  For some reason they tolerate the same well-documented behavior by Russia.

John Kerry:  People would 'Feel Better' about Russia's War in Ukraine if Russia would 'Make a Greater Effort to Reduce Emissions'.  80-year-old John Kerry announced recently he was stepping down as US Special Envoy on Climate for the Biden regime after years of hard work battling global warming and destroying the economy and US middle class.  Kerry led the effort to unleash hundreds of billions in subsidies that aim to green the economy.  It's a lucrative business if you can call the shots or live in China where the windmills are made — using fossil fuels.  During a presser this week Kerry made another of his timeless statements, this time connecting global warming and war with Russia.

John Kerry Suggests America's Real Beef With Russia Is Its High Carbon Emissions.  Former Secretary of State John Kerry has suggested that America's real problem with Russia is their high rate of carbon emissions.  During his final press conference on Wednesday as Joe Biden's Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, Kerry said that given Russia's willingness to wage a war in Ukraine, they should also step up their efforts to combat so-called climate change: [...] Kerry added that if Russia would only show "good faith" on the climate issue, then people may be more sympathetic to the country's illegal invasion of a sovereign country[.]

Also posted under Democrats think you're stupid.

Rumor?  Plausible Speculation?  Who knows?  I have no reason to believe that Geroman has any inside sources.  Nevertheless, it is worth recalling that recent weeks have seen quite a bit of buzz about billions being diverted from actual war making in Ukraine to ... who knows where?  Obviously lots has gone to high Ukraine officials, but your imagination is pretty much unlimited when there's no accountability.  Congress has been demanding some accountability and apparently not getting it.

The Five FUBARs.  [#1]  The war in Ukraine.  We started it in 2014 to mess with Russia and Russia is going to finish it.  Who knows what our real motives were.  A resource grab?  A desperate ploy to erase our national debt by creating a global fiasco?  Sheer psychopathic hatred of this Putin fellow?  We can't bring ourselves to acknowledge the failure of this ill-conceived venture.  Instead, our feckless allies in Europe are foolishly rattling their sabers, apparently forgetting that you don't bring a sword to a nuclear missile fight.  Mr. Macron in France affects to offer up his army for slaughter on the blood-soaked plains of Ukraine, just as the Ukrainians offered up a half a million of their young men so that Victoria Nuland could feel good about herself.

The Left and Ukraine.  Leaving aside for the moment the reasons for and impacts of Russia's invasion (the reason is that Putin wanted to do it and thought Joe Biden would be a pushover, forgetting the, um, family ties to the nation that could be revealed if Putin won,) the war, unlike the Israel-Hamas war for some reason, has been a cause celebré of the Left.  This is because it was Putin who did it and Putin is evil and Putin got Trump elected and Putin gave Trump hookers and Putin loves Trump and Trump loves Putin and Trump wants to be Putin and Trump want to rule the world as dictators and blah blah blah.  But ask yourself:  would the progressive world be so rabidly pro-Ukraine — pro-Ukraine to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars — if it had not been Putin who invaded?  What if a coalition of Ukraine's neighbors — Poland, Belarus, Moldova (Transnistria,) Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania — had invaded instead?  In this scenario, do leftists still fly blue and yellow flags in front of their house, put blue and yellow markers on their social media accounts, donate to Ukrainian charities, and continue to push for more and more U.S. aid for the beleaguered but plucky nation?  No, they do not.  There would be nowhere near the level of intensity and commitment demanded and emotion in the discussion.

Germany Appears to Have Inadvertently Revealed the UK and France have Soldiers in Ukraine.  German Chancellor Scholz stands accused of handing Russia a propaganda coup in order to smooth over his own political difficulties as he claims the presence of British and French soldiers aiding Ukrainian forces.  Scholz has been accused of abusing intelligence and being a bad ally by angry NATO politicians after his remarks about the level of involvement he claims there is of the British and French in the deployment of the Storm Shadow / SCALP cruise missiles they have given to Ukraine, and which have been deployed with devastating effect.

Why Ukraine?  This Is The Stuff They Don't Want You To Know.  [Video clip only.]

Good Riddance To Mitch McConnell:  A List Of GOP Senate Chief's Worst Blunders In Leadership.  Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky announced Wednesday he will step down from his leadership role this fall, citing his age and health. [...] Here are some of McConnell's worst moments as Republican Senate leader. [...] [#5] Ukraine:  With no strategy to end the war, McConnell became President Joe Biden's greatest ally to bankroll the Kyiv regime with billions beyond the desires of American voters, especially Republicans.  If House lawmakers approve the $95 billion foreign spending package the Senate passed following the failure of the amnesty bill, the total taxpayer commitment will reach $170 billion, according to The New York Times.  "For three years, a policy of hesitation, short-sightedness, and self-deterrence led the world to wonder whether the United States still has the resolve to face growing, coordinated threats," McConnell said when the bill passed earlier this month.  "But today, the Senate responded by reaffirming a commitment to rebuild and modernize our military, restore our credibility, and give the current Commander-in-Chief, as well as the next, more tools to secure our interests."

The Truth About Ukraine Starts to Leak Out.  The conspiracies about Ukraine are like all the rest — after a few years the conspiracy theorists are proven correct.  First you are called a Russian stooge for suggesting NATO expansion may have provoked Russia to invade Ukraine, before the truth starts to slowly drip out. [...] Wait what?  I thought we have been repeatedly told that this isn't a proxy American war and the US is just providing assistance to save democracy in Ukraine.  Now, after gaslighting us for two years, they are admitting the US has been poking Russia for a decade now.  The NYT begins by telling us a 'secret' that many already knew — the Ukrainian underground bases are "almost fully financed and partly equipped, by the C.I.A.  But it doesn't stop there.

Death of a Nation, Birth of Another.  Ukraine was always Joe Biden/Barack Obama's war, started by Obama, that Hillary was supposed to continue.  This is what fueled the hatred for Trump, the interrupter, the pause in the conflict the lobbyists and politicians couldn't stand for.  Ukraine has been the politician's ATM, the politician's resume enhancer for their children.  It's provided the lobbyists for the defense industry a wealthy lifestyle, paid for in every way by the American taxpayer.  Instead of passing tax increases and pay raises they just do it behind the scenes by starting a new war. [...] Our great power and wealth are being spent to conquer the American people.  They started the war a long time ago and kept whittling us down, piece by piece one freedom after another until here we are at that momentous time when we have our backs to the wall, with no chance of survival.  It is time to fight back and still we dither.

4 Absolutely Massive Bombshells About The War In Ukraine That Every American Needs To See.  No matter who the American people elect as their representatives, the permanent ruling class in Washington D.C. remains the same.  Unfortunately for all of us, this permanent ruling class has become absolutely desperate to win the war in Ukraine.  One member of that permanent ruling class, Victoria Nuland, is pleading with Congress to approve more funds for the war.  One of her arguments is that "we have to remember that the bulk of this money is going right back into this economy to make those weapons".  Oh yes, pouring giant mountains of money down the gullet of the military-industrial complex would certainly be good for economic growth.  But if we allow the permanent ruling class to drag us into a shooting war with Russia, millions of Americans could end up dead.  The permanent ruling class in Europe has also become extremely desperate to win the war.

End Ukraine War.  This weekend marks the second anniversary of Putin's invasion of Ukraine, a nation that Biden and many others in Washington have used to launder bribes for decades.  The folks in DC used Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a forever war to replace the one they had in Afghanistan, which they should have ended when we found Osama bin Laden — in Pakistan.  We continued it for another decade because it kept the war machine going.  Guests and fish stink after 3 days, but it takes people a few years to really smell a bad war.  This one's stench hit my nostrils on Day One.  Zelensky was the key to the first impeachment of President Trump.  American politicians saw Putin's attempt to annex half of Ukraine as an opportunity to make money, and they have.

The Ukrainian Entertainer, and The Sting.  Eight months ago, President Trump claimed he could settle the Russia/Ukraine war in 24 hours.  The crowd cheered (even on CNN).  Deep-state mouthpiece CNN and Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky sneered.  How could Trump do it?  Simple.  Give the Zelensky administration a choice:  (1) The new Trump admin traces the aid money flows and brings to justice any corrupt Ukrainian officials (no matter how high up they are) or (2) the war stops.  Zelensky would immediately agree to end the war.  Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, would also agree because it would end a war in which the enemies (Ukraine, the E.U., and Biden America) have had a secondary (primary?) goal of breaking up Russia.

Biden Keeps Losing Wars.  I am old enough to remember when it was considered a disgrace to even countenance the idea American could lose a war.  Under Joe Biden, losing a war is a regular occurrence.  Vlad Putin took a victory lap in our latest defeat, the Ukraine War, by ruthlessly killing one of his few living Russian opponents — Alexei Navalny.  Joe Biden promised there would be reprisals if Navalny died back in 2021, but of course, that was an empty threat.  Instead, buoyed by cynical regimes from China to India to North Korea willing to break international sanctions, Putin's terror state keeps on humming.  Ukraine's year-long offensive ran out of steam in the fall, just as I predicted.  The Biden administration got way behind on weapon deliveries to Ukraine.  There was already a huge ammo problem this summer when funds were supposedly in place.  All Biden's people have now is the ridiculous supplemental military aid package.

Vladimir Putin:  Bad Historian.  As someone who's lived in both Russia and Ukraine, who speaks Russian and Ukrainian, and is versed in their histories, I've been bombarded with questions about Putin's recent interview with Tucker Carlson. [...] Indeed, Putin packed his interview with so many tall tales that you'd need an academic thesis to tackle them all.  But let's face it:  who's got the time for that?  So I'm serving up a condensed version, sprinkled with my own observations and takeaways for flavor. [...] His sit-down with Tucker Carlson revealed a concerning image of Putin: not just a leader disconnected from current realities, but a full-blown historical fantasist, playing fast and loose with the fates of millions, guided not by present-day truths, but by some dusty, fictional version of yesteryear.

Zelensky Demands More Weapons From West, Invites Trump to Visit 'Front Line'.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned allies Saturday that an "artificial deficit" of weapons for his country risks giving Russia breathing space, hours after his military chief said he was withdrawing troops from the eastern city of Avdiivka.  Zelenskyy spoke to the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of security and foreign policy officials.  Ukraine is back on the defensive against Russia in the nearly 2-year-old war, hindered by low ammunition supplies and a shortage of personnel.

Zelensky Invites Trump to Visit 'Front Line' While Demanding the U.S. Send More Weapons.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited former President Trump to the "front lines" of Russia's invasion of Ukraine while begging the United States for more weapons and aid.  On Saturday, Zelensky demanded Trump to travel with him to Russia so that the former U.S. leader can experience "real war."  "Mr. Trump, if he will come, I am ready even to go with him to the frontline.  We have to demonstrate to people who are decision makers what does it mean.  The real war, not in Instagram," Zelensky said.  While doing so, the Ukrainian president also asked the United States for more weapons, warning that an "artificial deficit" of weapons for his country risks giving Russia time to increase its strength.

House Speaker Mike Johnson Effectively Kills Senate Supplemental Ukraine Aid Bill.  In a rare bipartisan move, Senate Republicans and Democrats worked together to push through a supplemental foreign aid bill that would send even more money (with virtually strings attached) to Ukraine.  While conservatives in the Senate blasted the bill, their hopes were on the House killing it before it could be brought up to a vote.  Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky gave a fiery speech on the floor about the issue on Monday afternoon.  [Tweet]  The bill has not formally passed the Senate, but it's already dead in the House.  In a statement released on Monday night, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced that the bill would not be taken up in his chamber, and that the House would instead "have to continue to work its own" regarding what conservatives see as the bigger issue - the southern border.  "House Republicans were crystal clear from the very beginning of discussions that any so-called national security supplemental legislation must recognize that national security begins at our own border," Johnson said in his statement.

Why is non-stop war so important to these people?
 Mitch McConnell and Senate RINOs Help Pass Ukraine Funding Package that Includes Automatic Impeachment if Trump Terminates Funding for Ukraine War!  In an unusual session held on Super Bowl Sunday, the US Senate voted to move forward a substantial $95 billion aid package that will support Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, with no southern border security provisions.  The package includes $60 billion for Ukraine and $14 billion for Israel.  The vote garnered support from RINOs, with a final tally of 67-27.  According to The Hill, Schumer offered Republicans the chance to vote on amendments in exchange for expediting the legislative process.  "By a vote of 67-27, The Senate invoked cloture on Murray substitute amendment 1388 to H.R. 815, legislative vehicle for supplemental appropriations," the Senate Press Gallery wrote on X.  Sixty-seven senators voted in favor of war funding, while 27 senators opposed the expenditure, all of whom were Republicans.

Senators Advance $95B to Fund Wars.  The border bill, which was always about sending money to Ukraine and not about our border, is dead, so the progressive Republican Senators voted today to advance the $95 billion dollar foreign aid package that funds Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific.  The vote was 67-27.  Eighteen Republicans voted with Democrats to advance this bill.  They might not vote for the bill - they just advanced it - but look at the names — there are lots of RINOs and some warmongers on the list.  [List of names]  The Senators want to go home, but they no longer seem to consider the costs, which is an important Republican principle.  Fiscal responsibility — what happened to that?

Over $1 Billion in Weapons Missing In Ukraine.  The Department of Defense has failed to properly track $1 billion worth of weapons provided to Ukraine, according to an internal audit released on Jan. 10 by the DOD Inspector General.  The DOD is supposed to use special "enhanced end-use monitoring" techniques" to "safeguard" key weapons such as smaller, high-tech weaponry provided to Ukraine, which are likely targets for theft.  The audit says these monitoring procedures are not properly being followed in Ukraine, due to staffing shortages, poor internal logistics and more.

Eventful Events.  [Scroll down]  A not inconsiderable part of our Ukraine problem has been that our chief executive was for years engaged in bribery and money-laundering misadventures there, for which there is abundant and powerful evidence, meaning he may have had very personal interests in keeping that country disordered — and sending billions of dollars there, some of it surely embezzled among the Zelensky government.  You'd have to also be aware that the bag-man in those operations, the President's son, Hunter, might well have misbehaved with drugs and prostitutes on his many trips to Ukraine as a board member of Burisma.  Hunter's self-compiled archive of round-the-world drug-fueled porn recordings on the laptop that (the FBI confirmed recently) was unquestionably his own, suggests that the Ukraine authorities may have their own recordings of him behaving similarly, or worse, and are using them to blackmail "President Joe Biden."

Zelenskyy Fires Ukraine's Top Commander As Kyiv's Military Problems Get Worse.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is replacing the country's top military commander as Kyiv's war effort against Russia continues to face increasing problems.  Now-former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi is being replaced after Zelenskyy announced Thursday it was necessary to shake up the country's military leadership.  Zelenskyy and Zaluzhnyi's relationship had become increasingly strained over disagreements on how Ukraine should carry out its war against Russia, as the country has been plagued by mass power outages, lost support in the U.S. Congress, and failed to make any notable achievements in its counteroffensive, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Senate Advances $95B Foreign Aid Bill for Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, and Taiwan, Omitting Border Security Provisions.  The U.S. Senate has cast a contentious vote, advancing a massive $95 billion foreign aid package that supports Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, and Taiwan, but notably omits any provisions for bolstering U.S. border infrastructure.  In a 67-32 cloture vote, the Senate crossed party lines, with several RINO senators joining Democrats to move the foreign aid bill forward.  Republicans who joined Democrats in voting in favor include:  [List of names]  According to Capitol Hill correspondent Jamie Dupree, the bill is "likely to pass the Senate — maybe by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week."

Joe Biden Wears Ukraine Tie and Pin While Selling $118B Senate Border Bill to American Taxpayers.  President Joe Biden declared he was wearing a Ukraine tie and pin during an address on Tuesday trying to sell American taxpayers on an $118 billion "border security" bill that would spend $20 billion on border security and $60 billion on Ukraine aid.

War Delirium.  You didn't ask, but things are not going so well in our remote-control war in Ukraine against Russia (Putinland). Our Zelensky team (we own it) got completely rope-a-doped, punched itself out, its knees are buckling.  Victoria Nuland, the renowned State Department girlie war-hawk, says she's confident that Congress will pass the new $61 billion aid package for the Z-team, according to Radio Free Europe, the blob's official propaganda outlet.  The blob wants you to think that Putin wants to turn all of Europe into Putinland.  I'm sure.  Tori Nuland probably thinks we can save Ukraine with the fabulous girlie army and some snazzy new drones from McDonnell Douglas.  Hey, it's war, war, war.

"Victoria Nuland — she's the real ruler of Ukraine" Says Alexander Mercouris.  Alexander Mercouris has perhaps the best track-record of all prognosticators on the important international news-stories, and this very much includes on the important news stories regarding the Ukraine crisis, not only since Russia's invasion of Ukraine started on 24 February 2022, but going all the way back to 2016 when he first reported.  And, more generally, for example, compare his 10 October 2016 "U.S. Intelligence meddles in U.S. Presidential election:  backs Hillary Clinton, tries to stop Donald Trump" to what the rest of the press were saying at the same time about the then-emerging manufactured 'Russiagate' story, such as the Democratic Party TIME magazine's Joe Klein headlining on 13 October 2016, "Why the Russian Hacks of Hillary Clinton's Campaign Should Reassure Us All", which fell for the U.S. Government's lie that Russia was 'hacking' the U.S. Democratic Party's emails and maybe, just maybe, colluding with Donald Trump's Presidential campaign in order to win the 2016 election for Trump — none of which turned out to have been true (but loads of Democratic Party voters believed it to be true, at least as recently as 2019).  Mercouris instead exposed that fraud right away — and it was a fraud by the Obama Administration and the Hillary Clinton campaign instead of by the Trump campaign and Russia's Government.

European Union agrees on a new 50 billion-euro aid package for Ukraine despite Hungary's veto threat.  The leaders of the 27 European Union countries sealed a deal Thursday to provide Ukraine with a new 50-billion-euro ($54 billion) support package for its war-ravaged economy despite weeks of threats from Hungary to veto the move.  European Council President Charles Michel announced the agreement that was reached in the first hour of a summit he was chairing in Brussels.  "We have a deal," Michel said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.  He said the agreement "locks in steadfast, long-term, predictable funding for Ukraine," and demonstrated that the "EU is taking leadership and responsibility in support for Ukraine; we know what is at stake."

Ukraine Corruption Continues:  Five Arrested for Stealing $40M Meant for Weapons.  Americans who wonder how Ukraine is spending all the tax money the Deep State Uniparty has sent there just found out where some of it is going.  Straight into the pockets of corrupt officials who work in the Zelensky Regime's defense ministry.  Five officials have been arrested for stealing some $40 million, and if past reports indicate anything, a lot more than $40 million has gone down the drain for the sake of the Uniparty's latest globalist adventure.  [Tweet]

Biden Administration Openly Promising to Do the Exact Thing Trump Was Accused of Doing During Impeachment Effort.  President Donald J. Trump was accused of withholding U.S. military aid to Ukraine in order to force compliance with his requests.  This was the exact claim of those who attempted to impeach President Trump in 2019; this was their originating justification.  Today, NBC is reporting that Joe Biden is looking at what military aid can be withheld from Israel in order to force compliance with their requests.  I doubt the insufferable dolts in the media can see the ridiculous hypocrisy in this story.

Ukraine Says U.S. Money Not Going to Ukraine, 'Benefiting American Interests'.  The $130 billion sent to Ukraine so far for its war against Russia is apparently not actually going to Ukraine, but is really "benefiting American interests," a spokesperson for Ukraine told Breitbart News.  The shock claim was in response to a request for information by Breitbart News on whether or not any American tax dollars had gone specifically to Uman, a city in the war-torn Eastern European nation that is currently seeing a condo built on a Jewish mass grave, as previously reported, in violation of a bilateral agreement with the U.S., and in violation of international law.  Breitbart reported on January 10 that a city in Ukraine is proceeding with building a condo on a Jewish mass grave, despite three letters from members of Congress from both parties to the Ukrainian government demanding the cemetery be protected.

The Details Coming from the "Bipartisan Border Deal" Highlight the Ridiculous Nature of the Senate Bill.  Senators Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), James Lankford (R-OK), and Chris Murphy (D-CT) have reportedly put the finishing touches on their "bipartisan border deal" that will be tied together with other Senate priorities to permit billions more in funding for Ukraine.  Keep in mind the billions for Ukraine is the goal here; the "border security deal" is the mechanism to deflect attention and give the customary UniParty illusion of justification.  There's no reason to pretend this is anything of substance; even a cursory review of the media narrative shows just how insufferable this nonsense really is.

Biden Blackmail Intensifies:  Won't Shut Border Until Congress Coughs Up Ukraine, Israel Funds.  As Republican governors circle the wagon around Texas, President Biden on Saturday doubled down on a reluctant agreement to secure the southern US border, but only if if Congress passes a bipartisan bill that would also allocate funds for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, and would still allow as many as 150,000 illegal crossings per month.  "If that bill were the law today I'd shut down the border right now and fix it quickly and bring a bipartisan bill that would be good for America and help fix our broken immigration system and allow speedy access for those who deserve to be here," Biden said, according to Fox News' Chad Pergram.  Except, as many have pointed out, Biden doesn't need Congress, or the bill, to do that right now.  As we noted yesterday, House Speaker Mike Johnson debunked the claim, saying "President Biden falsely claimed yesterday he needs Congress to pass a new law to allow him to close the southern border, but he knows that is untrue."

The arrogance and contempt of elites over that Ukraine aid package.  How bad has it gotten for the pro-Ukraine crowd, which is watching with entitled fury as Congress negotiates over yet another aid package in its no-win war?  Well, check out this scolding op-ed by The Atlantic's Anne Applebaum, titled "Is Congress Really Going to Abandon Ukraine Now?"  She's one the loudest advocates for endless U.S. aid to Ukraine. [...] So here are a few thing she missed:  Did she bring up that the U.S. has already spent tens of billions on Ukraine, and has nothing to show for it?  Maybe it's not a good idea to spend money on something that isn't working.  The U.S. is coming off the endless permawars of Afghanistan and Iraq and after losing thousands of men and women in uniform, with precious little to show for it.  And in Afghanistan, the pullout was a disgrace.  Besides the loss of blood and treasure, the wars there were loaded with swamp profiteering and even corruption.  The Washington swamp benefited mightily from its consultant contracts buried within those war budgets, which brought us zero victories.  Might the U.S. public be just a little averse to shoveling money at the self-perpetuating swamp that thrives on warfare?  We can see that dynamic emerging in Ukraine and we don't want another Afghanistan-style ending.

Zelensky, the war bore.  AP reported that Zelensky is big mad at Donald Trump.  In case you have forgotten, Zelensky turned Trump's congratulatory call for being elected president of Ukraine into an article of impeachment.  In retaliation, Trump said when he returns to power, he'll end the Ukraine war in 24 hours.  The Ukrainian crook felt that was a low blow.  Zelensky does not want the war to end.  Why should he?  The war has been a financial windfall as Western countries have poured hundreds of billions of dollars into his [insignificant] nation.  He marketed the war well as a threat to NATO.  His pitch was either you stop Russia in Kyiv or Washington is next.  The guy is good.  He quoted Churchill and MLK to Congress and various parliaments — and the applause and the money flowed in.  But his act has played out.  After 2 years, well, no one except the kickback artists in politics seems much interested in his troubles.  To get more money from Congress, Biden had to make an empty promise to fix our border, which he broke.  Elsewhere, Ukraine is yesterday's news.

Minds To Think.  For a lot of us, there is no excuse to be uninformed and unprepared by now, but there are so many who come across bits and pieces of the picture without the will to put them together and form a strategy for resistance.  They don't yet get the urgency.  They see something about Ukraine, but don't recognize it for the weakness of Western weaponry that it exposed.  This was a major political and military blunder of proportions only paralleled by Neville Chamberlain.  If it weren't for the wholesale graft that Ukraine also represents, one would think this blunder was calculated to expose the U.S. to its enemies.  Maybe, it's both.

Leaked Video From Ukraine Shows The Military Throwing Their Dead Soldiers In Mass Graves Before Listing Them As MIA.  To hide the losses, the Ukrainian command buries the bodies of its dead soldiers right in a pit on the front line.  Next, the killed soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are entered into the lists of the missing.  The goal is to leave relatives without financial assistance.  [Video clip]

Ukrainian Nazis Shell A Civilain Market Place In Donetsk, Killing 30.  Ukrainian government forces went on a killing spree attacking a Sunday market in Donetsk.  Almost 30 civilians were massacred by the shelling, deliberately executed during the busiest market hours.  [Video clip]

Putin's War, Week 99. Not All Battlefields Are in Ukraine.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's speech at the World Economic Forum had a lot of good material that must be parsed.  At the same time, Russian President Vladimir Putin and deputy chairman (and former prime minister and former president) Medvedev were saying that no compromise with Ukraine was possible.  Chinese and Turkish banks have dropped Russian correspondent banks for fear of secondary sanctions, and the US and EU are near an agreement that will confiscate frozen Russian assets in the West and dedicate them to rebuilding Ukraine.  Hungary is on the verge of being stripped of voting rights by the European Union.  In short, there is a ton of stuff going on, but little of it takes place on the battlefield, and I can't do justice in 100-word blurbs.

Russia Loses Two High Value Aircraft Near Ukraine and the Theories Abound.  The Russian Air Force suffered a major loss Sunday when an airborne early warning and control aircraft disappeared from radar over the Sea of Azov, and an Il-22M11 airborne command post was forced to make an emergency landing at Anapa on the northern coast of the Black Sea.  There has been no official acknowledgment of the loss from the Russian Armed Forces, but the semi-official milblogger Telegram channel, FighterBomber, through that channel, hints that it was friendly fire.  [Tweet]  The commander in chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces and the chief of military intelligence are saying otherwise.

The Ukraine War Needed to End Yesterday.  On July 25, 2023, Fox News Host Sean Hannity hosted a town hall meeting with Democrat presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr.  A seven-minute segment of that event primarily concerned the war in Ukraine and was entitled "America Wants War with Russia."  Being familiar with one of the worst foreign policy decisions in the post-World War II era, I listened intently to what the liberal presidential candidate had to say on the subject.  He was quite knowledgeable and, in general, seemed to grasp the motivating imperatives which precipitated this mistake.  In contrast, the "conservative" Hannity appeared clueless and maybe disingenuous.  Six months later, as the endless war continues endless, that town hall remains relevant.

Ukraine Took Down 2 Russian Command Airplanes.  Ukraine reportedly shot down two of Russia's top-tier aircraft over the Azov Sea.  One of the planes, a Beriev A-50 is similar to an American AWACS, with a large radar dish mounted above the fuselage of the plane.  The price tag of this plane is reportedly over $300 million dollars and Russia may have as few as 9 or 10 of these planes in service. [...] The other plane was a turboprop IL-22 used as a flying command center.  This second plane appears to have made an emergency landing so the extent of the damage is unclear.  But once again, Russia may have as few as 12 of these in service.  For Russia, replacing the lost personnel could be harder than replacing the plane.

Consider the possibility that the weapons were never purchased, and the money was laundered and sent back to Washington, DC.
 Inspector General watchdog report reveals the US has lost about $1.7 billion in arms sent to Ukraine.  You know the corruption and lack of accountability in Ukraine is bad when ABC News is reporting on it.  And on their national nightly news at that! [...] More than half of our Javelins, Stingers, and night vision equipment given to Ukraine just disappeared without a trace once it got over there?  The IG assures us he doesn't think any of the equipment fell into the wrong hands, but there's no guarantee.

EU PM Says West Got Ukraine All Wrong.  A lone outlier and rare voice of dissent to come out of the generally staunchly pro-Ukraine central and eastern European countries has been Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico.  He has stirred the pot again and caused outrage among fellow government officials after penning an op-ed this week wherein he slammed the West for getting Ukraine wrong all along.  What's more is that the op-ed published by Slovak newspaper Pravda.sk on Tuesday was issued at the very moment President Zelensky has been touring nearby Baltic countries while urging more weapons and support as the "arms warehouses are empty", supposedly.  Fico is a member of the left Smer party in Slovakia and has pointed out that NATO leaders and the US have "repeatedly erred in assessing" the real state of the war.  He articulated that it's largely the false "black-and-white vision" of the war, a simplistic narrative "desired in Washington or Brussels," which has resulted in blunder after blunder, and greater suffering for all during an unnecessarily protracted conflict.

Rand Paul Says Mitch McConnell Plans 'Sellout' on Border Security.  The GOP's Senate leadership is preparing to betray their voters on President Joe Biden's migration flood, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), told Fox News on Tuesday.  The still-secret draft deal "is a sellout — it's going to continue to allow illegal immigration" because Democrats are threatening Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) with an aid cut-off for Ukraine, Paul said before adding:  ["]It's saying, 'Oh, we'll let 5,000 people come illegally a day, and then after that, we might try to stop the next 5,000 that day.'  It's completely a sellout.  But it's because people like Senator [Mitch] McConnell care more about Ukraine than anything else — more than the border, more than anything else.  He wants to send $60 billion of your money to Ukraine.  On this issue, he is more aligned with Biden.["]

The US failed to track more than $1 billion in military gear given Ukraine, Pentagon watchdog says.  Shortfalls in required monitoring by American officials mean the U.S. cannot track more than $1 billion in weapons and military equipment provided to Ukraine to fight invading Russian forces, according to a Pentagon audit released Thursday.  The findings mean that 59% of $1.7 billion in defense gear that the U.S. has provided Ukraine and was directed to guard against misuse or theft remained "delinquent," the report by the Defense Department's office of the inspector-general, the watchdog body for the Pentagon, said.  While Biden administration officials stressed Thursday that there was no evidence the weapons had been stolen, the audit undermines two years of lavish assurances from the administration that rigorous monitoring would keep U.S. military aid given to Ukraine from being misused.  That's despite the country's longstanding reputation for corruption.

Over $1 Billion In Ukraine Military Aid Was Poorly Tracked.  U.S. and European government officials have poorly tracked military aid for Ukraine worth more than $1 billion, creating concerns the weapons have been stolen, according to a Defense Department report released Thursday [1/11/2024], amid contested efforts by American lawmakers to provide additional funding for Ukraine's war against Russia. [...] The U.S. has sent just over $44.2 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion in 2022, according to the State Department.  Military shipments have included anti-tank missiles, surface-to-air missiles, drones, medium-range missiles and night vision devices, the Times reported.  The Pentagon warned in an October 2022 report that criminals, volunteer fighters and arms traffickers had stolen weapons provided by Western countries for Ukraine.

Ukraine Lost 500,000 Soldiers In War So Far, Nearly 30,000 Per Month:  Lutsenko Claims.  Ukraine lost 500,000 soldiers, killed or seriously wounded, since the beginning of the Russian special military operation/invasion, former Prosecutor General and ex-head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko said on the YouTube channel.  "I think that they should name the number of dead Ukrainians.  I know that they don't want this, and it will be taken seriously.  Yes, it will be a shock," he said.  According to Lutsenko, Ukraine loses tens of thousands of fighters per month, which is why the Ukrainian military proposed to mobilize half a million people.

Biden Says US Troops will Fight Russian if Ukraine Loses.  On Friday, President Biden, the hand puppet of the Neocons, warned that the US Military might find themselves in a direct conflict with Russia should they defeat Ukraine — which they will.  Biden released a statement written by the Neocons that said the standard propaganda of how fantastic Ukraine is doing, claiming it successfully intercepted a number of the missiles and drones launched by Russia thanks to the American-provided air defense systems.  Over 500,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died, all for a territorial grab where they would massacre the Russian civilians who live in the Donbas, and the West entered into the Minsk Agreement, agreeing to allow them the right to a free election.  At the same time, Ukraine built an army to wage war against Russia under the command of the Neocons.  This is why Zelensky needs to draft another 500,000 more people to die for the Neocons.

Reporter Murdered After Exposing Zelensky Family's $4.85M Villa.  An Egyptian investigative journalist who exposed the acquisition of a luxury villa by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy's mother-in-law in El-Gouna has been found dead, according to a report on Friday by El Mostaqbal.  Independent journalist Mohammed Al-Alawi reported on the purchase of the villa for $4.85 million in August by Olga Kiyashko.  He had leaked alleged documents to back it up.  The report raised questions of corruption and misappropriation of US financial aid to Ukraine by the Zelenskyy family.  Al-Alawi's body was discovered in the Red Sea city of Hurghada, with fractures and bruises found on the body.  The cause of death was due to a cerebral hemorrhage as a result of a severe brain injury.  A group of people had beaten him.  The Ukrainian embassy in Egypt said Al-Alawi's report was untrue, and the owner of El Gouna said it was completely false.

U.S. announces $250 million in Ukraine military aid as funds run out.  The Biden administration announced an additional $250 million in military aid for Ukraine on Wednesday, as U.S. funding for the country's nearly two-year war against Russia runs out.  The package of weapons and equipment, which is the final military package of the year, includes "air defense munitions, other air defense system components, additional ammunition for high mobility artillery rocket systems, 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, anti-armor munitions and more than 15 million rounds of ammunition," the U.S. State Department announced in a statement Wednesday [12/27/2023].

'Frankentanks' Emerge in Russia-Ukraine War Amid Low Stockpiles.  Battlefield engineers in the Ukraine-Russia war are competing to replenish stockpiles as aid from the United States runs out and either side fails to make a significant breakthrough.  Both sides have had to resort to improvising scraps with existing parts to create new vehicles dubbed "Frankentanks" in the ongoing conflict.  Ukrainian troops reportedly used a vehicle as a rocket launcher, firing off Soviet-designed 122 mm Grad rockets from a BMW 3 Series sedan on the side of a road.

Ukraine 'Celebrates' Destruction Of Major Russian Navy Vessel In Rare Crimea Air Raid.  Ukraine's military has conducted a rare airstrike on a docked Russian warship in an early morning raid on Tuesday.  The amphibious landing ship Novocherkassk is said to have sustained significant damage, but The Associated Press is reporting that a pair of Ukrainian fighter jets were shot down by Russian anti-air defenses shortly after.  The landing ship "Novocherkassk" was docked in the Crimean city of Feodosia, with crew aboard during the assault, resulting in one person killed and two injured.  Russia's TASS said the attack resulted in an ammunition store being blown up.

Washington Post:  Ukraine War Is No Longer Newsworthy.  An interesting thing happened the other day.  The Washington Post decided the Ukraine War was no longer that interesting.  [Tweet]  The Ukraine war has been one of the top drop-down items on the Washington Post's web masthead for about two years.  During that time, it was the cause celebre of all the best people, and it was widely assumed for most of that time that it would result in a triumph for the good guys.  But lately, things have turned sour in Ukraine.  The hoped-for breakthroughs from the counteroffensive didn't happen, and despite the West pouring more aid into Ukraine than Russia's entire defense budget, the basic math of warfare never looked great for Ukraine.  Reality reasserted itself.  Russia has never been sophisticated at warfare, and they always do poorly at the beginning stages of a war (sort of the opposite of the United States). Russia's superpower is the ruthlessness of its leadership; the Russians seem willing to use their citizens as cannon fodder, expending men the way the US expends bullets.

Ukraine Votes to Legalise Marijuana to 'Help Ease Stress From the War With Russia'.  Ukraine's parliament voted Tuesday to legalize medical marijuana, after the war with Russia left thousands of people with post-traumatic stress disorder that many believe could be eased by the drug.  The new law, which will come into effect in six months' time and which also allows cannabis to be used for scientific and industrial ends, passed by 248 votes in the 401-seat parliament in Kyiv.  A full breakdown of the vote wasn't immediately available.  The law was proposed by Prime Minister Denys Smyhal.

Hunger Games Biden Blackmails America To Keep Ukraine Grift Going.  Congress is currently debating further funding (theft) of the Ukraine war.  Even the Ukrainians themselves have declared there is massive corruption and billions being skimmed from the 'aid'.  Ukraine has lost the war, and further funding is good money after very bad.  But it gets better... Today President* Biden threatened the America people and Congress — give us money for our money laundering grift in Ukraine, or we will send your kids to the meat grinder!

White House Sets Border Deal: 1 Million Illegals Per Year and $61 Billion for Ukraine.  President Joe Biden's border chief has a deal for the GOP:  He will carefully cap illegal migration at one million a year if the GOP approves $61 billion for war in Ukraine, according to press reports.  The offer would double pre-2021 immigration numbers, but it is a "good faith offer," said one of the four GOP negotiators told reporters.  "We're at 11,000" illegal migrants per day or roughly 4 million migrants in a year, Sen. Thom Tillis told CBS on December 13, [...] Tillis is a long-standing supporter of the federal migration programs that deliver cheap labor to investors and companies.  He was picked by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to help negotiate a deal that would curb Biden's mass migration in exchange for $14 billion to help quietly move migrants into American housing and jobs — plus roughly $61 billion for the war in Ukraine.

A Deputy Tosses Several Grenades Into Counsel Meeting In Ukraine.  In Transcarpathia, a deputy detonated several grenades in the building of the Keretsk village council during the session on December 15. As a result of the incident, 26 people were injured, 6 of whom are in serious condition.  As reported by the police of Zakarpattia Oblast, at 11:37 a.m. the "102" line received a message that in the building of the Keretsky Village Council of Khust District one of the deputies blew up grenades.  [Video clip]

No one wants to talk about Ukraine any more.  Like so many of you, in those early months I read about Ukraine every day.  I don't any more.  I bet most of you don't either.  Why, as grotesque as 7 October was, I sensed in our collective pivot to the Middle East this autumn an odd undercurrent of gladness that now we could plunge up to the neck into a different story.  Ukraine suddenly seemed yesterday's news; background news.  But for Ukrainians, their war is still roiling very much in the present and is being conducted anywhere but in the background.  I'm no foreign policy wonk but I do know something about stories, and observers of international news constitute an audience, a readership.  From the off, this story had a spectacular opening chapter, a classic hero — personified by Volodymyr Zelensky, but more crucially the Ukrainian people — and as wicked a villain as Shakespeare could have contrived.  To begin with, too, our tale was punctuated by riveting dramatic events: [...] But if we fast-forward, Ukraine's counteroffensive last summer was a damp squib.  For months on end, every centimetre of liberated territory has been gained through huge loss of life and munitions.  The Russians are dug in, their confiscated eastern regions heavily fortified.  The battle lines having barely moved for months, the conflict's visuals now recollect the meat-grinding Western Front of the first world war.

Why Ukraine Can't Punch Through the Russian Lines.  First, it's hard to retake territory when you have neither control of the skies over the battlefield nor a larger force.  Yes, it would have been helpful to have more of the promised American military aid deployed when the counteroffensive began, but the bottom line is that it's really hard to dislodge Russian forces who have had months to prepare and who have laid about 2 million landmines along the front, particularly given that both sides have enough drone surveillance to observe when the enemy is consolidating forces in an effort to punch through the lines.  But it's inaccurate to say that the counteroffensive hasn't done anything; Russia's casualties are now adding up to something in the neighborhood of two Vietnam Wars in less than a two-year span. [...] When the counteroffensive began in June 2023, the Ukrainians didn't have air superiority, and they still don't.

We Need An Immediate Ceasefire In Ukraine, Not Israel.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Washington this week, once again pressuring U.S. lawmakers to dole out tens of billions of taxpayer dollars for his war effort.  At issue is a $110 billion national security supplemental the Biden administration has requested that includes about $61 billion for Ukraine, as well as more funding for Israel, humanitarian aid for Gaza, and money to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.  Senate Republicans last week sensibly blocked a vote to advance the bill because it doesn't include changes to border policy, which is the only thing that would actually secure the border.  But the border isn't the only good reason to block the funding package.  It's becoming increasingly clear that the war in Ukraine is an unwinnable quagmire, and that for all the calls we hear for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict, what's really needed is a ceasefire in Ukraine, where the solution today is more or less what it was before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022:  a negotiated settlement.

Zelensky Returns to DC to Demand $61 Billion from US Taxpayers.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was back in Washington on Tuesday to shake down lawmakers for $61 billion more to fund his ongoing war against Russia which, despite receiving more than $75 billion worth of American aid already, is going so poorly that Zelensky says he's preparing to send old men to the frontlines, much like a desperate Adolf Hitler did in 1945, as Germany fell to the Allies.  Actor-turned-President Volodymyr Zelensky once again donned his costume-style Ukrainian military sweatshirt in DC today as he rushed into the United States to save a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine that conservative House Republicans have expressed staunch opposition to.  The prospective aid package, as some lawmakers have pointed out, is being pushed by Joe Biden and the uni-party even though America's southern border remains wide open, and also comes as the US steps up its funding of Israel's war effort against Hamas.

Biden Tells Reporters to "Hush Up" After Announcing Another $200 Million in Military Aid to Ukraine.  Joe Biden on Tuesday met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.  Zelensky arrived at the White House on Tuesday to demand more US taxpayer money.  [Tweet with video clip]  Joe Biden announced another $200 million in additional military aid for Ukraine during Zelensky's visit.  This is on top of the billions of dollars the Biden Regime has already given Ukraine.

Keywords:  False choice, non sequitur, extortion.
 Defense Secretary Warned Congress U.S. Troops Could Be Deployed If Ukraine Aid Is Not Sent.  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Congress on Tuesday during a private briefing that if they do not pass more aid to Ukraine, it would "very likely" lead to U.S. troops fighting a war in Europe.  "If [Vladimir] Putin takes over Ukraine, he'll get Moldova, Georgia, then maybe the Baltics," House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) told The Messenger, after Austin and other senior Biden administration officials briefed House lawmakers on their request for more aid for Ukraine.

The Floor is Falling Out From Under Biden's Ukraine Policy.  [Scroll down]  But let's talk about Ukraine, a conflict that has been pushed off the front page by the Israel-Hamas War.  You know that President Biden's Ukraine policy is in trouble when MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show hosts panels, like one held on November 21, to discuss why the war is unwinnable, explain why Ukraine needs to change its strategy to protect the 80% of the country it controls, and encourage Ukraine to pursue a cease-fire with Russia.  Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough and his guests also reluctantly admitted what many members of Congress have long realized: the Biden strategy to arm Ukraine "for as long as it takes" but not send the weapons it needs to win is not a strategy.

Ukraine War is Just About Over.  An Op-Ed in the New York Times entitled "I'm a Ukrainian, and I Refuse to Compete for Your Attention" summed things up nicely:  a media junket the author's friend had been organizing to Ukraine was canceled.  The TV crew instead left for the Middle East.  The United States controls how the war in Ukraine proceeds and always has.  Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said it was the American side that scuttled any chance of peace in Ukraine as early as March 2022, soon after the war began. "The only people who could resolve the war over Ukraine are the Americans.  During the peace talks in March 2022 in Istanbul, Ukrainians did not agree to peace because they were not allowed to.  They had to coordinate everything they talked about with the Americans first.  However, nothing eventually happened.  My impression is that nothing could happen because everything was decided in Washington."  Fast-forward to 2023, and the story is different.  Earlier this month, NBC News quietly released a report that said U.S. and European officials broached the topic of peace negotiations with Ukraine, including "very broad outlines of what Ukraine might need to give up to reach a deal with Russia."

Privately Everyone Admits Ukraine is at a Stalemate Position — Publicly Western Govt Must Retain Face.  Speaking to our CTH audience following direct conversations in the EU, I can assure you that privately it is well known that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is at a designed stalemate.  Russia has solidified the western frontlines in Ukraine in exactly the position originally intended.  Additionally, the fortifications are of such strategic scale no one in the Western alliance would dare to propose any effort for direct confrontation.  This is the reality on the ground in Ukraine, and if you look carefully at western reporting, you will see indications of the unspoken truth.  Bild reported that inside the German govt, there are leaks about conversations between U.S and German officials. "While outwardly expressing full support for Ukraine, behind closed doors in Berlin and Washington plans are being hatched to force Ukraine into talks with Russia to freeze the war on its current front lines, German newspaper BILD said in a report published on Nov. 24."  The Biden administration, specifically the Dept of State and CIA are now managing the narrative.

My Journey from Frustration to Outrage to Seething Anger.  It is outrageous that our warmongering left, along with some very sick people on the right, got us into supporting the Ukraine War by goading Russia into invading Ukraine because they hate Putin and wanted to force Russian regime change.  Suddenly, our military-industrial complex had to be fed massive orders for war materiel, and we needed an excuse to ship billions of US dollars to Ukraine, further running us into debt while lining the pockets of corrupt people all along the line.  Bumbling action in the Afghanistan withdrawal, global appeasement, and the inability to correctly walk off a stage demonstrates how weak President Biden appears to our adversaries, opening the door to consider military action elsewhere, such as Taiwan.

Biden Defense Secretary Travels to Ukraine to Announce New $100 Million Weapons Package.  Biden Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin traveled to Kyiv, Ukraine on Monday where he announced another $100 million weapons deal to keep the nation's hostilities with Russia going a little while longer.  Austin made the trip as the public sours on the Ukrainian fiasco and sets their sights on the combustible situation in the Middle East regarding Israel and Palestine.  "I announced today another $100 million drawdown using Presidential Drawdown Authority to provide additional artillery munitions, additional interceptors for air defense and a number of anti-tank weapons as well," Austin said to reporters.

Ukrainian sniper claims new world record after 'picking off Russian soldier from 2.36 miles away.  A Ukrainian sniper claims to be a world record holder after picking off a Russian soldier from 2.36 miles away with a custom rifle called 'Lord of the Horizon'.  The unnamed soldier, who serves in Ukraine's security service (SBU), reportedly managed to beat the previous record of 2.2 miles, made by a Canadian special operations sniper in Iraq in 2017.  Video reportedly shows the target falling several seconds after the SBU sniper took the shot.

The West Is Quietly Winding Down its Support of Ukraine War.  The weapons are still flowing, but the inspiring words about defending democracy in Ukraine have been trailing off, and a new narrative about making a deal with Russia is starting to be rolled out.  Over the past few weeks, there has been a quiet admission that the Ukrainian counteroffensive was stalled and made little progress at enormous cost, and now there is actual talk about finding a way to wind down the hostilities.  [Tweet]  Magical thinking is, of course, what many people have been engaged in when it comes to Ukraine.  I have always thought that Ukraine is the aggrieved party in this conflict, and I also have believed that Russian military might was overstated, as the initial phase of the war demonstrated.  When faced with a determined and well-equipped opponent its military is less capable than it appears, at least when it is on the offense.  As a defensive force, though, Russia is formidable, at least partly because its leaders have always been willing to use its citizens as cannon fodder.  Quantity has a quality all its own.

If Ukrainians don't want to fight for Ukraine, why are we financing this war?  The Washington swamp is full of lamentations about the GOP's waning interest in funding the Ukraine war. [...] It's another Afghanistan, another quagmire, another permawar that perpetuates itself because the funds keep flowing.  It's also going to what may not be a nation at all.  Here's a disturbing report on Breitbart News:  ["]Huge numbers of young Ukrainian men fled the country to avoid being drafted in the army to fight Russia, a report states, with many swimming border rivers or walking cross-country to avoid detection.["]  If Ukrainians don't want to fight this war — either because they flee, or they only sign up because there's a draft — then why should we be paying for it?  Nations that are really, truly cohesive and which are under mortal threat are very likely to see an upsurge in popular support for defending their nation from invaders.  Ukraine had some of that at the beginning, but the war has dragged on now, without results.  Some 40,000 Ukrainians said they wouldn't defend the place at all.

Threats to the United States now at a Whole New Level.  It turns out that nations do not stumble into wars and conflict.  Wars are generally the result of globalist forces with ulterior motives or political leaders who seek to shore up and protect their political position by demonizing a target, like Russia, and then rallying the people's support around the enemy of that target, like Ukraine, in the name of patriotism and American interests.  The American people are wising up after spending $8 trillion over some twenty years in the so-called war against terror in the Middle East in Iraq and Afghanistan — protracted engagements that cost lives and ended in failure, often creating resentment from the native people we were purportedly trying to help.  In 2001, the year of 9/11 that triggered the war on terror, total U.S. national debt stood at about $3.4 trillion.  Today U.S. national debt has grown by 10-fold to $34 trillion.

Zelenskyy Highlights New Western Democratic Norms and Cancels Election.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr has once again cancelled elections within the nation, preferring to continue his rule by unilateral fiat.  A growing opposition movement to Zelenskyy is very visible, and the Ukraine President has refused to consider a need to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Approaching End of Term, Zelenskyy Cancels Next Election: 'Not the Right Time'.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is up for re-election in the spring, announced on Monday that he has suspended his country's 2024 election.  Zelnskyy said in a speech to his country's citizens that due to its ongoing war against Russia, it is "not the right time for elections."  While he had previously not ruled out the possibility of an election in March, The Hill reported, Monday he called for Ukrainian citizens to support him.

Zelensky: 'Absolutely Irresponsible' to Suggest Holding Elections in Ukraine.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told his people in a nightly address on Monday that discussions about the scheduled 2024 presidential election in his country were "absolutely irresponsible" in light of the ongoing Russian invasion of his country.  Zelensky became president after winning the 2019 election as the "pro-Russian" candidate against the establishment, pro-West incumbent Petro Poroshenko.  The current president's approval ratings had declined significantly in 2020 in response to his perceived poor response to the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic but skyrocketed in response to the Russian "special operation" to oust him that began in February 2021.

Zelensky Cancels Ukraine Election.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced the suspension of the 2024 presidential election in Ukraine in a speech to his citizens, stating, "I believe that now is not the right time for elections."  Zelensky ended his speech saying, "My personal attitude and call is to take care of our country just as on February 24, to defend it, to destroy the occupier, to fight for the freedom of Ukraine, which is now being gained in the battles for Ukraine.  I thank everyone who helps!  Glory to all those who are fighting and working for Ukraine!"  As a result of the Russian invasion in February 2022, the Ukrainian government declared martial law.  In an interview with the Washington Post in May 2023, Zelensky stated, "If we have martial law, we cannot have elections.  The constitution prohibits any elections during martial law."

U.S. and EU Officials Gently Discussing Need for Ukraine to Enter Peace Negotiations with Russia.  All things considered, this is a positive first step and the first significant indication that Western propaganda around World War Reddit is failing.  According to sources who are speaking to NBC News, U.S. and EU officials are gently beginning to talk to Ukraine government officials about what steps might need to be taken to bring an end to the Ukraine-Russia war.  Obviously, for those who do not pretend, we all know the decision to end this conflict comes down to the USA telling Ukraine President Zelenskyy to open peace talks with Russia.

Ukraine minister says he wants to turn his country into a weapons production hub for the West.  Ukraine's newly appointed head of defense industry says he is working tirelessly to ramp up local arms production and wants to turn the country into a weapons production hub for the West.  Oleksandr Kamysyhin, the minister for strategic industries of Ukraine, said that Russia's invasion of his country and the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Middle East have highlighted the need for countries to spend on their defense systems.

US Mercenary Says Over 500 Americans [have been] Killed in Ukraine.  In an interview with a US journalist on Thursday, an American mercenary fighting for Ukraine said "quite a large number" of Americans have been killed wearing Ukrainian military uniforms.  Matthew VanDyke, an American who was serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces under a private contract, told independent commentator Andrew Napolitano that he was in an international unit with members from several other countries, including Americans, as well as some Ukrainians.  VanDyke said he had heard that up to 2,000 foreigners were serving in the Ukrainian military, including many from Latin America.  He emphasized that non-Ukrainians are free to leave their military service at any time, but are paid the same salaries as Ukrainian soldiers.

The US Announces New $425 Million Weapons Package for Ukraine.  The US rolled out its 50th weapons package for Ukraine.  The arms shipment will include air defenses, artillery rounds, and anti-armor weapons.  The Pentagon will purchase $300 million in arms on behalf of Kyiv, depleting all the funds in the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).  On Friday, The Department of Defense announced a new $425 million in military aid package for Ukraine.  $125 million in weapons will be sent directly from American stockpiles through the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA).  The funds used to transfer the arms came from a Pentagon accounting error that gave the White House access to an additional $6 billion in PDA funds.

Ukraine rathole:  Zelensky advisor admits they're 'stealing like there's no tomorrow'.  Most Americans are willing to support Ukraine's fight to remain separate from Russia.  But that's what's not going on over there as the U.S. sends aid package after aid package to the battered country. [...] Every U.S. dollar stolen from a U.S. taxpayer is money this kind of corruption is money that isn't going to Ukraine's war effort.  So to the extent that Congress approves yet another aid package to Ukraine — the latest a $61 billion request from Joe Biden — it's money for someone's pocket in Ukraine, not money to send the Russians packing.  The Russians must be laughing as they continue to make encroachments in their steady move towards winning their war.  The sad thing here is that the officials taking this money must know that the war effort is lost and Ukraine isn't going to win in the end.  The army is dead, the numbers aren't there, and the locals are embracing the E.U. in order to emigrate.

Ukraine Desperately Props Up Lobbying amid Corruption Exposé.  The Ukrainian government, in a joint effort with European allies, is intensifying its lobbying campaign, seeking increased military support from the U.S. amid a backdrop of corruption scandals permeating the highest levels of the administration.  According to a Tuesday report by Politico, a delegation of Ukrainian officials, troops, and advisors journeyed to Washington D.C. last week to implore the U.S. Marine Corps for guidance on ship-to-shore operations.  They also expressed a need for advanced air defense systems against Russia and a long-range, single-warhead Army Tactical Missile System, marking what Politico dubbed "Kyiv's latest wish list."  [Tweet]

Biden Pushes for Billions More to Ukraine.  A top advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has reportedly admitted that corruption is so rampant in the wartorn former Soviet state that officials are "stealing like there's no tomorrow".  Speaking anonymously to Time magazine, what is alleged to be a top presidential advisor to Zelensky said that the Ukrainian government's efforts to stamp out corruption have proved fruitless, given that they were implemented too late to have any impact, including the firing of Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov.

I thought this was common knowledge.
 Ukraine [is] 'one of the most corrupt countries in the world' — EU state leader.  Ukraine is "one of the most corrupt countries in the world," Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told reporters on Friday following an EU summit in Brussels, raising doubts about the bloc's unprecedented funding to Kiev.  In particular, Fico questioned the wisdom of an additional €50 billion ($52.9 billion) earmarked for Ukraine in the EU's proposed budget, asking rhetorically, "Did the financing of Ukraine change the outcome of this war?  So let's invest another 50 billion, and it doesn't matter what happens?"  The prime minister agreed to increase Slovakia's contribution to the EU by about €400 million over the next four years, but only if the EU could promise it would not be stolen by Kiev.  "Ukraine is among the most corrupt countries in the world and we are conditioning what is excessive financial support on guarantees that European money (including Slovak) not be embezzled," Fico told assembled journalists.

Across America, we labor, only to have DC give our money away overseas.  The Biden Administration and Congress have given more than $75 billion of our tax money (with more on the way) to Ukraine.  Why?  For humanitarian, financial, and military support.  Why are we paying for Ukraine's government?  I did not find that clause in the US Constitution anywhere.

Ukrainian Pilots Have Begun Training on F-16s in Arizona.  The US has started training Ukrainian pilots on how to fly F-16 fighter jets in Arizona this week, marking another step toward arming Kyiv with US-made warplanes.  An Air Force spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine that a "small number" of Ukrainian pilots are training with the 162nd Wing of the Arizona Air National Guard in Tucson.  The spokesperson did not give a definitive timeline on when the training will be completed, saying it will take "several months."  Foreign F-16 pilots also need to take English lessons, which Ukrainians started last month in Texas.  When President Biden first approved a plan to arm Ukraine with F-16s earlier this year, it was sold as a European-led effort.  Training classes started in Europe in August, but soon after, the Pentagon said it would also train Ukrainian pilots inside the US.

5 lies our government wants us to believe.  [#5] Military and financial backing of Ukraine "for as long as it takes" is meant to support that country's democracy, when in reality, the goal was to weaken Russia, who dared to reject the U.S. claims to global hegemony.  However, the most outrageous and endlessly repeated lie is that if Putin wins in Ukraine, he will then move farther West, and eventually to the U.S.  There is no intelligence, no proof, no desire, and no means on the Russian side to do that — only accusations by Ukraine's Zelensky, who is using this scare tactic to get more money and weapons, and by his backers in Washington and Brussels.  In reality, all Russian leaders, starting with Mikhail Gorbachev and on to Vladimir Putin, were ready for full economic and even military integration with the West, including joint U.S.-Russia missile defense and joining NATO, only to be rebuffed.

Female Ukrainian Paramedic Breaks Down, Begs Her Country To End The War.  Ukrainian paramedic of the 47th Brigade breaks down over the number of people they lost in a few hours and says they haven't lost this many people in four months.  [Video clip]

Biden's 100B Aid Package Is 'Dead on Arrival' Says Senator Cotton.  Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) declared that Biden's $100B aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and domestic security is dead on arrival in the Senate.  Cotton calls it a slush fund and he's not wrong.  The largest disbursement would go to Ukraine.  The aid package includes $60B for Ukraine, $14B for Israel, and $14B for the southern border.  There is $7.4B for Taiwan and allies in the Indo-Pacific, and $10B for humanitarian aid in Ukraine, Israel, and Gaza.  As you see, the amount allocated to Ukraine is disproportionally larger than anything else.  The senator called out the $11.8B for Ukraine, for example, that is included for Ukraine's "non-war spending" on such things as funding the retirement pensions for Ukraine government employees.  There is no appetite for that type of request among a large amount of Republicans.  American taxpayers are supportive of assistance going to Ukraine to fight its war against Putin's invasion, in general terms, but not to fund the operations of the entire government.  Funding pensions is not the same as money spent to send military aid and financial support to keep Ukraine's defense against Putin strong.

The Editor says...
 It's a sad day in America, or at least in journalism, when a billion dollars means so little that it can be abbreviated down to a single B.

White House Asks Congress for $106 Billion — $61 Billion for Ukraine, $14 Billion for Israel, $9 Billion for Gaza.  The people behind Joe Biden have put together a single $106 billion request of financial support intended to force Congress to fund the priorities of the Obama/Biden U.S. foreign policy.  The supplemental appropriations request also includes funds to support the continued flow of illegal aliens at the southern border.

The Editor says...
 Biden wants more and more money for Ukraine.  The rest of the money is a cloak.  Even if he gets $61 billion for Ukraine this month, it's not a one-time-only expenditure:  There will almost certainly be a similar request next month.

Biden Requests $61.4 Billion for Kyiv.  The White House sent an appropriations request for security spending worth slightly more than $105 billion to Congress on the morning of October 20.  Most of the security spending package, $61.4 billion, would be channeled to Ukraine.  The Biden administration is reportedly attempting to circumvent Republican objections to persistent aid for the Kyiv regime by linking assistance for Kyiv to support for Israel, Taiwan, and the U.S. border, hot-button topics among GOP lawmakers.  Israel will obtain $14.3 billion of the proposed package for its war effort against Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

Aftermath of Ukraine's Devastating ATACMS Strike on Berdyansk Airfield Revealed in Satellite Photos.  Satellite images show the impact of Ukraine's first-ever ATACMS missile strikes on the Russian-occupied Berdyansk airfield.  The images — captured by the US-based Earth imaging company Planet Labs and reviewed by investigative journalists from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty — reveal substantial damage, particularly on a section of the airfield's runway that had been used for helicopter deployments.

Report: Biden Admin to Ask Congress for $100 Billion in Ukraine, Israel Aid.  The Biden administration plans to ask Congress for $100 billion in Ukraine and Israel aid, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. [...] There has been speculation since Hamas attacked Israel that the administration would try to tie funding for Ukraine and Israel together after House Republicans successfully stripped funding for Ukraine from a short-term government funding bill.  That request was only $24 billion compared to the $100 billion it is now asking for to fund both contingencies and reportedly Taiwan.

Aid to Ukraine:  A conservative position.  Since the start of the war in 2022, the U.S. has authorized $113 billion in military aid to Ukraine.  Simply put, that is $900 per household, which seems like a lot; however, that is a small sum compared to domestic spending programs.  The CARES Act passed in 2020 due to the pandemic cost $2 trillion, roughly $15,600 for every household.  The total U.S. debt is around $33 trillion.  That cost per household is around $256,000.  The $900 billion for Ukraine only makes 1 percent of debt per household.  COVID spending was around $5 trillion, which is more significant than Ukraine's spending per household.  The total defense budget is $816.7 billion, and U.S. spending for Ukraine is less than 10 percent of that budget.

The Editor says...
 Yes, other expenditures are wasteful and excessive, but that doesn't excuse pork-barrel projects or justify billions of dollars for Ukraine, Iran, or anywhere else.

Ukraine Receives $1.15 Billion in Direct Budgetary Aid from US.  Ukraine on Wednesday received a $1.15 billion tranche of direct budgetary aid from the US that's disbursed through the World Bank.  The budgetary aid the US has been providing Ukraine funds government services and salaries, subsidizes small businesses, pays farmers, and provides other types of economic support.  According to Ukraine's Finance Ministry, the country has received $10.9 billion in direct budget support from the US in 2023.  Since Russia invaded in February 2022, the US has provided Ukraine with a total of $22.9 billion in budgetary aid.

Notice Something About This Israeli War and The Gaza Conflict?  You might not want to absorb the truth behind this stark reality, but the war in Ukraine is an intelligence war, a creation of the U.S. State Department, CIA, and allied intelligence networks.  All of the information coming from the Ukraine War doesn't come complete with accompanying war correspondents to give context to the statements made by the military officials on the ground in Ukraine, because there isn't any way to connect to something that just doesn't exist.  The "War" in Ukraine is World War Reddit.  A war carried out and advanced by the intelligence system that created it.  As the night life and dance festivals in Kiev continue, it would be challenging for the international war correspondents, the actual media, to deliver broadcast ground reports from Ukraine without using green screens and fabricated livestreams.  That's why we have never seen them.  The Ukraine War is an intelligence operation, and with it comes the need for high control over the propaganda to support it.  It would be troublesome for those carrying out the Ukraine operation if people were brought into the "fight" by media.  Worse still, it would be very challenging to retain support for an intelligence operation, if the American and global population realized it is propaganda.  We've seen more footage of the war inside Israel in 48 hours than we have seen inside Ukraine in two years.

Leaked Document:  Ukraine Milking America Dry.  Certainly by now even most Democrats must question if Ukraine has another of Hunter Biden's lost laptops.  Look at how much money we are now giving this country.  Joe Biden funded Ukraine with enough money for America to BUY THE COUNTRY. This fact makes me wonder not if Joe Biden is compromised, but to what degree.  I'm still floored that Biden bragged publicly about taking out Victor Shokin, perhaps the only honest politician in Ukraine.  But that's not the joke.  The thing is Biden has been maneuvered into giving money to a former Ukrainian stand-up comic.  Jokes on us, America.  Is Biden being extorted?  This DOJ certainly would never reveal that information.  Not to mention, they are fairly tied up with creating false information on Trump and/or his friends and family.

Why [Are] Vanguard & Blackrock Buying Up All The Farmland In Ukraine?  One of the results of the Ukraine War has been the increased global recognition of the important role played by Ukrainian grain in feeding large swaths of the international population.  Now it turns out that a number of international firms, including notorious financial institutions like Blackrock and Vanguard, have been snapping up Ukrainian farmland.  [Video clip]

The Brink of Lexington.  [Scroll down]  A few other things are part of this, though.  One is funding for Ukraine.  You have to understand the massive political funding structure that has been built around aid to Ukraine to get why that's so important to the people in congress.  In fact, knowing these cowards and criminals, the war in Ukraine might have been instigated to facilitate the money laundering and/or to cover up evidence of past corruption.  It works like this:  Congress passes spending bills that fund Ukraine aid, that aid goes to Ukraine, buys a few weapons systems and such to pay off political donors in the arms business, but most of it winds up in the pockets of Ukrainian politicians, who take their cut and then move the rest of the funds to international NGOs, probably administered by globalist billionaires hostile to America and those NGOs fund either the illegal immigration convoys being built and assembled in UN-run bases in South America or it goes to NGOs that contribute to political action committees that will provide funds to those who vote for aid to Ukraine.  It's a closed loop of funding. [...] Aid to Ukraine is how they intend to fund the 2024 election for all of those Democrats and Republicans who have long since given up on their fidelity to the constitution and the rule of law and just try to figure out who they have to stab to get what they want.  Usually, that's easy to determine, it's their constituents, but now they need that aid to Ukraine and the easy way has been yanked from their reach and they're angry.

The Mine-Clearing Monsters of Ukraine.  As of April 2023, it is estimated that 174,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory is contaminated by landmines sown by Russia.  Facing the Ukrainian army in their goal to recapture their Russian occupied territory each major village and town and is surrounded by hundreds of meters of minefields.  To clear their occupied lands the Ukrainians require huge mechanical mine-clearing machines supplied by the West.  Based on figures supplied Oryx and Wikipedia it is estimated that Ukraine has been supplied with about 105 of these monsters.  They estimate it is only 15% of what they need (hence about 700).  Not all this equipment is of equal value.  This war is unique from its predecessors, for which this equipment was originally designed to combat.

Corruption Is Driving the Russia-Ukraine Conflict.  It has already been revealed ad nauseum that Ukrainian government and business ventures are deeply beset with a subculture of bribery.  The country and its institutions move forward with too many individuals who are seeking personal aggrandizement at the expense of the institutions they control or represent.  That is why both ethical and legal restraints should be in play and are in play albeit in some countries and companies more than others.  Ukraine is a place where ethical restraints are less in play. [...] Consider Hunter Biden as he sat on the board of Burisma.  He was obviously corrupt.  He was paid for his connection to his father, and Tony Bobulinski already told Tucker Carlson that Biden's brother told him that they could do this because of plausible deniability.  All that means is that with the network of over 15 companies set up in Biden family members' names, a specific payoff to Joe for a particular policy decision or moneys to Ukraine could not be proven or tracked.  That's the way of oligarchs, and Joe essentially became part of the Ukrainian oligarchal setup.  He was bought and paid for, body and soul.  The corruption of Ukraine and of Russia and the Bidens is the main story here.

Trade Ukraine for the border.  As I noted earlier this year, Ukraine, after wrecking much of the Russian army and its modern equipment, was going to exhaust its own resources, and we would be at some kind of stalemate by autumn.  A lot of Ukrainians still want another year of support to regroup and wear down the Russians to the point they might still collapse.  Possible, but not likely.  Still, they are doing a great service for the world as a whole.  The Russian military is so weak now that it will be decades, if ever, before the Russians can again bother the NATO countries, or embark on other misadventures.  They are so hard up for equipment that they are even stripping the defenses on the sensitive Kuril Islands off Japan. [...] Democrats have adopted the Ukraine War as closely to their hearts as Drag Queen Story Hours.  They care about nothing else these days.  They want it so badly now, so let's trade for the thing we really want:  fixing the southern border.

Democrat Congresswoman Demanding More Ukraine Aid Is A 'Strategic Advisor' To Lobbying Group Representing Defense Industry, Ukrainian Government, and Burisma.  Democratic Representative Marcy Kaptur, a prominent champion for sending aid to Ukraine, serves as a Strategic Advisor to the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council, a lobbying group representing the interests of corporations including defense industry giants and the Ukrainian government.  Rep. Kaptur and the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC) also have ties to Burisma, a controversial Ukrainian energy firm that paid President Joe Biden's son Hunter received over $83,000 a month from to serve on its board.  On the same day that Biden family business associate Devon Archer met with Rep. Kaptur's office on behalf of his client Burisma in 2016, the USUBC held a joint event with Burisma focused on "Ukraine's Energy Security Future."  Burisma was also previously a member of the USUBC.  The USUBC, which describes itself as a "strong international voice for business in Ukraine now promoting U.S.-Ukraine business relations," represents over 200 companies including leading defense firms such as Boeing, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin.  Many of these members, therefore, are direct beneficiaries of the multi-billion-dollar aid packages authorized by the White House for Ukraine.

Biden Announces Major Speech To Sell America On More Ukraine Funding.  President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he will deliver a major speech in an effort to sell Americans on giving more funding to Ukraine, after Congress decided to axe the aid from a temporary spending bill passed Saturday to avoid a government shutdown.  After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Capitol Hill asking the president for additional funding, Congress passed a temporary spending bill, which Biden signed, that failed to include the Ukraine aid the administration had recommended.  Since then, Biden has been scrambling to assure world leaders aid would continue coming from the United States, as he arranged a Tuesday phone call with 20 world leaders from Europe, Canada and Japan to discuss their loyalty to Ukraine throughout the latter country's war with Russia.

Is Supporting the War in Ukraine in America's Best Interest?  On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014.  The invasion was provoked by the Biden Administration through the failed Afghanistan exit, the curtailing of oil and gas development that put Russia in an excellent position to invade, and Biden's addleheaded "minor incursion" remark.  But the real culprit was the inexorable drive by the U.S. and NATO to expand toward Russia. [...] Let's take a look at where the conflict stands now.  After spending $113 Billion in Ukraine, the war is at a stalemate.  That amount is more than double Russia's 2023 military expenditure.  Back in early 2022, NATO officials see a continued stalemate. "The reality is that neither side has a superiority over the other," the top NATO official said, adding neither side will back down.  Finally over a year later, U.S. Intelligence (and I use that term loosely) agreed with that assessment.  Ukraine casualties up to September of this year include 9614 dead, 534 of them children and 17,535 injured, 1180 of them children.  At the same time, the U.S. is running low on weapons that have been delivered to Ukraine.

Russia withdrawing Black Sea fleet from its main base in Crimea.  It has been three weeks since a Ukrainian attack seriously damaged a Russian submarine and a Russian landing vessel which were both in dry dock at a port in Crimea.  [Tweet]  After that, Ukraine sent another strike into the building which was the headquarters for Russia's Black Sea Fleet.  [Tweet]  Ukraine claimed that strike had killed a Russian admiral in that strike but in fact he had survived.  [Tweet]  In any case, all of this follows's Russia's biggest loss of all in the area, the sinking of the flagship Moskva:  [Tweet]

Biden to blame for the Ukraine confusion.  [Scroll down]  Again, I support helping Ukraine but my patience is wearing out because the Biden administration looks confused.  Furthermore, the American people don't know what the heck is going on because the President has never spoken to the nation explaining why Ukraine matters but the border with Mexico doesn't.  As someone once said, all politics is local and Ukraine ain't local, especially when the border is a mess or thugs attack a U.S congressman or gangs break into stores to steal whatever is inside or gasoline is too high and shopping for food is a devastating experience.

Report: Biden Administration 'Scrambling' to Assure Allies that Ukraine Aid Will Continue.  The Biden administration is "scrambling" to try to assure U.S. allies that American aid to Ukraine will continue despite growing Republican opposition to it, according to a report.  Four sources told Axios that President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken plan to call several of their counterparts in Europe and will hold a conference call with leaders of the G7 countries and several other European allies.  A European diplomat told the outlet that the Biden administration told allies it is working on an agreement with Congress to allow continued military aid to Ukraine.

Drunk, unruly Russian troops sent to die on front lines in punishment squads: report.  Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine who are caught drinking or being insubordinate are forced into "Storm-Z" punishment squads and sent to the most dangerous parts of the front lines to face likely death, according to a new report.  At least five of these penal battalions, staffed by ex-convicts and noncompliant troops, were thrown into some of the heaviest fighting in a bid to repel Kyiv's counteroffensive in eastern and southern Ukraine this summer, reported Reuters Tuesday, citing interviews with 13 people familiar with the matter.  "Storm fighters, they're just meat," said one regular soldier from army unit no. 40318 who was deployed near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine in May and June.

This Is Why We Need To Stop Funding The Ukrainian Meat Grinder.  Trenches near Verbove are littered with Ukrainian bodies sent to man the never-ending assault.  The new meat waves have to step on all the previous ones[.]  The Ukrainian war regime doesn't care and refuses to stop the pointless slaughter.  [Video clip]

Pentagon Warns Congress That it's Running Low on Cash to Replace the Weapons We've Sent to Ukraine.  The Pentagon is warning Congress that they're worried about being able to replace the weapons that we have sent to Ukraine.  This is alarming news.  Biden and the uniparty have given Ukraine mountains of cash and weapons and in the process, they have put our national security at risk.  This makes absolutely no sense.

Despite Growing Opposition And Serious Problems At Home, Democrats Make Ukraine Funding Their Top Priority.  Congress averted a government shutdown this weekend, agreeing to 45 days of funding to give members time to pass appropriations bills for the full year.  Incredibly, Democrats seemed prepared to shut down the government over their desire for increases in Ukraine war funding.  Republicans, by contrast, bucked Senate leader Mitch McConnell to keep the government open without such funding.  While shutdown battles have become common, this one had absurd moments.  Democrats tried to delay votes with everything from "magic minutes," which allow party leaders to speak at length, to Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman pulling a fire alarm in the middle of a vote, forcing the evacuation of a House office building.

British Defense Secretary States They Are Putting Military Troops into Ukraine.  U.S. troops are conducting military exercises in eastern Moldova.  The CIA and State Department are the operational mechanism for all Ukraine military operations, and in total control of the Ukraine government.  American contracted mercenary troops operating in Ukraine are being treated at U.S. military hospitals in Germany.  U.S. military operations are flying drone missions above Ukraine, and U.S. satellites are coordinating the battlespace.  Additionally, the U.S. is sending Abrams tanks, F-16 fighter jets along with support and training teams, and long-range missile launching systems into Ukraine.  For all intents and purposes, the U.S driven NATO military forces are already actively engaged in Ukraine.  Simultaneously, the Dept of Defense and CIA have announced the deployment of advanced artificial intelligence operations for U.S. internet systems.  That creation aligns with the Dept of Homeland Security organizing "homeland intelligence experts" to control and monitor public information and shape U.S. public opinion.  All of this is happening under the guise of national security.

A few hours later...
 UK PM Sunak says there are no plans for now to send British troops to Ukraine.  There are no immediate plans to deploy military instructors to Ukraine, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday, rowing back from comments by his defence minister who had suggested troops could carry out training in the country.  To date, Britain and its allies have avoided a formal military presence in Ukraine to reduce the risk of a direct conflict with Russia.  British defence minister Grant Shapps, who was appointed to the role last month, said in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph newspaper that he wanted to deploy military instructors to Ukraine, in addition to training Ukrainian armed forces in Britain or other Western countries.

MTG calls on DOJ to prosecute Jamaal Bowman using same law used to imprison J6ers.  Not long after Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) was caught pulling a fire alarm at the House office building as part of an effort to delay a vote on a Republican-backed stopgap spending bill, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) issued a call for the Department of Justice to prosecute the far-left representative under the same laws it used to lock up defendants who were involved with the Capitol Riot on Jan. 6, 2021.  "Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman pulled the fire alarm in the Cannon building this afternoon and interrupted the official proceedings of the House as Republicans worked to keep the government open," Greene wrote on X.  "I'm calling on the DOJ to prosecute him using the same law they used to prosecute J6 defendants for interfering with an official proceeding."  "The Democrats literally will do anything to shut OUR government down because billions aren't going to their favorite country:  Ukraine," added Greene.

Government Funding Standoff Cuts Off Ukraine Cash for First Time Since Start of War.  A vast bipartisan majority in the House voted on Saturday for a stopgap spending bill that does not include Ukraine aid funding, a first amid America's generous support for Ukraine's conflict with Russia.  The House passed a stopgap spending bill that keeps government spending levels, otherwise known as a continuing resolution (CR).  The CR will keep the government open for 45 days.

McCarthy Rolls the Deep State, Advances Government Funding Plan that Cuts Off Ukraine Cash.  Speaker Kevin McCarthy scored a shocking victory over the deep state Saturday by securing House passage of a 45-day stopgap bill to keep the government open and cut off funding for Ukraine.  McCarthy's victory seemed almost impossible as recently as this morning amid disagreements inside his own conference and a willingness among Democrats to shut down the government over Ukraine funding.

McCarthy Reportedly Lied Again — Cut a Side Deal for Ukraine Funding with McConnell and Biden.  Earlier today the US House of Representatives passed a last-minute spending bill to keep the government funded for an additional 45 days, narrowly averting a government shutdown that would have commenced at 12:01 a.m.  The bill, spearheaded by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to pass.  With a 335-91 vote, the House approved a 45-day temporary funding measure that excludes border security and $6 billion in funding for Ukraine.  The bill includes provisions for disaster relief funds that likely swayed some Democrats to vote in favor.  Shortly after today's vote news broke that Kevin McCarthy pulled a fast one and made a side deal with GOP Minority leader Mitch McConnell and Joe Biden to fund Ukraine.

Russian forces 'shoot down their own £80million SU-35 fighter jet' in friendly fire blunder over Ukraine.  The supersonic SU-35, which is one of the Kremlin's most advanced aircraft, burst into flames over the city of Tokmak in the Zaporizhzhia region.  Pro-war channels in the country acknowledged that a warplane was destroyed by a Russian S-300 air defence system, with the pilot believed to have been killed in the process.  Video which purports to show the incident was released today, showing an orange glow and flash in the sky which could be the moment the plane explodes on impact with the missile.

GOP-Controlled House Approves Security Assistance to Ukraine.  The United States House of Representatives has approved an additional $300 million aid for Ukraine.  The decision came late Thursday night with a 311-117 vote.  The aid for Ukraine was initially part of a larger Pentagon funding bill for the fiscal year 2024.  House GOP leaders, including Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), had initially planned to hold a separate vote on the Ukraine aid.  The decision to separate the aid came after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and a group of conservative Republicans sank a procedural vote to advance the Pentagon funding bill, The Hill reported.  Speaker McCarthy later backtracked on his decision to separate the Ukraine aid from the defense bill.  He cited complications arising from the fact that a State Department appropriations measure also included assistance for Ukraine.  McCarthy stated that it would be "too difficult" to remove the Ukraine aid from the State Department legislation and decided to leave both as they were.

10,000 Ukrainian Soldiers Surrender Using Special Radio Frequency to Escape Meat Grinder.  Ukrainian troops are surrendering in droves, Russian TASS news agency claims, to the extent that Moscow has set up a special radio frequency so Ukrainian soldiers wishing to survive the Meat Grinder can do so safely.  Approximately 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers have surrendered to the Russians using the special 149.200 "Volga" radio frequency, which has been operating since mid-summer, TASS reported.  "Now more than 10,000 Ukrainian servicemen have already chosen life and used the 149.200 'Volga' frequency to surrender.  The captives are being fed; they are being provided with all necessary medical care," a source told TASS, saying the radio frequency works along the entire front.

It's Time to Stop Backing Ukraine.  Ukraine is turning into the proxy version of Afghanistan or Iraq: an endless conflict in which victory is always around the corner, in which the Pentagon and the defense industry push for escalation after escalation regardless of the reality on the ground, in which deaths mount and a country is destroyed only to end in defeat or a Pyrrhic victory years later, once enough American voters have had their fill of war.  But Biden is wrong:  there is an alternative.  It's time to stop backing Ukraine and force an end to the war.

The Devolution of Zelensky.  In April 2019, Ukraine was brimming with optimism as it elected Volodymyr Zelensky, a candidate who promised peace, an end to government corruption, and economic prosperity.  Fast forward four years:  a civil war within the Donbas region turned into a European war raging on Ukrainian territory, destroying the country's infrastructure, killing hundreds of thousands of its citizens, and creating millions of refugees.  Government corruption is an all-time high, and the country is in a state of material poverty.  When Ukraine gained independence in 1991, its national debt was $0.4 billion; in 2018, before Zelensky was inaugurated, it was $76 billion, and by 2023, it had reached $120 billion and kept growing.

Peter Schweizer:  Social Security May Go Bust, but Ukrainian Pensions Will Be Saved.  Count Peter Schweizer among the "doubters" of the Biden administration's choice of former Commerce Secretary and major Democratic donor Penny Pritzker to lead U.S. efforts to channel private sector reconstruction assistance to Ukraine.  Pritzker, the heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune and a real estate mogul herself, was corrupt and self-dealing during her commerce department tenure under President Barack Obama, which Schweizer documented in a 12-page chapter of his book, Secret Empires.

How Ukraine and America Evaporate.  President Zelensky's recent visit to America suggests that Ukrainians do not appreciate conservatives in Congress.  The Ukrainians either do not know or intentionally ignore the right side of the aisle and enthusiastically work solely with left-wingers in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere.  However, the truth is that the United States federal government has no money.  American leftists devoted all the money to encouraging a multi-million invasion on our southern border; implementing unprofitable, wasteful "green" technologies; and nurturing woke, feminized, toothless military (and, in part, the general population).  The United States federal government has to borrow money from future generations of Americans to survive the present.  Allocating money to Ukraine automatically degrades young Americans' prospects for a good life.  Sad to say, American money is depleted; what the outside world sees is merely a shell of former American glory.

Russian Forces Destroy Depot With 3K Tons of Ammo.  There is but one front in which the Ukrainian counteroffensive is being very successful:  in the mainstream media.  There, the complete failure of the counter-offensive is but a minor inconvenience as they chronicle every minor skirmish as a triumph for Kiev, and every successful missile attack as 'the beginning of the end' for Moscow.  The reality is that there is a war of positional battles going on, a situation in which the Russian war of attrition will always be victorious, as they have more guns, tanks, ammo, manpower.  In the last few days, the Russians have continued depleting the Ukrainian infrastructure in ways that will turn the inter[im] into a bitter experience, and also disrupting logistics in the troop and equipment accumulations of the rear.

Canada's House speaker resigns over inviting a man who fought for a Nazi unit to Parliament.  The speaker of Canada's House of Commons resigned Tuesday for inviting a man who fought for a Nazi military unit during World War II to Parliament to attend a speech by the Ukrainian president.  Just after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered an address in the House of Commons on Friday, Canadian lawmakers gave 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka a standing ovation when Speaker Anthony Rota drew attention to him.  Rota introduced Hunka as a war hero who fought for the First Ukrainian Division.  Observers over the weekend began to publicize the fact that the First Ukrainian Division also was known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, or the SS 14th Waffen Division, a voluntary unit that was under the command of the Nazis.

House Speaker Anthony Rota resigns after inviting Nazi to Parliament.  Speaker of the House Anthony Rota resigned Tuesday afternoon after top Liberal and Opposition MPs urged him to "do the honourable thing" following his invite of an SS officer to Parliament.  The House of Commons has been in a state of chaos since Friday, when Rota recognized former SS officer, Yaroslav Hunka, 98, as "a Canadian hero." Hunka is one of 2,000 members of the 14th Waffen SS Galicia Division who masqueraded as "refugees" to escape prosecution for alleged war crimes in the 1950s.  On Tuesday morning, all parties publicly called for Rota to vacate the Speaker's chair to maintain the integrity of the chamber.

Trudeau and the Canadian parliament gave a standing ovation to a Nazi.  [Scroll down]  When the Soviet Union ended, the lands under Moscow's control shrank dramatically.  Putin, however, has been trying a little bit (a very little bit compared to the Soviet Union) to expand his borders again.  Those unlucky enough to live under his control suffer greatly.  But because Putin advocates traditional Christian values along with his tyranny, the same leftists who tolerated the Soviet Union despise him.  (I'm consistent; I despise both.)  What this means is that when Putin (who is despised) invaded Ukraine (which is acknowledged as a corrupt sinkhole), Ukraine became the good guy.  This new scenario overrode the fact that, during WWII, Ukraine (which hated Stalin) sided with the Nazis.  Ukraine was right, of course, to hate Stalin, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend, which justified supporting the Germans.  But the fact is also that the Ukrainians out-Nazied the Nazis when it came to murdering Jews.  Therefore, I, being consistent, don't like Ukraine either.

Trudeau called truckers "Nazis," applauds the real thing.  [Scroll down]  Fast forward to everyone's favorite sweater boy making the diplomatic rounds this weekend.  Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy was given an opportunity to address the Canadian Parliament unlike his visit in the United States, where House Speaker Kevin McCarthy denied him that opportunity in the spotlight.  Maybe it was just as well.  In Ottawa, it seems Zelenskyy brought along an honored guest — a 98 year old Ukrainian "freedom fighter," who he wanted to celebrate for his courage fighting the Russians all those years ago.  The problem was, no one thought to check exactly how the aged warrior fought the Russians before everyone got all gooey over him fighting "for Ukrainian independence" and jumped to their feet to applaud the old soldier.  [Tweet with video clip]  Turns out Mr Hunka wasn't a Ukrainian "freedom fighter," or Ukrainian army soldier, or even resistance fighter like the French had.  He wasn't crawling through thickets fighting the Russians to free Ukraine.  He did it in a real, live Nazi Waffen SS uniform.

Zelensky and Trudeau Give Soldier Who Reportedly Fought for Nazi Germany a Standing Ovation.  The Canadian parliament, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have been reported to have given a standing ovation to a reported former member of a Nazi military division.  Following addresses to the parliament in Ottowa on Friday from both Trudeau and Zelensky, the Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota prompted a standing ovation as he honoured a "veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians and continues to support the troops today even at his age of 98."

Justin Trudeau and Ukraine President Zelenskyy Honor Nazi Veteran During Canadian Parliament Session.  Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old immigrant from Ukraine, was introduced by Anthony Rota, Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons, as "a Ukrainian-Canadian war veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians" and "a Ukrainian hero and a Canadian hero," ignoring the horrific fact that Hunka served in the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, a Nazi military unit whose crimes against humanity during the Holocaust are well-documented.

Not a Penny More.  It is delusional to argue that magic platforms and weapons systems such as ATACMS and F-16s would change realities on the ground.  Ukraine lacks the manpower, training, and resources to regain its lost lands, and NATO is prudent enough to not risk an all-out nuclear war with Russia.  American leaders know this.  The American people know this.  American intelligence and national security bureaucracy know this.  To continue on the present course is a dead end.  The "counteroffensive" didn't just die; it was stillborn.  It had no chance of success, as some of us predicted:  People were sold a lie by certain Washington think tanks.  Our intelligence and military have explained that there is no clear path to victory.  Our elected leaders say that this is a frozen conflict.  To keep funding a stalemate at a time when there is quite literally an invasion of our own Union is a sure sign of incompetence, insanity, malice, or a combination of all.  To neglect the American border while continuing to send billions for social development and government in Ukraine is a practically criminal act deserving the highest condemnation.

Biden Touts Spending 'Tens of Millions' on Clean Water for Ukraine, Still Hasn't Visited East Palestine.  President Joe Biden boasted about spending "tens of millions" of dollars on clean water for Ukraine, while still not having visited the disaster zone in East Palestine, where residents are still suffering from water contamination.  Biden, after welcoming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the Oval Office, touted U.S. aid to Ukraine in remarks to the press.

Republicans can't believe Ukraine funding [is] exempted from potential shutdown.  The Pentagon has exempted Ukraine funding from a potential government shutdown, prompting massive backlash from congressional Republicans.  "The Pentagon has determined that the training and support of Ukrainian forces is exempt from a potential government shutdown ... and will continue even in the increasingly likely event that Congress fails to pass a spending bill in the coming days," CNN reported Thursday.  "Operation Atlantic Resolve is an excepted activity under a government lapse in appropriations," Department of Defense spokesperson Chris Sherwood likewise confirmed to Fox News.  Operation Atlantic Resolve "provides rotational deployments of combat-credible forces to Europe to show our commitment to NATO while building readiness, increasing interoperability and enhancing the bonds between ally and partner militaries," according to a press release.  This news prompted a whirlwind of backlash from Republicans on Twitter:  [Tweets]

Democrat Congresswoman and Senator Silent on Giving Awards to Ukraine's Transgender Spokesperson.  Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and Congresswoman Dina Titus have gone quiet after it emerged they both gave awards to the controversial transgender spokesperson for the Ukrainian military Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, who was recently suspended from the role over making unauthorised comments on the force's behalf.  In December of last year, the Las Vegas City Council presented Ashton-Cirillo with a series of awards for service to the Ukrainian military.  According to a broadcast from the local Fox affiliate at the time, Senator Cortez Masto and Congresswoman Titus gave Ashton-Cirillo certificates of recognition for the work done in Ukraine, allegedly including serving as a combat medic.

Biden Names Obama Crony Penny Pritzker to Lead Ukraine's Economic Recovery.  National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced Thursday that President Joe Biden would name Penny Pritzker, a billionaire heiress and former commerce secretary, to manage Ukraine's economic recovery from the ongoing war.  Sullivan, a major proponent of the "Russia collusion" hoax against President Donald Trump, told reporters that Biden, meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky at the White House for the sixth time on Thursday, would "introduce a special representative for Ukraine's economic recovery, Penny Pritzker, who will focus on engaging the private sector, partner countries, and Ukrainian counterparts to generate international investment in Ukraine and work with Ukraine to make the reforms necessary to improve Ukraine's business climate."

Ukraine strikes Russia's naval headquarters in Crimea.  Ukraine struck the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in a missile attack Friday that left a serviceman missing and the main building smoldering, according to military officials on both sides of the war and images from the scene in Crimea.  The Russian Defense Ministry initially said one servicemember was killed but then issued a statement saying he was missing following the attack in the port city of Sevastopol.

Poland ends arms supplies to Ukraine.  Poland's Prime Minister announced yesterday that his country was ending arms shipments to Ukraine.  Instead of sending military support to Kyiv, Poland will be upgrading its own military capabilities with more modern weaponry.  But this wasn't a signal that Poland was suddenly supporting Russia or Putin's invasion.  It's part of a simmering spat between the EU and several of its eastern block members.  And rather than dealing with military matters, the dispute is based on agriculture.  This move may represent the first crack in the armor of the unified opposition to Russia, but it also highlights growing tensions between various factions inside of the EU itself.

Rand Paul says he won't consent to expedited passage of any spending measure that includes more Ukraine assistance.  Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has declared that he will not consent to the expedited passage of any spending measure that supplies more U.S. aid to the nation of Ukraine.  During a Senate floor speech, Paul said that America does not have a rainy day fund that can be tapped to assist Ukraine, but that money for Ukraine would be borrowed, which would cause inflation.  Paul pointed out that there are many issues that the U.S. needs to fix at home before borrowing money in a bid to perpetuate a war in another nation.  While the U.S. has already shoveled billions of dollars toward assisting Ukraine as that Eastern European country battles against a Russian invasion, President Joe Biden and many lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle want to approve even more aid.

Questioning AG Merrick Garland, Representative Spartz Compares Current DOJ to Soviet Era KGB.  Representative Victoria Spartz (R-IN) is Ukranian by heritage, and understandably she is a full supporter of Ukraine (and NATO) in the battle against Russia.  That said, what Ms Spartz notes in her comments and questioning of Attorney General Merrick Garland is very accurate.  Representative Spartz puts the context of the citizen fear of the soviet era KGB into the context of American fear of the weaponized DOJ.  "People are scared of our government," she outlines.  The comparison is accurate in context and history.  However, as Spartz goes on to share, the end result is horrible for Ukraine, as the constituents in her community will no longer trust the word of the American government.

Ukraine Suspends Trans American Spokesperson For Unapproved Statements, Launches Investigation.  Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, a transgender American-born military spokesperson for Ukraine, has been suspended over unapproved public statements, the Ukraine Territorial Defense Forces (TDF) announced Wednesday.  Ashton-Cirillo's suspension was immediate and TDF said it would be launching an investigation, the post added.  "The statements of JSgt Ashton-Cirillo in recent days were not approved by the command of the TDF or the command of the AFU [Armed Forces of Ukraine].  When conducting military operations against the aggressor, the defense forces of Ukraine strictly observe the norms of international humanitarian law," the post reads.  "Sergeant Sarah Ashton-Cirillo will be suspended immediately pending the investigation."  [Tweet]

Things that don't add up about the Ukraine regime:  Add trans spokesperson to the list.  Earlier this year, Sarah Ashton-Cirillo — born in the U.S. as Michael John Cirillo — apparently became a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military despite not speaking the Ukrainian language.  This adds to the list of unanswered questions about the Ukraine government which has banned the primary opposition party.  Last week, appearing before a backdrop featuring the logo for the Territorial Defence of Ukraine (TDF) — a branch of Kyiv's military — Ashton-Cirillo posted a video message on social media vowing that Ukraine will "hunt down" alleged allies of the Kremlin operating in Ukraine as "propagandists."

Austin says Ukraine will soon receive American Abrams tanks.  The Secretary of Defense of the United States, Lloyd Austin, declared this Tuesday during the opening of the 15th Ramstein summit, that the M1 Abrams tanks promised by the Pentagon will soon arrive in Ukraine and that efforts to train Ukrainian pilots in F16 aircraft are being expanded to include US-based training.  Speaking at the start of a meeting of the U.S.-led Ukrainian Defense Contact Group in Germany, Austin urged allies to provide Ukraine with the air defense systems it needs as Russia attacks infrastructure such as ports and grain facilities.

WHY are we giving Ukraine a DIME if journalist 'KILL LIST' and trans spokesperson are REAL?  There's an alleged Ukrainian "kill list" going around that includes the names of American journalists and reporters like Tucker Carlson, Glenn Greenwald, and Human Events' Jack Posobiec, as well as Elon Musk.  But Glenn isn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed that he isn't on the list.  However, it makes him ask, if this is at all associated with the Ukrainian government, why are we sending them a DIME of our tax dollars?  Glenn and Stu also debate whether transgender American Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, who claims to be a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military, is for real.  Ashton-Cirillo has also called for the punishment of journalists who won't tow the Ukrainian line.  [Video clip and transcript]

[An] American Citizen Journalist [is] Sitting in [a] Ukraine Prison, State Dept.  Confirms.  While lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. debate sending billions more in military aid to Ukraine, an American citizen journalist, Gonzalo Lira, is languishing in a Ukrainian prison on allegations of spreading Russian propaganda, throwing into question the status of free speech in the supposed democracy the Biden administration argues is worthy of more taxpayer dollars.  The Biden administration is asking Congress to approve another $24 billion for Ukraine for now through the end of this year, which would add to the $113 billion that Congress has committed to the country since its war with Russia began in February of last year.

We Don't Need Them — They Need Us.  Did we vote for massive aid to Ukraine?  If we are expected to support our local levy, shouldn't we have a say in a $40B+ payout to a foreign country?  The border is wide open.  Did we participate in that decision?  No.  Both examples have or will impact us directly, and we have had no input.  These are a few examples where the case was made by the government to the people that if we do not agree with these endeavors, we are bad people or unpatriotic.  It is frustrating to watch our Republican leadership hold hearings and conduct investigations resulting in little accomplished.  These motions are our elect officials are beginning to resemble theater.

Zelensky watches Biden tell UN that if Ukraine is 'carved up' by Russia then no nation is safe.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky watched President Joe Biden warn that no nation is safe if Ukraine is 'carved up' by Russia.  Biden was addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, with both Zelensky - dressed in his traditional military fatigues - and Russian Amb.  Vaisily Nebenzya in the audience.  The U.S. president hammered Russia's 'naked agression' and vowed to keep funding Kyiv as he again called the present moment 'an inflection point in world history.'

Clinton Global Initiative to Launch Network to Provide 'Humanitarian Aid' to War-Torn Ukraine.  The Clinton Global Initiative will launch a new network to provide 'humanitarian aid' to war-torn Ukraine.  Of course.  Recall, that Bill Clinton last year announced the Clinton Global Initiative will be hosting a leadership summit in New York in September after a 5-year hiatus.  "This year's meeting will focus on what it takes to keep going — to maintain and advance progress, in spite of the difficulties that arise, and increase our capacity to cross the divides and make common cause with one another wherever possible to build a stronger future for all," the Clintons said in a letter to the CGI community.

Senior House GOP Lawmaker:  Not Enough Votes in House Republican Conference for Ukraine Aid.  A senior House Republican lawmaker told Politico on Monday that there are not enough Republican votes to send Ukraine more aid.  Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky will head to the Capitol building on Thursday, where he will lobby for more aid for Ukraine.  President Joe Biden has asked for $24 billion in military and economic aid to Ukraine.  House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) predicted on Sunday that Zelensky "makes the case better than anyone" and could be "very, very persuasive" in getting reluctant Republicans to back more aid.

Sen. J.D. Vance Demands Biden Admin Reveal if American Transgender 'Spokesperson' for Ukraine Military Has U.S. Intelligence Ties.  Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) has written to top Biden administration officials demanding the White House reveal if Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, a transgender individual claiming to be a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military, has ties to American intelligence services and if U.S. funds are currently subsidising Ashton-Cirillo's apparent role in Ukraine after the personality went viral vowing that Russian "propagandists will be hunted down".  In a letter, seen by Breitbart News, to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance has requested any information the U.S. government has on apparently American-born former freelance journalist Sarah Ashton-Cirillo — born Michael John Cirillo — who reportedly became a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military earlier this year.

The World Revolution and the Russo-Ukrainian War.  Since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine started the practice of de-Stalinization, de-Leninization, and comprehensive de-communization.  In the process, it acquired many friends, non-friends, and enemies.  Naturally, all of them showed their colors in the Russo-Ukrainian War.  A part of the Left embraces Ukraine's cause because it makes them anti-Russia — the theme they cannot vacate from following the "Trump is Putin's agent" hoax.  They invested exorbitant political capital in the anti-Trump "Russia-Russia-Russia" frenzy.  A portion of conservatives support Ukraine because it traditionally backs the independence of legitimate nations, such as Israel or Taiwan.  Many on the Left reject Ukraine's sovereignty because they cannot forgive Ukraine for dismantling and emblematically throwing in the trash can communist symbols, statues, and worldviews.

GOP Senators Cotton, Wicker, Collins, and Graham Urge Joe Biden to Send Tactical Missile Systems to Ukraine.  Senators Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) have penned a letter to Joe Biden, urging him to send MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to Ukraine.  The senators argue that not doing so will "only prolong the war" between Ukraine and Russia.  The senators' proposal is misguided and perilous for the United States and global stability.  The senators' letter comes on the heels of the Senate Armed Services Committee's unanimous approval for the Department of Defense to send long-range missiles to Ukraine.  The senators claim that the U.S. can provide these weapons "without any appreciable risk to its own combat capability."  They further argue that Ukraine "only requires a small portion of our stockpiled ATACMS" and that the U.S. can easily replenish its inventory.

Biden refuses to decouple Lahaina and Hurricane Idalia disaster aid from Ukraine war funding aid.  White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a White House press briefing a week ago Wednesday that the Biden administration will not decouple billions of taxpayer dollars going to Ukraine from relief funding for American victims of Hurricane Idalia in Florida and the wildfire on Maui which destroyed the town of Lahaina, in Hawaii.  And nobody seems to care, least of all the mainstream media.

Impeachment Against Joe Biden:  Possible Key Witness from Ukraine Makes Serious Allegations.  A possible key witness against Biden is speaking out from Ukraine and is making serious accusations against the incumbent U.S. president.  The latter is said to have tried to have him killed.  The accusations carry weight, coming from none other than Ukraine's former Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, who in 2015 led investigations that became so dangerous to Biden that in 2016 he blackmailed the Ukrainian government into dismissing Shokin.

Ukrainian missiles strike Russia's Black Sea fleet in Crimea.  Ukraine has struck Russian naval targets and port infrastructure in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, in what appeared to be the biggest attack of the war on the home of the Russian navy's Black Sea fleet.  A Ukrainian intelligence official said a large vessel and a submarine struck in the attack were so badly damaged as to be likely beyond repair.  The pre-dawn strike highlighted Kyiv's growing missile capabilities as Russia continues to bombard Ukraine from afar with long-range missiles and assault drones.

Musk Blames Biden Admin For Ukraine-Starlink Block.  [Scroll down]  Musk made it clear that Walter Isaacson - his biographer - had misunderstood the situation and that the initial decision to not allow access to Starlink around the Crimean border was due to sanctions from the Biden administration.  "Starlink have provided connectivity to Ukraine since the beginning of the war and as the Ukrainian government has said, Starlink was instrumental in the defense of Ukraine - although the media forgets to mention that."  Musk explains that "at the time [the attack] happened, the region around Crimea was turned off... and the reason it was turned off was because the United States has sanctions against Russia, which includes Crimea, and we are not allowed to turn on connectivity to a sanctioned country without explicit permission - which we did not have from the US government."  Starlink was approached with immediate demands in the middle of the night to turn on Crimea, by the Ukrainian government, which Musk explains "was to enable a Pearl-Harbor-type attack on Sevastopol.  So they were really asking us to take part proactively in a major act of war."

Russia's Navy Port At Sevastopol On Fire After Massive Ukraine Missile Attack.  In the overnight and morning hours of Wednesday (local time) a major attack has ensued on Russia's key Black Sea naval port of Sevastopol.  Multiple social media videos emerged showing massive blazes at the Sevastopol shipyard, with possible deaths, and at least 24 people being reported injured.  Initial reporting in Reuters and CNN strongly points to a missile attack, based on statements by Sevastopol governor Mikhail Razvozhaev, who said "Our enemies attacked Sevastopol" and that "The air defense was at work."  [Tweet with video clip]

The $6 Billion Misunderstanding, Cont'd.  According to the Biden administration, the use of the $6 billion is subject to severe constraints.  It can't be used to support the mullahs' nuclear weapons program.  It can't be used to support the mullahs' terrorist network around the world.  It can't be used to support the IRGC.  It can't be used to suppress the Iranian people.  It can only be used for sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows.  Biden and his administration think we are stupid.  They think we don't understand that money is fungible.  They think we can't see through the absurdity of its public line.  The mullahs won't even say thanks.  They refuse to accommodate Biden's fig leaf.

Will Democrats False Flag Us into a War with Russia?  Vietnam was peripheral until LBJ and the "military-industrial complex" took advantage of the Gulf of Tonkin incident.  Only then did Americans grab their Rand McNallys to discover where Vietnam was.  Then there was Iraq, Saddam, and "weapons of mass destruction."  But that was a short war and casualties were fewer.  People barely had time to unfold maps.  The Ukraine war is still blips on radars.  Fortunately, more people oppose sending billions to Zelinsky's corrupt regime.  They're starting to wonder why Biden's handlers and dazed and confused Mitch McConnell give more of a damn about Ukraine than Maui and East Palestine.  But those radar blips may soon balloon.  Speculation is afoot that Democrats may provoke a hot war with Russia.  A diversion is necessary for 2024.  Some speculation exists that Democrats would ignite a major war with Russia to impose martial law and suspend elections.  That seems like a bridge too far.  But, then again, Democrats and their allies had no worries rigging key state presidential contests to push doddering Joe Biden into the White House.  Maybe the prospect of Donald Trump getting a second bite at the apple would drive Democrats to war.

Why Ukrainian Troops Increasingly Surrender.  The number of Ukrainians laying down their arms is growing as the Kiev regime's forces have been sustaining dramatic losses, former senior Pentagon adviser Col. Douglas Macgregor stressed on an independent US media podcast on September 10.  "The numbers of Ukrainian units and soldiers that are giving up is increasing daily, most of it happens at the lowest level because these people have had no effective training.  They're not prepared for this and they're being sent to their deaths," the retired US Army colonel and government official tweeted on Sunday.  US veterans have zero illusions with regard to the unfolding conflict.  Per them, the Kiev regime and its Western backers are sending tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers on a suicide mission, even though the hostilities could have been ceased in March 2022, after Russian and Ukrainian representatives inked a preliminary peace agreement in Istanbul.

[The] Pentagon Paid A Once-Indicted Arms Dealer $1B To Supply Ammo To Ukrainians.  The Department of Defense (DOD) has paid about $1 billion to an arms dealer who was once indicted for allegedly bribing foreign officials to supply equipment to the Ukrainians, The New York Times reported Saturday.&n bsp;The Pentagon has paid Florida-based Global Ordnance about $1 billion for contracts to supply ammunition, including rockets and shells, to Ukrainian forces to use in the struggle against the invading Russian forces, according to the NYT.  Marc Morales, who leads Global Ordnance, was the subject of a Department of Justice (DOJ) indictment in 2009 that alleged he had participated in a conspiracy and money laundering activities, with the DOJ further alleging Morales was recorded on tape talking about ways to illicitly pay off foreign officials.  Because FBI agents mishandled their relationship with a key informant and the investigation into Morales, prosecutors dismissed the charges against him, according to the NYT.

Weapons from 'Ukrainian Frontline' Reportedly Seized by Police from 'New IRA' Terrorists in Northern Ireland.  Police in Northern Ireland have seized weapons from New IRA terrorists that reportedly came to the country from the frontlines of the war in Ukraine.  The New Irish Republican Army (NIRA) is believed to have acquired Russian military grenades that "may have been stolen from Ukraine front line," police sources told the Belfast Telegraph.

What are Joe Biden's unarticulated reasons for a very costly overseas intervention?  Anyway, of the U.S. media coverage of the war, what can even be validated?  Has corruption in high office persuaded the president of the United States to pursue a correction of course in Ukraine?  This question, as with so many around Biden and his network, is still hanging fire.  Burisma isn't the only stipulated reason for Biden's routinely brief, confused, and unsatisfactory "comments' on the war; there is plenty of Ukraine war confusion going around.  A trove of discussions on U.S. intervention is available, put forward willy-nilly — so varied as to be daunting.  Where is the money going?  Why have no proper efforts for peace been put forward at our end?  Why is there no formal or effective congressional approval/oversight?  What precedent led to our involvement? [...] The American people are left to speculate on his reasons for his Ukraine enthusiasm.  Does Burisma lead to Hunter?  Does it lead further than that, right to Joe himself?  Are Biden's "handlers" (who are they?) in charge of this war?  And so on.

Biden Can NOT Hide From THIS One.  So far the U.S. government has provided more than $43 billion in weaponry and other military and monetary aid to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022.  A few days ago we reported that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new package of U.S. wartime assistance worth more than a whopping $1 BILLION will be given to Ukraine.  On the same day the DoD announced that Ukraine will be given an additional $175 million.  Then, the very next day the Regime announced that they are giving an additional $600 million.  Say what you will but this is completely OUT OF CONTROL!  It looks like we will continue funding the war between Russia and Ukraine for a long time while making no effort to actually end the war with diplomacy. [...] Most news outlets have blindly sided with Ukraine and have ignored the BLATANT corruption and theft of the BILLIONS OF DOLLARS that has found it's way into the pockets of several senior Ukrainian government officials pockets- including the wonderful President Volodymyr Zelensky's.  We would never expect the neo-liberal Biden loving outlet THE NEW YORK TIMES who have repeatedly backed the talking point that Ukraine has been "committed to fighting corruption."  But even they can't ignore the evidence of this massive corruption any longer.

Mike Lee Calls for 'New Leadership' as Mitch McConnell Plans to Ram Ukraine Aid Down 'House's Throat'.  Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) on Friday night called for new Senate Republican leadership, citing a story that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) plans to ram Ukraine aid down the "House's throat."  Citing a Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Kimberly Strassel that discussed how McConnell will help Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) force the House to agree to $24 billion in aid to Ukraine.  "Mitch McConnell has been making daily floor speeches on the need for more Ukraine funding, worried Mr. McCarthy can't get this crucial aid past House GOP spending hard-liners.  So Mr. McConnell is ... signing up to help Mr. Schumer ram the whole package down the House's throat," Strassel wrote.

White House:  Funds for Maui and Florida to be withheld unless Congress approves more money for Ukraine.  White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre suggested on Wednesday that much-needed disaster relief for Florida's hurricane victims and those in Maui who were devastated by the raging wildfire could be withheld unless Congress approves another $24 billion to aid Ukraine's military.  "[Republican Florida] Sen. Rubio, whose state is recovering from [Hurricane] Idalia, says the $16 billion in additional disaster relief should be decoupled from the additional funding [sic] for Ukraine.  Of course, that's part of their request which seems to be opposed by many Republicans," a reporter began during Wednesday's briefing.  "Is the administration willing to separate these requests and seek the FEMA disaster aid independently to ensure it gets to the hurricane victims [and] Hawaii wildfire victims as quickly as possible or do you see that these things have to be grouped together for the request?"

Blinken in Kiev on Surprise Visit, Brings $1 Billion of Your Money to Keep the Meat Grinder Going.  "During his two-day visit, which will see Blinken stay overnight in Ukraine for the first time since Russia's invasion in February 2022, he is likely to announce a new US aid package worth over US$1 billion, a senior State Department official said during a press briefing on the trip", according to Ukrainska Pravda.  Blinken will meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, The Guardian reports.

The Cardboard Drone Dilemma.  As shown by Ukraine, cardboard drones are a very cost-effective way to destroy much more expensive military equipment.  And you know who has more expensive military equipment than anyone else in the world?  That's right:  Us.  Uncle Sam is the operator of billion dollar B-2s and fleet supercarriers.  Enemies capable of getting cheap drones within striking distance of those assets could put a world of hurt on the Pentagon, [...]

The Ukrainian Military Is Now Drafting The Mentally Disabled.  Sad video shows how the Ukrainian military is drafting the mentally disabled from psychiatric wards.  The mother of the man who has the mental capacity of a 3rd grader pleads with the ward's doctor and tries to show him his papers to keep the young man from being conscripted to service.  The doctor seems to be paid off by the state and doesn't help the mother.  [Video clip]

The Long Term Payback from the Ukraine War.  A recent Zero Hedge article contains an interesting quote as to why the U.S. warhawks want the Ukraine war:  ["]Beltway liberal elites... still think Russia must be punished given they see Moscow as having brought the 'bad orange man' to power in 2016.  ["]  Sounds crazy, but that would explain what I have experienced on the ground (physically and linguistically) in Ukraine.

The Third World Revolt.  [Scroll down]  Russia's attempts to assert power in its near-abroad fueled America's interest in the current Ukraine War.  The theory was that we would pursue our interests on the cheap, prevent challenges to American hegemony, with the added benefit that Ukrainians would be doing the dying.  Because of our military and economic superiority, supporters claimed the war would kill Russians, weaken their military, and destabilize Putin's hold on power.  Proponents of the war did not really consider what would happen in the reverse case.  What if not Russia, but the United States found itself strained economically, losing critical and hard-to-replace weapons in a war of attrition, visibly demonstrating its impotence and weakness on the world stage?  Wouldn't the same dire consequences intended for Russia now happen to us?  Indeed, they would.  Luckily, actual American security does not depend on the continuation of America's dominance of the globe, nor does American prosperity.

Clearing the Fog of 'Unprovoked' War.  These days, saying Russia's war in Ukraine is "unprovoked" is a must.  There are some notable exceptions from a few American "dissidents," who say Russia was provoked, but their opinions are dismissed at best or submerged in name-calling at worst.  I'd leave it up to those who will read this article to the end to decide who is right.  This subject is important for someone who was born in Ukraine, studied in Russia, and worked in America; who has relatives and friends in all three countries; and who for almost three dozen years has been doing his best to make them all friends and even allies.  Instead, all three are now at war, even if some call the U.S. war only a war "by proxy."  This looks like a total failure of my efforts, but I hope this short summary clears a bit the fog of war, which might help in the search to avoid a worst-case scenario.

Biden Has Irreversibly Divided The World.  No one in the administration has officially conceded that America's support for Ukraine is driving countries to World War III, but Secretary of State Antony Blinken came the closest to acknowledging the fact.  Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum to a friendly reporter, Andrea Mitchell of NBC, he said:  "I believe they (Ukraine) have what they need to be very successful.  And as they deploy and as they actually put into this effort all of the forces that have been trained in recent months, the equipment that we and some 50 countries have provided them, I think that will make a profound difference."  There you have it.  A conflict that started in February 2022 involving three countries — Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine — has evolved into a trans-regional war that involves the active financial, military, and humanitarian support of America and 50 other countries, all in support of Ukraine.

Why Are We in Ukraine?  From Murmansk in the Arctic to Varna on the Black Sea, the armed camps of NATO and the Russian Federation menace each other across a new Iron Curtain.  Unlike the long twilight struggle that characterized the Cold War, the current confrontation is running decidedly hot.  As former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and former secretary of defense Robert Gates acknowledge approvingly, the United States is fighting a proxy war with Russia.  Thanks to Washington's efforts to arm and train the Ukrainian military and to integrate it into NATO systems, we are now witnessing the most intense and sustained military entanglement in the near-eighty-year history of global competition between the United States and Russia.

The Decline Of American Manufacturing Inevitably Means An Empty Wartime Arsenal.  It is hard to be the arsenal of democracy if you can't make anything anymore.  The war in Ukraine has deranged many people — Michael Rubin, a lunatic and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, wants to give Ukraine nukes — but it may also teach us some hard but necessary lessons.  For instance, as the tides of war turn against Ukraine, it seems that globalist economics is defeating globalist foreign policy interventionism.  Ukraine's much-hyped summer offensive has been disappointing.  Or as The New York Times delicately informed its readers in a report on a minor Ukrainian victory, the assault is, "moving at a slower pace than expected" and has shown that "Kyiv's and the Western allies' hopes for a quick victory were unrealistic ... every mile of their drive into Russian-occupied territory would be grueling and contested."

"I Do Not Know the Plans of Our Govt, But It Looks Like The Extermination of Its Own Population".  The Zelensky regime's goal in Ukraine appears to be "the extermination of its own population," according to a Ukrainian soldier who served on the frontlines in Bakhmut.  [Tweet with video clip]  The soldier made the comments as part of a VICE documentary released on Saturday.  [Video clip]  As the WSJ reported last month, the Zelensky regime is drafting poor, untrained men — some of whom have never held a gun — and sending them straight to the frontlines to serve as cannonfodder.  On Monday, horrific video was released showing inexperienced Ukrainian soldiers with US-supplied Bradley fighting vehicles taking part in the US-backed counteroffensive getting their legs blown off while traversing a minefield.

War and More War.  Yesterday Zhou announced that the American Empire is still considering sending ATACMS systems to Ukraine.  That would be the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), which is a tactical ballistic missile with a range of up to 190 miles and is capable of precision strikes based on its GPS based guidance system. [...] That is the US "poking the bear" as an active participant of war on Russia, while there is no responsible public discussion of our war in the US.  My take on this announcement by Zhou is that it's probably in line with the other recent escalations: This is part of an effort to bluff Russia into agreeing to a "frozen conflict" — which amounts to a NATO Ukraine.  Perhaps the idea is that the pinprick attacks inside Russia that we've been seeing will put sufficient public opinion pressure on Putin to agree to lose a war that Russia is winning.  Not gonna happen.

Fade to Black in Ukraine.  Try to imagine Mr. Zelensky's predicament.  Mighty America and redoubtable Europe conned the former comedian to thinking that if he went along with a genius scheme to ruin Russia and knock Vlad Putin off the global gameboard, his sad-sack country would be transformed into something like Ukro-Disneyworld, while he, Mr. Z, would be lionized and made rich beyond his wildest imaginings.  His backup was the greatest hegemonic power the world has ever seen.  The game was called Let's You and Him Fight.

Putin has devastated Russia.  I am torn on the Ukraine war.  I think Putin is 100% in the wrong and that Ukraine fighting in self-defense is both just and generally good for the West.  I also believe that we have taken our eye off the much more important conflict, still a Cold War, with China.  The fate of Ukraine is a moral issue but not of strategic importance to the West, whatever hype is used to gin up our support.  Putin's army is done, and it is clear that it didn't have far to fall even before the invasion.  The Russian army is, if anything, even more ineffectual and corrupt than the old Soviet army.  It literally cannot feed and clothe its own troops, and in some cases, it cannot arm them.  It currently poses no threat other than nuclear to any NATO country.

Okay, What About Ukraine's Ongoing Infatuation with Nazis?  Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine, where the American dollars are crisp and clean, has just dodged a bullet.  This one didn't come from Russia; the shot was self-inflicted.  Mayor Vitali Klitschko overruled the city council and a popular vote of city dwellers to prevent the naming of a street after a World War II-era Nazi collaborator.  The European Jewish Press reported Wednesday that the city "wanted to name a street after Volodymyr Kubiyovych, a Nazi collaborator and SS official," until Klitschko, apparently mindful of how bad this looks in the West, stepped in and put a kibosh on the plan.  Until his intervention, everything was going swimmingly:  the Jerusalem Post reported last Tuesday that according to Eduard Dolinsky, director of the Ukrainian Jewish Committee, "a street in the Ukrainian capital will be renamed following a motion passed by the city council, and will bear the name of Volodymyr Kubiyovych, who during the Holocaust was heavily involved in the formation of the Waffen-SS Galizien, a Nazi military force made up of Ukrainian volunteers."

Ukraine's Nazi Problem Gets Worse.  There has been considerable concern since before the start of the war in Ukraine about the influence of National Socialists, or Nazis, there, and now it has gotten considerably worse.  Rather than apologize for or at very least ignore the nation's past ties to National Socialism, the city council in the nation's capital of Kyiv is reportedly considering naming a street after a National Socialist collaborator who actually served in the SS during the Holocaust, Volodymyr Kubiyovych.  Apparently the Ukrainian government is so certain that Western aid will continue that it feels no hesitation about flaunting its openness to National Socialism.

Everything We Have Been Told About the War in Ukraine is a Lie.  We have been told since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine that it is not a proxy war between the United States and Russia.  We've been told that there are no U.S. forces deployed in the war zone, and we have been told that Ukraine is winning.  That is the narrative that has been pushed by the media and our government on repeat for more than a year.  But the leaked documents completely shatter that narrative.  The leak revealed that there are U.S. forces deployed in Ukraine.  In fact, this was confirmed on Wednesday by John Kirby in an interview with Fox News.  This is not only a proxy war between the U.S. and Russia.  We are quite literally in the middle of a hot war with Russia.  A war which has not been approved by Congress as our laws would require.  That makes it a crime.  The documents also reveal that Ukrainian forces are in dire straits. [...] Furthermore, just two weeks ago Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin made the assertion that Ukraine was winning the war while he was testifying before Congress.  That is not true.  Ukraine is not winning the war and Austin knew that when he made a claim to the contrary.  Lying before Congress is a crime.  And now the administration is asking the media to cover all of this up.

Russia's Rise.  The West's sweeping sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine are shaping up to be the West's most monumental miscalculation in modern history.  The sanctions have not brought the Russian economy to its knees, as was widely predicted.  Instead, it's the Western economies that are reeling, their economic growth all but stopped.  Many of them are simultaneously suffering from both high inflation and energy shortages.  Russia, meanwhile, is not only surviving but thriving, acquiring more potency and prestige throughout Asia, Africa and South America than at any time since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

This Is Why We Need Other Countries To Fight Our Wars For Us.  Right now, the U.S. Army is actually shrinking because so few young people are being recruited.  Interest in serving in the military has plummeted dramatically, and meanwhile the percentage of our young adults that actually qualify to serve has fallen to a depressingly low level.  According to a recent Pentagon study, 77 percent of all Americans from age 17 to age 24 are ineligible to serve in the military for one reason or another.  That is a pathetically low figure, and it is the main reason why we need other countries to fight our wars for us at this point.  Just look at Ukraine.  We are providing the funding, the equipment, the ammunition and the intelligence, but they are providing the warm bodies.

Nagging Unanswered Questions About War in Ukraine.  Ukrainians — and many Europeans and Americans — are defining an envisioned Ukrainian victory as the complete expulsion of all Russians from its 2013 borders.  Or, as a Ukrainian national security chief put it, the war ends with Ukrainian tanks in Red Square.  But mysteries remain about such ambitious agendas.  What would that goal entail?  Giving Ukraine American F-16s to strike bases and depots in Mother Russia?  The gifting of 1,000 M1 Abrams tanks?  Using American Harpoon missiles to sink the Russian Black Sea fleet?  A huge arsenal that would guarantee total victory rather than not losing?  Russia's cruel strategy is to grind down Ukraine and turn its eastern regions into a Verdun-like deathscape.  So, is a brave Ukraine really winning the war when it loses about 0.6 soldiers for every Russian it kills?

It slowly dawns on the West that Ukraine is not going to win.  Writer David Goldman, who writes as the brilliant "Spengler" at Asia Times, foresees an ending of sorts to the Ukraine conflict, based on the West's inability to supply the resources to keep an extended war coming. [...] While most participants continued to favor the Biden administration's gung-ho stance on keeping Ukraine supplied and paid until they could fight off the Russians, the numbers were not in its favor.  Russia was just so much bigger than Ukraine in terms of manpower and resources and money and alliances with other big powers — such as China and India.  The small still voices came through at the end of that conference, noting that most of the Ukrainian army was dead, its best soldiers, trained by the U.S., were now war casualties.  Ukrainian valor was real but Russia could nevertheless win that war based on its overwhelming resourcing, for the same reason the North won over the South during the Civil War, despite the South having many effective and motivated soldiers.

When Leaders Get Scared.  While it may look like the United States is being tough and forceful in Ukraine, the reverse is true.  The US is showing incredible weakness, and it is wearing it on its sleeve.  Let's start with Ukraine.  The US has gone all out to try and help Ukraine win a victory over the Russians.  The Biden administration wants this to happen for two reasons: to show that Biden is not a wimp and won't cut and run like he did in Afghanistan (and on this the 20th anniversary of the War in Iraq, like his predecessor Obama did by pulling US forces out of Iraq) and that he wants to "strengthen" NATO by eventually putting a NATO army in Ukraine.  The reason for not wanting to look like a wimp is self-evident and does not need any further explanation, other than to say that Washington elites have bought into the false narrative that Ukraine is a glowing democracy and we should defend it.  Of course, the US disrupted Ukraine's free politics and pushed the rebellion against a properly elected government.

Biden and Putin: Pawns on China's Chessboard.  In the Russo-Ukrainian war, Ukraine is the victim, and Russia is the aggressor.  However, the victim and the aggressor are not acting alone.  Who made Ukraine the victim?  Who helped Russia make the blunder of aggression?  While analyzing the current Russo-Ukrainian war, the media tend to overlook one thing.  Namely, President Biden and President Putin are — for the lack of a more appropriate word — vassals to China's triple-emperor, Xi Jinping.  From that perspective, the notion of "a proxy war with Russia in Ukraine" evaporates.  The WWIII scare disappears, too, if one recalls two main China objectives: Taiwan and South Siberia.  The occupation of Taiwan requires a weak United States, and the annexation of South Siberia demands a powerless Russia.  It looks as though everybody overestimated Biden and Putin, treating them as independent players and not as order-takers on the Chinese payroll, which they are.

DeSantis Is Right About Ukraine.  Ron DeSantis came out against our current blank check n' hack cliches Ukraine policy, stating the indisputable truth that Ukraine was not a vital US interest worthy of risking World War III with Russia.  The next day he was proven right when a Russian SU-27 knocked a US Reaper drone into the Black Sea.  Hey, feeding Russians (and Ukrainians) into a meat grinder is all fun and games until we get dragged into the abattoir too.  Of course, all the right people got really mad about it — when Bill Kristol, Adam Kinzinger, David French, Max Boot and Mitt Romney are all for something, you need to be against it.  Hardest hit was the GOP establishment — it was very sad because the governor refuses to be dragged along into cheerleading yet another massive foreign policy failure.

Sorry, Media Nerds, The War In Ukraine Is Literally A 'Territorial Dispute'.  The "territorial dispute" quote is from Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' recently released statement about the ongoing war in Ukraine (a place our elected leaders in Washington sometimes refer to as "Our Last Great Hope.")  What he said more fully is that "becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia" is not a "vital interest" to the United States.  That's a view shared by anyone who thinks yet another foreign war without clear and substantial strategic benefit to America is not something we should busy ourselves with.  (It's not like we have any pressing problems here!)  But French, Rubin and the rest of the national media really hate that view.  It's "pro-Putin"!  It's "astonishing" and "dangerous"!  DeSantis should say it one more time for the people in the back.  The war is literally a dispute over territory.  Russian leadership claims Ukraine as its own and the Kremlin's settlement offers are based almost solely on territory concessions (with some details related to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization).

Was the US drone supplying reconnaissance data for Ukraine to target Russian forces and territory?  I find the contention that the U.S. drone was supplying targeting information believable.  Why wouldn't the U.S. do so, especially given the fact that Elon Musk's Starlink system has been used to enable battlefield communications for the Ukrainians to target Russian facilities?  Does this make the drone a legitimate target for Russia?  I am no expert in the law of war, but the contention that the drone was supplying intelligence used for targeting weapons, if true, would make it an instrument of war against Russia.  RT, the Russian state-sponsored propaganda agency, makes some other interesting claims.  Use skepticism, of course, and weigh these claims against what else you know and your common sense.

The US's March of Folly in Ukraine.  One tries to read widely on the state of the Ukraine war, though it's extremely difficult to cut through the fog of propaganda and obvious lies.  But slowly, the picture of a determined, slow-moving, grinding, painful Russian victory emerges.  Ukrainian casualties are almost certainly at unbearable, unsustainable levels.  Closest guesses are in the range of 250,000 KIA, orders of magnitude greater than Russia's, which draws from a vastly larger population.  Ukraine is losing a generation of its male youth, all to prop up a declining US planetary hegemony.

No, Ukraine Aid Isn't a Top Priority.  Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is on board with one Biden initiative:  funding the administration's war packages to Ukraine.  The Kentucky Republican claims this is a top priority among Republicans.  Polling suggests otherwise, and it's not just members of the GOP — the nation at large is starting to get tired of the Ukraine excursion that's rapidly becoming yet another endless war for the United States, albeit by proxy.  The situation on the ground there is stalemated because Russia's military is racked by incompetence, coupled with shoddy weapons and tactics, while the Ukrainians have some of the best weapons but lack the manpower to rout Russian forces entirely.  That's the 30,000-foot overview, but if this conflict requires NATO troops, specifically our forces, to move the needle, and there have been insinuations to that effect, then this whole affair could take an ugly turn.  Biden is a disaster abroad, but let's hope what little brain activity he has left knows the danger that could come from American troops being deployed.

Questioning Biden's Ukraine Policy Doesn't Make You An 'Isolationist'.  It's not exactly a sign of a healthy democratic discourse that it's virtually impossible to ask a critical question about the United States' role in the Ukraine-Russia conflict without being smeared as a Putin apologist or an "isolationist."  We've been bombarded with bromides about a civilizational struggle that pits the forces of autocracy and liberalism against each other.  "It's not just about freedom in Ukraine," Biden tells us.  "It's about freedom of democracy at large."  Yet Ukraine — which, before the war, regularly slotted in somewhere beneath Burma, Mexico, and Hungary on those silly "democracy matrixes" left-wingers used to love — isn't any kind of liberal democracy.  Maybe one day it will be.  Today Ukraine still shutters churches and restricts the free press.  Maybe you believe those are justifiable actions during wartime, but under no definition are they liberal.  Ukraine has never been a functioning "democracy."  Its people defend its borders and sovereignty in the face of a powerful expansionist aggressor.  That's good enough.

The Façade of Democracy.  During Biden's latest visit to Kyiv and Warsaw, the Oval Office occupant defended his administration's escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war and pledged unlimited U.S. taxpayer support in the name of "defending democracy."  But is Ukraine a democracy?  In 2004, the Bush Administration and the West amplified claims that the Ukrainian presidential election had been rigged after the Moscow backed candidate Viktor Yanukovych defeated the U.S. and West backed candidate Viktor Yushchenko.  Western pressure combined with mass protests in Ukraine — known as the Orange Revolution — resulted in the overturning of the election results and a redo election that fulfilled the West's desired outcome.  Yushchenko was elected president, instead.  Afterward, then-President George W. Bush called the Orange Revolution a "powerful example of democracy for people around the world."  In 2010, however, Viktor Yanukovych — who had been accused of stealing the 2004 election — ran again and won.

Since When did Ukrainians Become Entitled to the State they Got?  The historical record demonstrates that contemporary Ukraine emerged from a mosaic of lands assembled by Russian conquests and paid for with Russian blood and treasure.  Except for a small area of the Zaporozhian Host, Ukraine has no historical connection to the land it occupies and is the product of Russian geopolitical engineering.  The foregoing is the reason Henry Kissinger wrote, "The West must understand that, to Russia, Ukraine can never be just a foreign country."  If Americans had been more aware of Ukrainian history, they would have raised reasonable doubts about the validity of Ukraine's territorial aspirations.  Konrad Adenauer once said, "History is the sum total of things that could be avoided."

The Real Russia — and Ukraine.  I first arrived in Russia in 1994.  I was shocked at the filth, poverty, and violence.  I immediately understood that Soviet Russia had been waging war on itself (and its neighbors) since the Revolution, while playing the victimhood card for generations, claiming their military buildup was out of fear of NATO.  When the Soviet "Union" collapsed (1989) their only fear was of each other.  They needed NATO and their former Eastern European slave states to save them from themselves.  Soviet Russia was a terrible place created by murderers and criminals.  The resulting poverty has always attracted western lackeys looking for attention. [...] Ukraine gets along with its neighbors and lives within its borders.  But poor little Russia can't do that, because it fears Ukraine, America and Europe.  The real reason is that the failed Russian state does not want prosperous free republics on its borders.  It's that simple.

Ukrainian Paradoxes.  One of the strangest things about the American response to Ukraine has been the willingness of the Left and the establishment Right to discount completely that the war is heading toward a rendezvous with ever-deadlier weapons and staggering fatalities — even as we witness increasing nuclear threats from a weakened and adrift Vladimir Putin. [...] If we wish to wonder why Vladimir Putin believed that the Biden Administration's response to his aggression would be like the Obama-Biden reaction in 2014, then we need only look to the August 2021 American collapse in Afghanistan.  That summer, Joe Biden made the decision to yank precipitously all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, abandoning a $1 billion embassy, a multimillion-dollar refitted airbase, and hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. military equipment, including 22,174 Humvee vehicles, nearly 1,000 armored vehicles, 64,363 machine guns, and 42,000 pick-up trucks and SUVs 358,530 assault rifles, 126,295 pistols, and nearly 200 artillery units.  Recent reports, denied by the United States, allege that Putin is negotiating with the Taliban to buy some of the abandoned American arsenal to help replenish Russia's enormous materiel losses in Ukraine.  What helped the Soviets win World War II were the American gifts of 400,000 trucks and Jeeps.  Over 60,000 American armored vehicles, Humvees, and trucks, now in the hands of the Taliban would be a valuable addition to Putin's arsenal.

Sifting through the Mess of the Ukraine War.  [Scroll down] However, the fundamental feature of the war is that nobody was ready for war — not Russia, Ukraine, or their allies.  By the day of the invasion, the Russian army was embezzled, the Ukrainian army was disassembled and had not reassembled, and NATO armies were depleted.  With artillery, for detail, the American industry currently produces about fifteen thousand 155-mm howitzer shells per month; typically, Ukraine uses five thousand shells daily.  Thus, Ukraine uses a month's worth of American shell production in three days.  That is not sustainable.  Overall, the present war demonstrated widespread ammunition shortages, exacerbated by the mostly peaceful post-WWII decades.  From the White House perspective, the war in Ukraine is out of control.  The working hypothesis is that President Biden, in a Chamberlain-like move, had committed to giving about one fifth of Ukraine to Putin.

Ukraine and the Unlearned Lesson of History.  What is happening in Ukraine is not an isolated event that arose either by misunderstanding or as a result of one man's ill will.  It would be wrong to assume that Russia's attack on Ukraine was due to an unfortunate miscalculation by the Russian president.  On the contrary, all current events are a logical step in the centuries-long history of the Russian state, which has always been aimed at imperial expansion and the conquest of foreign lands.  The conquest of Siberia, Central Asia, countless wars with Turkey, with Sweden, with Lithuania, with Austria, with Persia, with Napoleonic France, with Finland, with Afghanistan — it's only a small list of the Russian wars of aggression.  Russia has never been interested in developing its own country and improving the lives of its people, but only in expanding its territory at the expense of its neighbors.  Putin's power is not a legacy of past traditions, but an inseparable continuation of centuries of the Russian expansion, one inseparable chain of colonialism from the time of Ivan the Terrible, to Alexander the First, to Stalin, to Brezhnev and now Putin.

Opposing viewpoint:
 The Real Lessons of the Real History of The United States and post-Glasnost Ukraine.  I am responding to "Ukraine and the Unlearned Lesson of History," by Jacob Fraden, published in AT 1/31/23.  I'll start with the author's contention that Russia's war against Napoleonic France was one of its wars "of aggression."  On June 24, 1812, Napoleon invaded Russia with an army of 650,000, approximately the 12th European county to receive the French tyrant's military attention.  Who was the aggressor here?  Tsar Alexander I was a hero at the Congress of Vienna, for crushing that invasion and breaking the French chronic aggressor's back once and for all.  And most of Christian Europe had the sense to be grateful to Russia for driving the hated Turkish muslim conqueror and oppressor out of the Balkans and other parts of Europe.

Lt. Col. Daniel Davis Warns of Nuclear War: U.S. Has 'No Plan' in Ukraine, This Is Not a 'Video Game'.  Providing new tanks to Ukraine won't change the reality on the ground of the current conflict with Russia, according to retired Army Lt.  Col. Daniel L. Davis, who claimed the United States has "no plan" or strategy and warned of the real-world danger of invoking NATO's "mutual defense" clause, which would trigger a nuclear war.  In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News on Thursday, Davis discussed the situation on the ground in Ukraine.

Inside the Nazi Whitewash of Ukraine.  On January 1, the world celebrated New Year's Day — a holiday of self-reflection, self-renewal, and hope.  In Ukraine, the focus was different.  There, January 1 marks the birthday of Stepan Bandera, Ukraine's Nazi national hero.  Bandera is the founding father of Ukrainian Nazism and his birthday is a national holiday.  In Ukraine, paying homage to their most famous antisemite and leading Nazi collaborator of World War II, is a very big deal.  Under President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the level of Nazi influence and control in Ukraine has been unprecedented.  Zelenskyy outlawed all 11 independent and opposition political parties but left the parties and organizations of his Nazi partners and allies intact and in power.

The Ultimate Arms Deals: Why Washington is so Eager to Support Ukraine.  I thought the Afghanistan bug-out was the ultimate arms deal.  Biden abandoned billions of dollars of weapons, leaving them behind for the Taliban to enjoy. [...] One of the joys of that — at least to military equipment manufacturers — is that the replacement is not just brand-new, but almost always progressively enhanced in capabilities — and price.  Getting back to Afghanistan, the Government Accountability Office reported that between 2003 and 2016, the U.S. supplied Afghan defense and security forces with an arsenal that included 208 aircraft, 42,000 pickup trucks, 22,000 Humvees, nearly 9,000 MTV cargo and transport trucks, nearly 1,000 mine resistant ambush protected vehicles, nearly 200 armored personnel carriers and hundreds of thousands of rifles, pistols, machine guns, grenade launchers, rocket propelled weapons and night vision goggles.  More had been provided between 2016 and August of 2021.  If those weapons came out of military stock — vehicles stored in armories waiting for the military to need them to fight our enemies du jour — they will be replaced with newer ones.

Emerging Regret About Ukraine War in the U.S. and My Interview With Emerald Robinson on Biden's Classified Document Leaks.  America's infatuation with Ukraine and Zelensky (the Cocaine Comedian) is starting to wane, but most politicians and the public continue to believe the lie that Ukraine is an innocent country being bludgeoned by a communist Russia ruled by a dictator.  Oh yeah.  Don't forget.  Russia is suffering massive military and economic losses and just can't live without U.S. investment and Europe's technology.  It is all nonsense, but if you are living in the United States and try to have a reasoned discussion with the fan boys and girls cheering for Ukraine, you would find more success talking to a brick wall.

How To Make Republicans And Others Ditch Ukraine.  The DC establishment has decided that Ukraine policy is beyond debate, and not subject to input or question by the plebes.  They make no argument for why we should support Ukraine — and there are potentially good arguments to be made, once we figure out exactly what America's objective is.  What they do is slander, anyone, not cozy and cuddly with the Official Approved Narrative — get on board or get trashed.  The total, obnoxious refusal of our garbage ruling caste to even address the legitimate concerns of the American public regarding our blank-check, audit-free funding of the Russo-Ukrainian War is the best way to ensure that America will eventually stop supporting the underdogs.

Traitors.  A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words.  But there are only a few profane words to describe the obscene scene as the two women closest in line for the presidency hoisted the Ukrainian flag from the dias of the House of Representatives while swooning over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Congress cheered on December 21.  (This appears to be the first time in history the flag of another nation essentially flew inside the U.S. Capitol building.)  "They asked me to bring this flag to you, to the U.S. Congress, to members of the House of Representatives and senators whose decisions can save millions of people," Zelenskyy said before handing the flag to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Kamala Harris.  "This flag is a symbol of our victory in this war."  But even more telling — sickening? — was the image in the same photo of a House staffer wearing a black face mask standing silently, eyes cast downward, behind a tri-folded American flag in a shadow box as the celebration ensued.  The unintentional contrast said it all.  Our once-thriving and free country is slowly dying at the hands of frauds, crooks, and cowards — and they're not even trying to hide it from us.  They are flaunting it.

I admit it: I was fooled by Zelensky and Ukraine.  I was fooled about Volodymyr Zelensky. [...] But today, seeing is believing.  So what has he done wrong?  It's legion.  Zelensky has banned opposition parties.  He's shut down critical media by force.  He's arrested his political opponents.  He has sent soldiers into churches.  Zelensky's secret police have raided monasteries across Ukraine, even a convent full of nuns, and arrested dozens of priests for no justifiable reason whatsoever and in clear violation of the Ukrainian constitution, which apparently no longer matters.  And in the face of this, the Biden administration has said nothing.  Last week, he announced his plan to ban an entire religion, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church — more than a thousand years old — and to seize its property, all for being insufficiently loyal to his regime.  A free country does not ban a major religion.  Nor is it permissible in time of war to place soldiers in churches.  It's wrong to arrest dozens of priests.  It's a war crime.  And he's doing it to a Ukrainian church!  Joe Biden remains silent about all this — of course.  So is the Deep State — and the Uni-Party.

The Truth About the War in Ukraine.  As events unfolded in Ukraine, I could not help being reminded of the ten-year Vietnam War (1964-1975), and the war in Iraq (2003-2011).  Both were based on lies.  The Vietnam War saw over 360,000 Americans killed or wounded, while, in Iraq, the total exceeded 36,000.  In the Asian war, the premise was an attack on an American naval vessel that did not occur.  In the Middle East, it was the threat of non-existent weapons of mass destruction.  I have closely followed events in Ukraine since reading an analysis by Swiss Intelligence Officer, Colonel Jacques Baud.  I am convinced that we are embarking on a very dangerous path of military adventurism that will destroy our nation's finances.  It will not stop with Ukraine.  For our elites and their servants, nothing is out of bounds.  They will say and do anything in pursuit of their desires.

The Diem Option.  [Scroll down] Instead of realizing that they had no idea what they were doing in that part of the world, the Kennedy administration plunged the country into a guerilla war in Asia.  The result was a calamity for both the military and the political class of the United States.  In one of life's great ironies, the people who cut their political teeth in the domestic revolts over the Vietnam War now find themselves in the same situation.  This time they are the people in charge and the client state is Ukraine.  Similar to 60 years ago, the American government has to deal with an erratic and reckless leader who may not be long for this world.  That leader is Volodymyr Zelensky.  Contrary to all of the happy talk in Western media, the proxy war against Russia is not going well for the West.  On the battlefield, the Russians are slowly grinding down the Ukrainian army, which has become a blackhole for Western arms.

It Was Never About Ukraine.  Events in Ukraine in 2014 marked the end of the unipolar world of American hegemony.  Russia drew the line and asserted itself as a new pole in a multipolar world order.  That is why the war is "bigger than Ukraine," in the words of the State Department.  It is bigger than Ukraine because, in the eyes of Washington, it is the battle for US hegemony.  That is why US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on November 13 that some of the sanctions on Russia could remain in place even after any eventual peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia.  The war has never just been about Ukraine: it is about US foreign policy aspirations that are bigger than Ukraine.  Yellen said, "I suppose in the context of some peace agreement, adjustment of sanctions is possible and could be appropriate."  Sanctions could be adjusted when negotiations end the war, but, Yellen added, "We would probably feel, given what's happened, that probably some sanctions should stay in place."

It's Time to Speak the Truth About Ukraine.  Joe Biden, the military-industrial-congressional complex, State Department neocons, the War Party comprised of all Democrats and many corporate Republicans, and Western globalist elites have the United States and NATO in a Ukrainian proxy war against Russia.  The warmongers are obsessed with destroying Russia.  To achieve it, they are determined to fight to the last Ukrainian.  In eight months, Congress has wasted $69 billion of American taxpayer money to fund their proxy war.  That's about $8 billion more than Russia's entire annual military budget.  And to the delight of the American arms industry, there is no end in sight.  Biden is soon expected to request another $50 billion.  Meanwhile, Biden and Congress have betrayed the American people — doing next to nothing to solve the crises of inflation, self-inflicted shortages of fuel and food, an invasion of five-and-a-half million illegal aliens, out-of-control violent crime, and a fentanyl epidemic imported from China and Mexico that is killing 100,000 Americans every year.

Ukraine And The Fed.  It's pretty much a truism for those who have been paying attention to events since the beginning of the Covid hoax that events are being driven by the Globalist agenda for world domination. [...] The strategy for subjugating Russia never relied on a military defeat for Russia in Ukraine.  The strategy was to use Ukraine to provoke Russia and thus to provide the collective West — with the US as the military backup — with an excuse for launching an all out economic war on Russia, to collapse the Russian economy and oust the Globalists' bête noire, Vladimir Putin.  Giddy with the prospect of world domination, the collective West assumed this could be accomplished in short order, and thus with little harm to Western economies.  Instead, farsighted Russian preparations for exactly this scenario — preparations that have been economic, financial, military, and diplomatic — have placed the economies of the collective West, and especially of Europe, already weakened by the Covid shutdown, on the edge of a precipice.  The Russian economy is surviving and, in important respects, thriving.

Analysis: Nord Stream Pipelines Sabotaged, and Only One Country Benefits.  Three deep-water explosions destroyed the Nord Stream pipelines under the Baltic Sea on Monday.  While the MSM and governments reported "leaks" in the pipelines following sudden pressure drops to zero, Swedish seismologists knew better. [...] First, the US became the number one exporter of liquified natural gas to Europe once Russia cut off the flow.  German dependence on US LNG is a carrot to keep German in the sanction alliance.  With winter approaching and German unrest on the rise, the State Department would have been concerned the Germans would go wobbly, reduce sanctions, cut off arms to Ukraine, and beg Putin for energy.  The loss of the Nord Stream pipelines eliminates that path to renewed gas imports to Germany.  Second, the Biden family has long been tangled up in natural gas and Ukraine.  Hunter Biden was on the board of Ukraine's largest natural gas company — a position that provided Ukrainian oligarchs with access to Joe Biden.  Hunter, who has no experience in energy, made millions from the deal, and Ukraine got a bought-and-paid-for President of the United States.  Third, the Democrat Biden needs to stanch the popularity bleeding that threatens to kill Democrat control of Congress come November.  So, only the United States has a compelling reason to destroy Europe's energy lifeline from Russia.  Only the United States has both the means and the motive.

Obama Led Germany Into Putin's Energy Trap.  Vladimir Putin's energy war is real but undeclared.  The West's counter energy war is declared but not real.  Doubtful is whether the latest convoluted U.S. plan to cap Mr. Putin's oil receipts will be any different (though it's certain to spawn a lot of future Marc Riches).  But notice that Mr. Putin remains careful to say Russia desires to keep meeting its gas contracts with Western Europe.  It's Europe's fault that exports through the Nord Stream pipeline are halted for safety reasons, because sanctions prevent repairing a faulty compressor.  Mr. Putin's Gazprom cronies cheerfully pipe up to say the second Nord Stream pipeline could quickly fill the gap if Germany's government, by its own action, had not refused to allow it to operate.  Less famous pipelines, including the Yamal that runs through Ukraine, continue to carry Russian gas to Europe with the tolerance of Ukraine's leadership.

Is cheaper titanium worth prolonging the Ukraine war?  Last month, Fortune reported good news: 1,000 companies had followed through on their divestiture of business in Russia.  Combined with the West's government sanctions, these companies' courage to do the right thing is having "a crushing impact on Russia's wilting economy," according to Fortune.  But a few companies haven't followed their conglomerate brothers and sisters.  Each of them is putting short-term gain over long-term loss — earning dollars now with Russia but losing the trust of dozens of other nations in the process.  This short-sighted approach may cost no company more than Airbus.  The world's largest aerospace company is primarily a government contractor, heavily reliant on good relations with businesses, government officials, and politicians around the world.  This means keeping everyone happy — not putting one country over the rest.

Who Gains from Ukraine?  The recent meeting of the G-7 demonstrated a triumph of zeal over the members' self-interest.  The seven were overwhelmed with a host of crises; inflation, energy, climate change, impending food shortage, and Ukraine offered no solution to any of the problems.  Speaking of Ukraine, they agreed to impose the 7th round of sanctions and promised to keep the war going as long as it takes. [...] Despite their differences, Zelensky and Putin converge on one crucial aspect:  neither wants to end this war.  Ukraine earned the title of the most corrupt country in Europe for a reason.  Since winning independence, corruption has been the predominant pursuit of Ukraine.  Zelensky and his cabinet are not motivated by the stability and integrity of Ukraine.  Instead, they are motivated by billions in financial aid.  Between 2014 and 2020, Ukraine received more than $22.4 billion in and economic aid.  Much of this enormous financial assistance was simply stolen by the commercial, military, and political elites.

The Hunger Weapon.  Timothy Snyder, Levin Professor of History at Yale, describes what he sees as the Kremlin's plan to drive the Third World poor into Western countries to break European support for Ukraine.  "Russia has a hunger plan.  Vladimir Putin is preparing to starve much of the developing world as the next stage in his war in Europe.  In normal times, Ukraine is a leading exporter of foodstuffs.  A Russian naval blockade now prevents Ukraine from exporting grain.If the Russian blockade continues, tens of millions of tons of food will rot in silos, and tens of millions of people in Africa and Asia will starve.

The CIA is running Ukraine's fight against Russia.  A report published earlier this week provides fresh evidence that the U.S. Deep State is heavily invested in Ukraine and is going all-out to prevent the country from falling into Russian hands.  Readers likely recall that despite the fact that the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) knew months in advance that Russia was building up its forces around Ukraine in preparation for an invasion, Washington and Brussels appeared to do little to shore up Kyiv's defenses.  Once Russia sent its forces into Ukraine on Feb. 24, most outside observers figured that the Red Army would make quick work of the lesser-armed and overmatched Ukrainian army.

Great news:  Merrick Garland [is] ready to enforce the law ... in Ukraine.  Here in the US, we have ongoing violations of federal law in a coordinated campaign of intimidation targeting Supreme Court justices.  A domestic terrorist group has already conducted attacks on pro-life centers and promises even more of them.  The Department of Justice and the Attorney General have remained on the sidelines as those crimes have unfolded.  Instead of dealing with federal matters within his jurisdiction, Merrick Garland has decided to spend some time in Ukraine to mull over US action on war crimes instead.  Maybe Garland should have visited the neighborhoods of the justices first, eh?

'It Became Necessary to Destroy the Country to Save It'.  Peter Arnett's celebrated quote — "It became necessary to destroy the town to save it" — was a fabrication during the Vietnam War but has a macabre application to Ukraine.  American fecklessness and Russian rapacity together will leave a grease spot where Ukraine used to be.  It was all tragically, idiotically unnecessary. [...] The obvious course of action in Ukraine was to permit its people to vote for a divorce, as the Czechs and Slovaks did.  Instead we elected to keep the NATO option open for Ukraine, knowing that this was a red line for Russia.  Never mind that Putin is a wicked fellow; he is a predictably wicked fellow with a well-defined understanding of Russian national interest, and his response to Ukraine's prospective NATO membership was entirely predictable.

This War is a Propaganda Campaign Wrapped in a Psyop.  The country with the worst elections in the western world, whose government intervenes in foreign elections more than any other government on earth, is waging a dangerous proxy war to save democracy in Ukraine, a nation which is not a democracy by any reasonable definition.  Anyone who trusts any government is a fool.  Anyone who trusts the world's most powerful government is a damn fool.  Anyone who trusts the world's most powerful government while it runs massive propaganda ops for a dangerous proxy war should be forbidden to use the grown-up scissors.  It's impossible to overstate how completely blanketed by propaganda distortion the Ukraine war is.

Is it Compassion Or Kickbacks Driving Joe Biden's 'Stand for Ukraine'?  This April 17 ABC News photo of a man petting a frightened dog with its paws wrapped around his leg beside the ruins of a home damaged by strikes amid Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, speaks ever so loudly of the tragedy of war.  Wars — no matter where they happen — always claim the lives of innocent victims on both warring sides.  Yet we have countless arm chair critics from thousands of miles away virtue signalling in claiming to "stand with Ukraine" and purveyors of propaganda dominating the headlines in the Fake News of our day.

Prisoners of Our Own Device.  World leaders are acting like trapped men.  Vladimir Putin, having begun what many would consider an ill-conceived invasion of neighboring Ukraine, is speeding down a road he probably realizes ends in disaster.  Yet he cannot stop or exit on terms consistent with the basis of his power because any deals with Kyiv, except accepting its surrender, would be a sign of weakness.  Since Russia lacks the material strength to compel submission, the only alternatives are to keep pulling the same ineffective levers harder, whatever the cost.  The casualties mount even at the center.  Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu, already rumored to be in disgrace, has allegedly suffered a heart attack.  Up to 150 senior Chekists are reputed to be under arrest or in disgrace.  Twenty general officers are reputedly under investigation, including some close to Putin himself.  While these reports may be exaggerated, the Kremlin has clearly chained itself to a runaway train.

What Really Happened in Ukraine in 2014 and Since Then.  Pundits skeptical of or even hostile to Ukraine's cause in its defensive war against Russia have different reasons, or rationalizations, for their views and hail from different points on the political spectrum.  But there is one belief that unites nearly all of them: the conviction that Ukraine is not a democracy fighting for its survival but an American "Deep State" project, with a regime installed by a 2014 coup that was led by Ukrainian far-right extremists and backed or even engineered by the U.S. State Department.

Russia is a fake power.  Numerous analysts have focused on Moscow's campaign of disinformation to undermine the West, but they have barely noticed that the most important subject of disinformation is Russia itself.  Moscow has a long record of deceiving Westerners and depicting its empire as invincible.  In a previous imperial incarnation, Soviet communism and socialist internationalism were supposed to ensure salvation for all humanity.  Until, that is, they were exposed as a fraud.  Today's Russia has created an image of great power status, economic strength, and military power that is rapidly unraveling in Ukraine.  This is revealing that the Russian state structure itself stands on rotting foundations.

Biden's Lack Of Any Strategy For Ukraine Shows He's Got None For U.S. National Security Either.  The White House said this week it plans to release up to 180 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves, a million barrels a day for 180 days, to help bring down near-record gas prices that were climbing before Russia's invasion of Ukraine but have since spiked.  It will be the largest release of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve since it was established in the early 1970s, and it probably won't work.  The specific reasons it probably won't work — congestion on the Gulf Coast, a possible reduction in supply from Saudi Arabia and other oil producers, the fact that 180 million barrels over the next six months isn't enough to offset the loss of Russian oil exports — are not as important as what the announcement tells us about the Biden administration's plan for Ukraine and how it fits into an overarching national security strategy for the United States.

The Unexpectedly Long War.  It was a tale of two blunders.  Both Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin made the mistake of believing that the Russian army could conquer Ukraine in two days.  The New York Times wrote in perplexity, "In Afghanistan, intelligence agencies had predicted the government and its forces could hold on for at least six months after the U.S. withdrawal.  In Ukraine, intelligence officials thought the Russian army would take Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, in two days.  Both estimates proved wrong." [...] Had Ukraine fallen quickly as predicted, the world food supply would not have been disrupted to the extent it was, and neither Putin nor Biden would find themselves in their unexpected predicament.  But alas!  The billion-dollar intelligence agencies of both men proved fallible and left everyone adrift on a sea of uncertainty over what happens next when the other second-order effects kick in.  The great powers bought a ticket to ride but still don't know where it goes.

Why all of a sudden did Ukraine become the center of the Universe?  The United States Congress recently offered a standing ovation to Ukrainian President Zelensky.  Without a doubt, his country is virtually treated as the 51st state of the United States.  Yet, the United States government deals with Ukrainian borders exponentially better than America's southern border. [...] [D]uring Obama's presidency, Ukrainians got an offer they could not refuse, and a well-oiled conveyer belt to transfer money from the West to Ukraine and back had begun.  Everybody benefited from the scheme; it was so well known and accepted that even children of many swamp-dwellers in Washington were introduced to it.  Nevertheless, nobody on the receiving and sending ends of the monetary conveyor dared to ask the simple question of who was the brain behind the scenes who orchestrated it.  One possible answer — which could also explain why Ukraine suddenly became so valuable — is that the Russian KGB planned, implemented, and maintained the "Ukrainian" financial conveyor.

Beware of Those Indiscriminately Cheering for Volodymyr Zelenskyy.  To be clear, I'm not questioning American support of the Ukrainian people.  What I'm uneasy with is the blind support of the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as if he's some kind of democracy-loving modern-day "George Washington," as FoxNews' Tucker Carlson called him on a recent episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight.  With just a small amount of research, it's clear Zelenskyy is anything but a democratic leader.  In a true democracy, people are free to express any opinion at any time in public and in private.  They can also speak out against their political leaders and work to remove them from office if they disapprove of the job they're doing.  The "democracy" in Ukraine is not at all free like that.

Anyone Else Starting to Get a Bad Feeling About All This Ukraine Worship?  Two things can be true at the same time:  Ukraine is being mauled by vicious invaders, and globalists are laying the foundation to leverage this crisis that they've been building up for months.  The alacrity with which the establishment has thrown its full weight behind the plucky Ukrainian rebels is setting off all my alarm bells. [...] I know a stampede when I see one.  We're still in the death throes of the last one, COVID-19.  Before that, it was Black Lives Matter.  There was also the dreaded Jan. 6 "Insurrection" and Russian Collusion in there somewhere.  The ruined lives, fraud, wealth transfers, and costly infrastructure from those pushes are still stacked up all around us, but Big Global has such an effective machine in operation at this point that they can keep hitting us with ginned-up crises before we have a chance to clean up the mess from the last ones.

10 Realities of Ukraine.  [#10] It is not "un-American" to point out that prior American appeasement under the Obama and the Biden Administrations explains not why Putin wished to go into Ukraine, but why he felt he could.  It is not "treasonous" to say Ukraine and the United States previously should have stayed out of each other's domestic affairs and politics — but still do not excuse Putin's savage aggression.  It is not traitorous to admit that Russia for centuries relied on buffer states between Europe — lost when its Warsaw Pact satellite members joined NATO after its defeat in the Cold War.  But that reality also does not justify Putin's savage attack.

Why Russia Invaded Ukraine.  [Scroll down]  The war in Ukraine is putting this non-secret plan into effect.  It forces Russia to unite with China, which is the only power big enough to resist the pressure of Western sanctions against Russia.  The burning of the economic bridges with the West makes China the only nation that can absorb the massive amounts of raw materials and grains that Russia produces.  The two countries combined can scramble the post-Cold war economic and political order and create new tensions and shortages.  Some speculate that the forced marriage between China and Russia will lead to a parallel financial system with the yuan as the reserve currency.  The desired realignment will pit the decadent West against the post-communist East.  Two distinct political blocs are forming, which will present the world with two false alternatives:  crumbling liberal democracy or autocratic national socialism.

NATO's Emerging Ukraine Strategy.  For NATO, the calculus is changing.  Russian military might has been exposed as far weaker than thought, and the Ukrainians have shown themselves to be fierce and committed fighters.  This has emboldened western powers to provide a laundry list of armaments and other support to Kyiv.  Even more importantly, the European and American public has now seen two weeks of fighting, suffering, and dying in Ukraine.  While Ukraine was perceived as a far away, dispensable country before the war, it has now become the staple of the nightly news.  The public is growing familiar with the country and, in particular, with the bravery and determination of Ukrainian forces and the suffering of its civilians.

The Real War.  I continue to be somewhat dumbfounded that some conservatives seem to believe that Vladimir Putin is their enemy.  Tucker Carlson last night explained masterfully that the real enemy of the America we grew up in — with its vibrant middle class — is coming from our ruling class.  While the roots of this war on the American middle class run deep, the pace of the rape and pillage of America — morally as well as financially — accelerated in virtually exponential fashion in 2008.

Biden's Russia-Ukraine diplomacy is a debacle.  Far from rallying the free world as its leader in reacting to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, President Biden's diplomatic team has been publicly snubbed and humiliated by even putative allies.  Rather than "restoring respect" for the US, as Biden promised to do, his administration has severely damaged America's standing as a country to be heeded.  You would not know it from the saturation-level media coverage of the ongoing crisis, focused as it is on demonizing Putin for the crime of invading a sovereign neighbor.  But without even so much as defending our own border, much less invading another country, the Biden administration has managed to alienate a large share of the world.  Two serious public rebukes from allies Tuesday are signaling to the world community that America's views and initiatives don't matter as much as they used to barely over a year ago.

AWOL: Where Is the Russian Air Force?  The Russian Air Force (VKS) has procured 350 modern combat aircraft in the last ten years and the question that must be on every Russian's mind in the second week of the Ukraine War is:  What did we get for our money?  Because by all accounts, the Russian Air Force is nearly AWOL from Russia's biggest battles since 1945.  Military researcher Justin Bronk noted on Friday that "the Russian Air Force has yet to commence large-scale operations."  "The continued absence of major air operations," he says, "now raises serious capability questions."  It's also a safe bet that it isn't the Ukraine Air Force preventing the VKS from establishing air superiority over Ukraine.

The End of the Old Normal.  The catastrophe in Ukraine was the outcome of the combined miscalculations of Vladimir Putin and Western politicians.  The Russian leader embarked on a quest to restore his country's historical greatness, while the West endeavored to preserve the Global World as it was.  Both sides were firmly committed to the past, one to the re-establishment of the Soviet Union, the other to the pursuit of an environmentalist fantasy that effectively made Western Europe energy dependent on the Kremlin.  The outbreak of war in Europe showed that living in the past was no longer possible.

Statement On Russian-Ukrainian Crisis by Archbishop Vigano.  If we look at what is happening in Ukraine, without being misled by the gross falsifications of the mainstream media, we realize that respect for each other's rights has been completely ignored; indeed, we have the impression that the Biden Administration, NATO and the European Union deliberately want to maintain a situation of obvious imbalance, precisely to make impossible any attempt at a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis, provoking the Russian Federation to trigger a conflict.  Herein lies the seriousness of the problem.  This is the trap set for both Russia and Ukraine, using both of them to enable the globalist elite to carry out its criminal plan.

A Negotiated Peace — and a Strengthened West — Might Emerge From Ukraine's Ordeal.  Over the past week or so, earth-shaking events appeared to be occurring every day:  the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the dramatic and almost instantaneous determination of Germany to rearm, the imposition of relatively serious sanctions upon Russia and the international condemnation of that country, and the extraordinary bravery of the Ukrainian people and the eloquence, and charismatic leadership qualities, of their president, the formerly somewhat whimsically regarded ex-comedian Volodymyr Zelensky.  There are essentially three possible outcomes to this war: [...]

Here's Your 'Red Pill' Moment for the Russia-Ukraine War.  President Joe Biden and the media desperately want you to believe Russia is the bad guy and Ukraine is a little angel. [...] To get your support, they need the media to sell you a bill of goods.  But it just doesn't add up.  First, Biden is the one who funded Russia's invasion.  Biden killed our pipelines, killed coal and banned drilling, which made us dependent on Russian oil — which made Russia filthy rich and arrogant.  Biden paid for this war.  Second, if Russian President Vladimir Putin is the "bad guy," if Russia is evil, why is Biden continuing to buy billions of dollars of oil from Russia every day?  Does this make sense?  Unless it's pure "commie theatre."  Connect the dots.  Biden is a feeble, feckless old puppet with dementia.  George Soros pulls Biden's strings.  Soros is on the side of Ukraine.  Soros recently said the whole world must support Ukraine.  It's been reported Soros funded Volodymyr Zelenskyy and then installed him as president of Ukraine — one of the most corrupt nations on the earth.

About Those 'Neo-Nazis' in Ukraine...  Russian propaganda efforts have redoubled since Putin launched its aggression against Ukraine a week ago.  Suddenly, a host of stories has appeared in conservative media that try to rally support for Vladimir Putin because he is allegedly fighting Nazis and the New Word Order in Ukraine. [...] We could respond by advising Russia and its advocates to worry about their own neo-Nazi infestation, but since this smear has now become widespread, it is prudent to address it.  The Nazi smear is a twisted but effective technique used by Russian propaganda and our left-wing media in equal abundance.  Russia has been doing it since Stalin made it "a thing."  This smear is effective because its victims try to distance themselves from one another and sometimes join in accusations, hoping others won't think of them as Nazis.  It's also effective because it's extremely dirty.  Trying to debunk it makes one dive deep into repulsive dirt.

Cleanly Washed Russian Brains.  After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the country fell to a state of distress, industry collapsed, people became impoverished and desperate, as lawlessness and chaos ensued in the country.  In the early 2000s, when Putin came to power, he criminalized the government and, with the help of the West, turned Russia into a giant "gas station," that is, into a source of petrodollars.  Using efficient Western technology, oil and gas were pumped out of the ground, while billions of dollars lined the pockets of oligarchs that were close to Putin and other corrupt officials.  Imported food, household appliances, clothes, cars and other goods appeared in stores and life of the Russian population, especially in large cities, improved.  For the two following decades, the country was thriving on petrodollars, manufactured almost nothing but weapons.  Like megalomanic Hitler's obsession with conquering lebensraum for Aryans to populate, megalomaniac Putin was obsessed with the idea of restoring Russia to the borders of the USSR.

Did We Provoke Putin's War in Ukraine?  Whatever we may think of Putin, he is no Stalin.  He has not murdered millions or created a gulag archipelago.  Nor is he "irrational," as some pundits rail.  He does not want a war with us, which would be worse than ruinous to us both.  Putin is a Russian nationalist, patriot, traditionalist and a cold and ruthless realist looking out to preserve Russia as the great and respected power it once was and he believes it can be again.  But it cannot be that if NATO expansion does not stop or if its sister state of Ukraine becomes part of a military alliance whose proudest boast is that it won the Cold War against the nation Putin has served all his life.  President Joe Biden almost hourly promises, "We are not going to war in Ukraine."  Why would he then not readily rule out NATO membership for Ukraine, which would require us to do something Biden himself says we Americans, for our own survival, should never do:  go to war with Russia?

The West's Green Energy Delusions Empowered Putin.  How has Vladimir Putin — a man ruling a country with an economy smaller than that of Texas, with an average life expectancy 10 years lower than that of France — managed to launch an unprovoked full-scale assault on Ukraine?  There is a deep psychological, political and almost civilizational answer to that question:  He wants Ukraine to be part of Russia more than the West wants it to be free.  He is willing to risk tremendous loss of life and treasure to get it.  There are serious limits to how much the U.S. and Europe are willing to do militarily.  And Putin knows it. [...] Putin knows that Europe produces 3.6 million barrels of oil a day but uses 15 million barrels of oil a day.  Putin knows that Europe produces 230 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year but uses 560 billion cubic meters.  He knows that Europe uses 950 million tons of coal a year but produces half that.

The most fascinating thing about the Ukraine war.  [Thread Reader] ... is the sheer number of top strategic thinkers who warned for years that it was coming if we continued down the same path.  No one listened to them and here we are.

'Madman Putin': The Globalists' Misinformation Play.  Ever since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the western public has been carpet bombed with the claim that Russian president Vladimir Putin is some sort of unhinged madman.  This notion is being feverishly spread by the establishment and those in its pay: the political class, the media and the commentariat, career diplomats and technocrats as well as those connected to the security and intelligence communities.  The most remarkable thing about the Mad Vlad claim is that it is obviously false.  Whatever Vladimir Putin may be, he is certainly no irrational madman.  This much should be obvious to everyone with the eyes to see.

Ukraine Crushes Three Great Myths About Russia.  The world has been fundamentally changed by Ukraine.  This is true, although nearly all Western coverage has been scaredy-cat and daft.  Russia expected to waltz in to Ukraine.  It didn't.  Russian forces have failed in all their objectives.  A thousand Russian soldiers die each day of the assault.  In the four days prior to this writing, 4,000 have died.  This is twice the number of American deaths in Afghanistan over twenty years.  (And no, Kyiv was never surrounded, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lives.  Indeed, the airport near Kyiv was retaken by local Ukrainian forces; in essence state-level reservists, who retook the airport from Russian elite troops.)  What this means is that the myth of Russian might has been broken for all time.  It doesn't matter if the war isn't over.  This is evident from the last four days.  And there really are no reserves to be thrown in.  They would have been thrown in already.

Are Covid And Ukraine Unrelated?  Don't Look Now, The Truth Might Come Out.  Ukraine is a manageable localized problem in a distant part of the world and Russia is going to manage it.  The American crisis of confidence in its own operating system is something else.  Did "Joe Biden's" handlers actually want to start World War Three?  They are the same posse who contrived the Russian Collusion hysteria of 2016-19, then launched Covid-19 — and the even more deadly mass "vaccination" response to it — and have now successfully goaded Russia into cleaning up the international hub of grift and mischief known as Ukraine.  One thing established for sure as fact: the "Joe Biden" family received plenty of cash off that grift wagon, and those "handlers" have neatly ring-fenced it from official scrutiny.  Where does that leave the so-called president of the US in the current crisis?

Russia has Forgotten the Hard Lessons it Learned Invading Finland.  Russia learned some hard lessons when it invaded Finland in November 1939.  Today in Ukraine, it's become clear that those lessons didn't "stick," at least not among Russia's decision-makers.  In the winter of 1939, Russia — having just conquered half of Poland after Germany had already knocked that country out of the war — decided that war was good business.  So they invaded Finland.  In Poland, the Soviets re-took land that had been under the control of Czarist Russia for two centuries before it was divided away from Russia at the treaty of Versailles.  Repeating that strategy, on November 30, 1939, Russia attacked Finland, intending to recover land that had also been part of Czarist Russia before Versailles.

Sunday Talks, Psaki Gives Away the Ukraine Game — Russia Is Needed As Fall Guy for Biden Energy Policy and Economic Damage.  During an ABC interview today [2/27/2022], White House Spokesperson Jennifer Psaki gave away the game for the Biden Administration's intent on exploiting the Russia-Ukraine crisis.  Keep in mind, as the Biden team were getting pummeled for negative economic outcomes, massive inflation, skyrocketing energy costs and gas prices set to double, the White House worked to create an urgent defense by manufacturing the crisis.  While Joe Biden ate his pudding, the people behind the scenes told Zelenskyy and Putin that Ukraine was about to enter NATO (December 2021).  The White House then seeded details through China knowing the intel would get back to Putin.  Russia took the bait and intervened.  The collective left (far more western leader beneficiaries on a global scale) now have a quick and strategic pivot point to go from COVID-19 as the excuse for all the economic ills, to Russia.

High Fossil Fuel Prices From Russian Invasion Conveniently Support Globalists' Climate Change Dreams.  There are no such things as coincidences in the world of politics.  Did Covid and BLM anarchy just happen to coincide with Trump's reelection year?  Did JFK and reporter Dorothy Kilgallen just happen to die after running afoul with the mob?  Add this next question to the list:  Did Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which is leading to catastrophic gas and oil prices, just happen to make desired climate change policies a sudden reality?  While the rest of the world is devolving into a left-right political debate over who supports whom, my initial response was the frightening reality that driving cars, heating homes, and growing crops was about to get a lot more expensive.

Russian invasion exposes US weakness, green lights Red China.  As Russia rolls over Ukraine with the only Western response being increased sanctions, the question arises:  Is this the beginning of a new world order, where nations may invade with impunity?  More specifically:  Will Washington and its allies react any differently if the next aggressor is China, and the next target Taiwan?  Like Ukraine, Taiwan is a US security partner not protected by any formal treaty.  The Taiwan Relations Act requires the Pentagon to support Taiwan's efforts to protect itself but does not mandate the US military defend Taiwan if it comes under attack.

The Collapsing Covid Narrative is Being Replaced with Putin and Ukraine.  The Covid-19 crisis was a government-imposed disaster from beginning to the end.  The virus — which was created by the Chinese state in cooperation with Dr Fauci and his friends — either escaped or was released from the biolab in Wuhan.  The Ukrainian crisis is likewise a government induced disaster.  The feckless Joe Biden, Antony Blinken and their globalist cronies provoked Putin by pushing the idea of NATO at the doorstep of Russia.  This was as unacceptable to the Russians in the same way that Mexico entering the Warsaw Pact would be unacceptable to the United States.  Putin asked for assurances that there will be no more NATO's countries on the Russian border.  This was not an unreasonable request, but they told him to go home and pound sand.  We should not be surprised at Putin's anger.  If he overreacts, the ensuing catastrophe will have been sparked by the provocateurs who were needlessly poking the Russian bear in the eye.  Both Covid and Russia are false narratives.

Putin may have overplayed his hand by invading Ukraine, experts say: 'Massive miscalculation'.  President Vladimir Putin may have overplayed his hand by invading Ukraine as opposition to the war grows in Russia, experts told Fox News Digital.  "This is a massive miscalculation," said University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor Yoshiko Herrera, who is an expert on U.S-Russian relations.  "This action yesterday was just another level of crazy.  It's a ruination of Russia for decades, so damaging for Ukraine and so costly all around."

Slow Boiling the Western Alliance Like a Frog.  Fears over over Vladimir Putin's threatened invasion of Ukraine continue to grow despite the fact that the effort would burst both Russia's military and economy, not to mention ruining its foreign relations. [...] Yet it is not only the Kremlin's behavior that has a bizarre feel to it.  Despite decrying the seriousness of the situation, Western governments aren't obviously readying for a European conflict.  Instead they are focusing on masks, mandates and invoking war powers to force truckers to comply with soon to be abolished Covid vaccine requirements.  One would think the southern border would be secured, oil stockpiled, and STEM not CRT taught in reopened schools.  But none of this is happening.

Putin is Playing Biden like a Fiddle.  Vlad Putin, the evil though very calculating chief oligarch of the shriveled nation of Russia (when stacked against its predecessor, the Soviet Union), is playing chess over the fate of Ukraine, while our figurehead president and his gaggle of administration mediocrities (here being charitable) and Pentagon toadies play checkers.  I'll venture this wager — though with modest reservations:  Putin will bring Ukraine into his orbit without sending his troops en masse into said country.  On Monday, Putin recognized Russian-dominated regions of Ukraine, followed by a minor incursion of "peacekeepers," traveling by bus, not APC.  Putin doesn't need a full-scale invasion, I believe, because his approach is strategic.  His eye is on the prize:  take Ukraine in some shape or form (as he took parts on Monday).  He's open to the means, no doubt, and if an invasion — likely surgical in nature — is his only route to achieve his ends, he'll take the gamble.  The U.S. declared that it won't send troops to defend Ukraine.

Well, now we've done it — we've angered the CIA.  The officials said Zero Hedge, which has 1.2 million Twitter followers, published articles created by Moscow-controlled media that were then shared by outlets and people unaware of their nexus to Russian intelligence."  Well, now we've done it — we've angered the CIA, and for what?  For publishing views that challenge the conventional narrative, such as disputing that an invasion of Ukraine is actually "imminent" as the US State Department and its mainstream media conduits repeat day after day, or that the Covid virus was actually created in a Chinese lab, a view which has gained substantial prominence in recent months after it emerged that none other than the UK's Jeremy Farrar (also known as the UK's Doctor Fauci) played a pivotal role in stifling suggestions that this new virus might have come from a laboratory rather than emerged through natural zoonotic transmission from animals.  Of course, there is no actual accusation that Zero Hedge works directly with anyone tied to Russia or its intelligence apparatus — as the AP admits [...]

Six Takeaways From The Ongoing Ukraine Crisis.  The left's storyline on Trump and Russia never held water, which is why so many of us were frustrated by the whole affair.  From the beginning, there was zero evidence to support the Russia Hoax, despite claims by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and the hopes and wishes of the mainstream media.  President Trump applied far more pressure on Putin and Russia via various sanctions than the Obama Administration, and now we have the Biden Administration practically inviting Putin to launch a "minor incursion" into their neighbor's sovereign land.  The left told us that Trump was a "Russian cat's paw," and once in office Trump was going to allow Putin to do whatever he wanted.  But that never happened because it was never true.  Vladimir Putin had four years with Trump in office to try and pull the type of stunt he's currently pulling in Ukraine, but he didn't.  Putin was, in fact, relatively well-behaved during Trump's presidency.  But with Biden in office, Putin started to amass troops along the border less than three months after the inauguration.  Putin correctly recognized that there's a new sheriff in town, and there's no reason for him to fear that sheriff.

Why a War Over Ukraine is Unlikely.  The whole world is waiting nervously for developments in Ukraine.  Masses of Russian soldiers are engaged in "military exercises" near the Ukrainian border.  "Siberian regiments" are being redeployed from the Far Eastern districts, just as they were sent to defend Moscow in 1941.  Russian propaganda stirs up the local population with a patriotic fervor, blaming Ukraine and the collective West for the heat of the international situation.  The Ukrainian army, one of the strongest in Europe, is preparing to fight back, and the United States is planning to send eighty-five hundred soldiers to help the NATO countries in Europe.

Biden's Ukraine Scramble.  It is not surprising or even discreditable that the Russian leadership does not consider the sudden secession of all of the Soviet republics except Russia to be the last word on the subject.  Ukraine itself is naturally in the midst of a crisis of national identity.  Approximately 17 percent of its population of about 40 million is Russian and speaks Russian and is largely concentrated near Ukraine's border with Russia.  Since it has been an independent country, insofar as the Ukrainian elections may be judged to be fair, they have tended to oscillate between those seeking absolute independence of Russia and those seeking intimate association with Russia.  It is not unreasonable for Russia to have reservations about the complete sovereign independence of Ukraine; nor is it unreasonable for the West to consider Russian pretensions to having a right of veto over which countries may join NATO to be intolerable.

Will Biden's Christmas Present To America Be World War III?  Putin, Russia's "president," has had Ukraine on his brain for some time.  The West, with good reason, fears he will invade the former Soviet satellite, which wants to be a part of the NATO defense alliance rather than lose its independence to Moscow.  A source we trust says it could happen during the holidays, or soon thereafter, while our attention is on other matters.  Should Putin storm into Ukraine, we asked, what then will Chinese President Xi Jinping do — invade Taiwan, the island nation of the Republic of China where nationalists fleeing Mao's communist sword established the new capital in 1949?  We didn't like the answer, yet we knew it was coming.  Xi will take advantage of the distraction and make an assault on Taiwan.  We didn't ask what could happen next, because we didn't want to hear the answer.  But we can't hide from the fact:  The Middle East just might blow up, with Arab nations attacking Israel, at one time America's only ally in the region and always a reliable supporter at the United Nations and in international diplomacy.  Then, World War III.

About that New York Times Story Concerning the "Online Leak" of U.S. Ukraine and Geopolitical Plans.  First, the story surfaces from the New York Times.  What does that tell us?  It tells us the stakeholders in a background narrative surrounding the issue as constructed are domestic intelligence interests.  If there was a State Dept stakeholder interest, the story would have been presented by CNN.  If there was a U.S. foreign intelligence operation stakeholder interest, the story would have surfaced in the Washington Post.  The story surfaces in the New York Times, indicating a U.S. domestic intelligence interest; and the story is sourced directly to the White House via "senior Biden administration officials."  What does that mean?  It means the narrative that flows from the story has a direction to shape opinion from the perspective of U.S. government domestic public relations.  It means the narrative is intended to sway a domestic audience with a motive toward something else.  Secondly, and in full alignment with the first point, the centerpiece of the story is focused on a leak that surfaces in "social media."  This fits perfectly with the domestic intelligence stakeholders (DHS, National Security Council, etc).  We know domestic intelligence operates in the backbone of social media platforms.  An example is DHS and domestic Intelligence Community (IC) work as outlined in the Twitter files.

Senate Rejects Amendment Reasserting Something Already in the Constitution.  While Russia's war against Ukraine rages on and new countries seek to join NATO in response to the Kremlin's aggression, the U.S. Senate voted down an amendment offered by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Wednesday that would have reasserted Congress' power — not NATO's — to start a war involving the United States.  Sen. Paul introduced the amendment to the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to make it clear that "[i]t is the sense of Congress that Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty does not supersede the constitutional requirement that Congress declare war before the United States engages in war."  By a vote of 16-83, the Senate rejected the amendment to reassert something already outlined in the U.S. Constitution all senators swore an oath to uphold.

Video Shows Ukrainian Soldiers Murdering Fellow Civilians, Hiding Car and Bodies in the Woods.  Ukrainian unit ambushes and kills civilians then hides the victims' car and drives off.  This was clearly marked as civilian!  [Video clip]

Biden orders 3,000 reservists to be ready for Europe deployments.  President Joe Biden has authorized the military to call up 3,000 reserve troops to support operations in Europe after tens of thousands were sent there last year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a top general said Thursday.  Although it is not clear whether Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin plans to actually deploy these reservists anytime soon, the move suggests that the U.S. military's training mission in Europe, along with the deployment of several new brigades after the invasion, has stretched active-duty forces.

Biden Authorizes Military to Call Reservists to Active Duty to Support Ukraine War.  President Joe Biden on Thursday issued an executive order authorizing the Pentagon to call reservists to active duty "for the effective conduct" of U.S. military support to Ukraine.  At the same time, the Pentagon designated the U.S. military support to Ukraine since 2014 under Operation Atlantic Resolve a "contingency operation." [...] Biden said in the message that he authorized the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard, to order to active duty any units or individuals not assigned to a unit.

Biden to send thousands of cluster bombs to Ukraine despite them being against US law and banned in 120 countries.  The US has decided to send cluster munitions to Ukraine to help its military push back Russian forces entrenched along the front lines - despite the ex-White House press secretary saying last year that Russia's use of the bombs was a 'war crime'.  The Biden administration has been weighing up a decision on sending the munitions since December, and is expected to announce on Friday it will send thousands of them as part of a new military aid package worth $800million.  Cluster munitions explode and disperse a series of smaller bombs over a wide area, often killing civilians.  More than 120 nations have signed a 15-year-old treaty banning their use, but Ukraine and Russia have both deployed them, and Ukraine's supplies of all types of ammunition are dwindling.

Biden Wants to Give Ukraine Cluster Bombs, Banned by Most Nations.  The Biden regime is reportedly pressing Congress to supply the Ukrainian military with cluster bombs, banned by most countries for their tendency to leave areas covered in unexploded submunitions that kill and maim for years to come.  Deputy national security adviser Jon Finer is leading the efforts to soften lawmakers to the idea, as the West struggles to keep up with Ukraine's demands for ordnance.  U.S. allies including Britain, France, Germany, Australia, and Canada have all banned the use of cluster bombs, with 123 states worldwide adopting a United Nations' convention outlawing the "abhorrent weapons".  Joe Biden's former boss, Barack Obama, also voted in favor of limiting their use as a Senator.

How the Collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX Connects to Ukraine, Covid Mandates, the WEF and Dodgy Democratic Party Election Funding.  The collapse of crypto exchange FTX, and its CEO and co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried's subsequent loss of unaccounted for billions, is a graver scandal than corporatist media would care to admit.  The story connects directly to the World Economic Forum (WEF), the Great Reset, the war in Ukraine, the US Democratic Party under Biden, and incredibly suspicious allegations of election money laundering.  To begin, it is important to note the context in which the FTX collapse came.  [Tweet]  And just like that, Zelensky is now prepared to talk peace. [...] In the case of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried, when you follow the money you end up in Ukraine.  This is because FTX was partnered with the Ukrainian government, the WEF and the Biden administration:  [Tweet]

Head Of Ukraine's Supreme Court Detained For Corruption, Alleged Bribery Scheme.  The head of Ukraine's Supreme Court was detained by anti-corruption authorities due to alleged involvement in a bribery scheme, a prosecutor said Tuesday.  Vsevolod Kniaziev, President of Ukraine's Supreme Court, is suspected of taking a $2.7 million bribe, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said in a statement.  Anti-corruption prosecutor Oleksandr Omelchenko did not name Kniaziev specifically, but referenced the head of the Supreme Court when laying out the investigation.  [Tweet]  "At this time, the head of the supreme court has been detained and measures are being taken to check other individuals for involvement in criminal activity," Omelchenko said.  NABU shared a photo Monday of a couch with stacks of cash on it in an announcement that it was investigating wide-ranging corruption in the Supreme Court system.

Russia: How dare the country we invaded attack our capital?  The Putin regime calls this a "terrorist" act.  That's a funny way to describe an alleged attempt to attack the military offices in the capital of a country that invaded the country of the supposed "terrorists."  An alleged drone attack on the Kremlin by Ukrainian forces would be an act of war — a war that Russia started, and from which it is hardly immune.  That is, if it happened at all:  ["]Russian authorities accused Ukraine on Wednesday of attempting to attack the Kremlin with two drones overnight.  The Kremlin decried the alleged attack attempt as a 'terrorist act' and said Russian military and security forces disabled the drones before they could strike.  In a statement carried by Russian state-run news agencies, it said no casualties took place.["]

The Russian Military Stumbles in Ukraine.  I have been following the war almost on a daily basis since it started and it is sometimes hard to discern what is Russian and Ukrainian believable propaganda and what is not, but I am most shocked by some of the videos of Russian soldiers complaining about the military and how badly they are being treated by their commanders and by the corrupt military bureaucracy.  Also, some of the intercepted cellphone calls by soldiers with their wives and acquaintances are hard to believe but probably true in many cases since they were peppered with abundant Russian profanities.  Many if not most of the soldiers are under contractual agreements, many are not being paid, contracts are not terminated as written, and many wives back in Russia are not paid compensation when husbands or offspring are killed or missing in action since their deaths are almost never recorded.

Photos Place Russian Submarine Rescue Vehicle and Mini Sub Near Nord Stream Explosion.  On September 26, 2022, Russian-owned Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were hit by major explosions that put both pipelines out of operation.  I use the term "operation," advisedly because, due to the diplomacy surrounding Putin's War in Ukraine, both pipelines had been shut down.  It became quickly apparent that the cause of the explosions was sabotage. [...] The obvious question was, who did it?  Four suspects emerged:  the United States, Ukraine, an undetermined party probably involving Poland, and Russia.

Where is all of America's ammunition?  It's been known for some time now that America's reserve of munitions has been severely depleted by the ongoing war in Ukraine.  Our NATO allies in Europe aren't doing much better.  Concerns have been raised as to whether or not we would still have enough ammunition to support a sustained combat effort if we had to defend Taiwan against China or meet any other military threat.  This is particularly true of our supply of 155mm howitzer shells, which the Ukrainian forces use in vast numbers every day.  So why aren't we catching up on the domestic production of these rounds?  As it turns out, we currently have only two plants capable of producing these shells and they are unable to expand production very much at this point.

The developing trench war in Ukraine.  Except for some gains in the south, the Russians have moved that frontline almost not at all.  In the south they are on the verge of taking the city of Bakhmut, but that effort has devolved into a street-battle, where the Ukrainians are forcing the Russians to fight for every block and building, at great cost, because the Russians failed in their two pincer advances to the north and south to surround the city and force the Ukrainians to quickly abandon it.  Instead, the Ukrainians, secure in the ability to escape when necessary, have been able show strong resistance, even if they cannot in the end hold the city.  Meanwhile, the Russians will eventually take it, but all they will get is a destroyed hulk, with no tactically or strategic value for the larger war effort, and will have done so with large losses in men and material.

Tucker Carlson says the US is in a direct war with Russia — and the Pentagon is trying to hide it.  Tucker Carlson appeared on his show Thursday night, discussing the notion that the conflict in Ukraine is really a war between the US and Russia.  Recent leaked documents from the Pentagon suggest that the US actively has troops on the ground in Ukraine, directly fighting against Russian soldiers.  Carlson said: "The slides show that this is not Ukraine's war.  It's our war.  The United States is a direct combatant in a war against Russia.  As we speak, American soldiers are fighting Russian soldiers.  So this is not a regional conflict in Eastern Europe.  This is a hot war between the two primary nuclear superpowers on Earth."  [Video clip]  However, the US has not officially declared war on Russia.  Carlson noted that because this war has "not been authorized by Congress," it is "a violation of American law."  In other words, what the US is currently doing in Ukraine is a criminal offense.  And perhaps the only way the American people would have known that the US is committing crimes overseas is by having the leaked documents released to the public.

Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Facing 15 Years in Prison For Leaking the Truth About Ukraine War.  On Fox News Thursday evening [4/13/2023], host Tucker Carlson hailed Teixeira as a whistleblower whose actions revealed hard truths to a nation that is continually told lies.  For the past 14 months, Carlson noted, the U.S. public has been told two particular lies: One, that the war in Ukraine is a war of national sovereignty, not a proxy battle between superpowers, and two, that Ukraine is winning that war.  "The United States is a direct combatant in a war against Russia," he said in his opening monologue.  "As we speak, American soldiers are fighting Russian soldiers so this is not a regional conflict in Eastern Europe."

Former CIA Officer Larry Johnson: This Is A Controlled Leak To Prepare The Public For "Crash Landing" Of U.S. Foreign Policy.  Former CIA officer Larry Johnson, who did presidential daily briefings during the George H.W. Bush administration, told "Judging Freedom" host Andrew Napolitano that he thinks the latest leak of Ukraine War documents is an inside job.  About the source, he said: "I'd put it above the CIA.  This is elements connected to the Director of National Intelligence... There's no way that some National Guardsman doing [temporary duty] at Fort Bragg would have access to that."  "The information was leaked for [a purpose], to prepare the U.S. public for the crash landing that's going to take place with respect to U.S. foreign policy," he said.  "The documents are real.  I'm not saying the documents are fabrications, they are not.  But this cover story that's been manufactured to explain how these documents came to be produced, it just falls apart... This thing is too tidy a package, this has been wrapped up nice and neatly, this is like an episode of 'Law And Order.'"

The 21 Year Old Leaker — Something Is Not Right.  The media obsession in vilifying Jack Texeira for "leaking" TOP SECRET and SECRET documents and judging him guilty without any benefit of doubt, is just another symptom of the authoritarian fever that grips many inhabitants of the United States.  Forget the first amendment.  Stay in the dark and trust the Government to tell you what you need to know.  Before you join the mob eager to lynch the poor kid, let me share what some of my friends who are veterans of the CIA and the Air Force have said about this affair in the past few days.  Both men say that the story and alleged facts smell to high heaven.

Everything You Need to Know About the Alleged Pentagon Leaks.  The FBI arrested alleged Pentagon leaker Jack Douglas Teixeira on Thursday [4/13/2023], closing the first chapter of an ongoing story that still has many questions to answer — including whether the classified documents Teixeira posted online are accurate or not and how he came to possess them. [...] How did he get so much sensitive information?  This is perhaps the biggest lingering question of the Teixeira story.  If the documents are not all fakes, then how did a young, low-ranking member of the Air National Guard get access to them?  [A website called] Bellingcat noted that once Teixeira began sharing images of the classified material, they appeared to be photos of hard-copy documents, not scans or computer-generated images.

Spare us the outrage theatrics on the Pentagon leaker, Merrick Garland.  In what has to be the most laughable statement of the week, Attorney General Merrick Garland vowed to get tough, make an example of, and send a message in the wake of the arrest of Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, who's accused of spreading some of America's most vital classified secrets on the web, which ended up on enemy social media sites. [...] Could this be a set up for the immature kid to take the fall and the Biden administration to intone about the threat of rightwingers to U.S. secrets?  Could it be a setup for the immature kid to take the fall and the deep state to cover up its fingerprints in what could be a planned coup against Biden?  Could be a number of things, and Garland's sudden concern about the spreading of state secrets is a definitely red flag of something going on.

South Korea to lend 500,000 rounds of artillery shells to US - report.  South Korea has reached an agreement to lend the United States 500,000 rounds of 155mm artillery shells that could give Washington greater flexibility to supply Ukraine with ammunition, a South Korean newspaper reported on Wednesday.  The DongA Ilbo newspaper cited unidentified government sources as saying South Korea decided to "lend" the ammunition instead of selling, to minimise the possibility of South Korean shells being used in the Ukraine conflict.

The Crackdown Cometh.  The New York Times summarized key points in the secret defense documents, which among other things suggested "Ukrainian forces are in more dire straits than their government has acknowledged publicly."  Reading what's out there, it's not easy to parse what's a legitimate intelligence concern in reaction to these leaks and what's mere embarrassment at having been caught lying, to the public, to would-be U.S. allies the documents show we've been spying on, etc.  You'll read a lot in the coming days about the dangers of apps like Discord, or of online gaming groups, which counterintelligence officials told the Washington Post today are a "magnet for spies."  The Leaker tale will also surely be framed as reason to pass the RESTRICT Act, the wet dream of creepazoid Virginia Senator Mark Warner, which would give government wide latitude to crack down on "communication technology" creating "undue or unacceptable risk" to national security.  The intelligence community has itself been massively interfering in domestic news using illegal leaks for years.

A Low-Level Leak.  The worst security breach in many years occurred earlier this year, as top secret documents apparently taken from a high-level intelligence briefing were posted on a sort of group chat and went viral from there. [...] Likely this reflects the general degradation of our military and intelligence branches, as wokism has replaced national security as a guiding principle.  I suspect, too, that the wanton over-classification of information and documents that has prevailed for a long time may be a factor.  It seems that just about every piece of paper produced by our government — and there are a great many of them — is confidential, while lots of them are secret and an astonishing number, mostly boring and irrelevant, are "top secret."  The effect of this over-classification is that "top secret" documents are not limited to a handful of senior officials, but rather, must be shared with a large number of underlings, whose loyalties are entirely unknown, in order for the government to function.  Apparently including junior National Guardsmen.

Big Leak Roundup.  This looks like another Deep State coup in the making, probably spearheaded by the Intel agencies and the Pentagon.  Our position has been that that's what's behind the drip, drip, drip, of revelations about Zhou.  The classified documents and so forth.  The motive behind this coup is that the US is losing its war with Russia — Big Time.  There will be consequences.  There have been a variety of attempts to get the US out of this war — Gen. Milley suggesting negotiations, things of that sort.  None of those attempts have gained traction with the public, which is instead focused on Drag Shows.  Thus far the Neocons have managed to keep the MSM on their side and to bury most of these damaging revelations.  Thus, the attempts to force Zhou have not worked so far.  This current leak ploy looks like the Deep State going nuclear, almost literally, out of sheer desperation.  The desperation shows through in the flimsiness of the cover story that pins the blame on a 21 year old "gun enthusiast" who "worked at a military base."  Some of these documents were internal CIA documents that would never have been available to a "cyber analyst" like Jack Texeira — if they somehow were, the persons responsible are the ones who should be arrested.

Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Facing 15 Years in Prison For Leaking the Truth About Ukraine War.  Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking a trove of classified military intelligence, was charged Friday in federal court with "retention and transmission of national defense information and willful retention of classified documents."  The two criminal charges reportedly carry a maximum of 15 years in prison. [...] According to documents, U.S. special forces have been deployed in the war-zone without the congressional approval required by law.  The documents also suggest that the Ukrainian forces are in "dire straits" with casualties that far outnumber Russian casualties, and without more munitions, "Ukraine's air defense system may soon collapse, which could allow Russia to unleash its air force on Ukrainian troops," according to the New York Times.

The Leak Was the Op — White House and Congress Demand New Powers, Think Restrict Act, in Aftermath of Classified Intel Leaks.  The intel leak is the operation created by the Intelligence Community to support new expanded powers for the Fourth Branch of Government.  It should not be a surprise to discover the institution now leading the charge to give more power for U.S. intel agencies, is [...] The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.  The SSCI is the organizational institution that supports the Fourth Branch of Government, the intelligence branch.  The SSCI previously created a bipartisan Restrict Act, to deal with dangerous information on the internet.  According to SSCI Chairman Mark Warner, 'The Restrict Act' will give more power and authorities to the Executive Branch to deal with internet danger.  Now the SSCI sees the classified intel leaks as evidence for the importance of the Restrict Act.

A Controlled Leak And A 21 Year Old Scape-Goat?  Until I saw the document labeled, CIA Operations Center Intelligence Update, I was inclined to believe that the leaked documents were the work of a frustrated whistleblower.  But I have changed my mind.  This looks like a controlled, directed leak by individuals who manipulated the 21 year old National Guard troop into taking certain documents and posting them on a public server.  The CIA Operations Center Intelligence Update is a document produced by analysts in the Operations Center to be delivered to the regular CIA analysts.  When I worked in the Ops Center I was responsible for monitoring traffic from Latin American posts and flagging items that the analysts in the Latin American Division need to know.  I would write up summary paragraphs just like the ones in the documents leaked on line.  This was an internal CIA document.  It was not broadcast to the other intelligence agencies.  In my 23 years working with U.S. military commands around the world, I never saw a copy of this type of report circulating among those with the highest clearances.  Never.  How did a 21 year old kid get his hands on at least two of these?

The Editor offers his insight and analysis:
 On one hand, a 21-year-old who likes to boast online with his buddies is not the kind of person who should have access to military secrets.  On the other hand, what do the leaked documents show?  From what I've heard, they indicate that the U.S. has soldiers on the ground in Ukraine, fighting directly against the Russian army.  Is that not the opposite of what we were all assured was the case?  If this whistleblower pulled back the curtain to show we're already fighting World War Three, he's a national hero.  He can't be trusted any more, but he's still a hero.  Also he was probably set up by the three-letter spy agencies to justify more extensive domestic surveillance.  Or — OR — perhaps he was set up by those same agencies because the spies can see that if we back Russia into a corner, we're all gonna get nuked — starting with Washington, DC, and that would be bad for business.

US Special Forces in Ukraine at embassy, official confirms, as Pentagon document leak probe heats up.  White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby has revealed to Fox News on Wednesday that there is a "small U.S. military presence" at the American embassy in Ukraine.  Kirby was asked about leaked Pentagon documents suggesting there are U.S. Special Forces operating inside the war-torn country.  "I won't talk to the specifics of numbers and that kind of thing.  But to get to your exact question, there is a small U.S. military presence at the embassy in conjunction with the Defense Attachés office to help us work on accountability of the material that is going in and out of Ukraine," Kirby said, referencing the weapons and other support the U.S. has been sending to Kyiv.  "So they're attached to that embassy and to that the defense attache."

Yeah, next time just send the money.
 U.S. sweating bullets as officials realize they sent too much ammo to Ukraine.  As reports of a munitions shortage increased following rapid withdrawals from American arsenals to supply the war in Ukraine, Defense leaders in testimony before Congress revealed deep concern about the U.S.' ability to sustain a contest with China.  The U.S. has devoted millions of rounds of munitions to Ukraine since Russia invaded more than a year ago, draining U.S. stockpiles and setting off alarm bells in Congress and the White House on the state of America's arsenal in light of higher-than-expected consumption rates in Ukraine.  Senior leaders in the Department of Defense and military service branches, in statements to justify the Pentagon's budget request for the coming year, warned that the U.S. has massive hurdles to overcome to rebuild to the level necessary to counter China, and remains vulnerable in the meantime.

The Editor says...
 Maybe the Army could borrow some ammo from the I.R.S.

Putin purge? 39 top Russians dead by 'suicide'.  It's a particularly deadly time to be on Russian President Putin's bad side — 39 bodies, piled up since war broke out in Ukraine, collectively underscore the point.  Just this month, two former bigshots bit the dust.  Sergey Grishin, a financial fraudster and oligarch who sold Harry and Meghan their Montecito, California, mansion for $14.7 million, perished from sepsis on March 6.  Coincidence or not, this happened after he criticized Russia's invasion of Ukraine.  Virologist Andrey Botikov — who helped develop the controversial Sputnik V Covid vaccine — went in a less subtle manner on March 1: He fell victim to a belt around his neck.  Energy bosses, politicians and outspoken critics are among those who have paid the ultimate price.

NBC Reporter Goes To Crimea, Shocks Viewers By Telling The Truth.  Mainstream media correspondents for major US networks rarely, if ever, report from inside Crimea and certainly are nowhere near Russian-held territory in eastern Ukraine.  However, this week NBC News chief international correspondent Keir Simmons went to Sevastopol, surrounded by a significant Russian military presence given it is home to the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet, and in a live segment admitted that it's not at all realistic Zelensky and Ukrainian forces can ever hope to take Crimea.  This is especially as the "the people there... view themselves as Russian."  Simmons noted that "This is the closest that any US news crew has got to the Russian Black Sea Fleet in many many years."  He explained that "Vladimir Putin will be determined to defend that port — to not have it take it away from him — he may well do pretty much anything to try to achieve that."

Alexander Vindman Secretly Pitching Ukrainian Military for Millions in Defense Contracts.  Documents recently obtained by Human Events show that Alexander Vindman has been pitching the government of Ukraine to obtain lucrative defense contracts.  In August 2022, Vindman, operating as CEO of Trident Support, pitched a deck on a Ukraine Weapons Systems Sustainment Center to address problems with Ukraine's weapons management, namely readiness, repair, and maintenance.  Vindman proposed that for $12 million in initial funding, his company Trident Support would bring support closer to the front lines by providing a logistical midpoint from which equipment could be distributed.

I suspect there's a lot of green paper in his luggage.
 Attorney General Merrick Garland makes unannounced trip to Ukraine.  Attorney General Merrick Garland made an unannounced trip to Ukraine on Friday, according to a Justice Department official, his second trip to the country after Russia invaded a little more than a year ago.  The trip was not announced for security reasons, the official said.  Garland was invited to Lviv by the Ukrainian prosecutor general, the official said, and joined President Volodymyr Zelensky at the "United for Justice Conference."  The official added that Garland "held several meetings and reaffirmed our determination to hold Russia accountable for crimes committed in its unjust and unprovoked invasion against its sovereign neighbor."

Oversight Committee Demands Account of All Economic, Military Aid to Ukraine.  As President Biden boarded a European train destined for Kyiv, back in Washington, Rep. James Comer and his team drafted a long-expected letter.  Standing next to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden pledged Monday that the lifeline of economic and military aid to that nation, support already well in excess of $100 billion, would not slack, and that the United States would stand with Ukraine "as long as it takes."  Comer, the new chair of the House Oversight Committee, delivered a different message to the Biden administration Wednesday: Save your receipts.  All of them.

Ukraine Short On Ammo With Russia Gaining, Despite West's Billions, Stoltenberg Admits.  NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg in a Monday briefing warned that the West is now locked in a race against Russia to get ammunition to the front lines in support of Ukrainian forces.  He specifically affirmed that NATO countries are in a "race of logistics" regarding ammo and arms supplies at a crucial moment of intensified fighting.  This as "Russia seems to have already launched a large-scale offensive in Ukraine... sending in thousands and thousands more troops," Stoltenberg explained.  "It is clear that we are in the race of logistics.  Key capabilities like ammunition... must reach Ukraine before Russia can seize the initiative on the battlefield."  He also described dramatically that "A war of attrition becomes a battle of logistics," while acknowledging that "Yes, we have a challenge.  Yes we have a problem... but we have a strategy to tackle that."  In some ways, his new words are a belated admission that Russia has already seized the initiative.

The short lives of former Russian prisoners used as cannon fodder in Ukraine.  The NY Times interviewed Russian mobilized soldiers who'd been captured by Ukraine along the front lines.  They tell a consistent story of being sent out in waves by Russian commanders and being quickly cut down only to have another wave sent out minutes later. [...] Sergei and his squad were all recruited from Russian prisons by the Wagner group, a mercenary company which had ties to the Kremlin.  They are promised a pardon as well as a job (with Wagner) but the actual work is something like World War I trench warfare.  These untrained "soldiers" are told to crawl or charge Ukrainian positions or be shot for disobeying orders.

Putin's marine brigade of 5,000 men is all but destroyed.  Russia has suffered some of the heaviest military losses in a single battle since the start of the war after elite units repeatedly tried to storm a fortified coal mining town in broad daylight.  Ukrainian officials claim huge numbers of enemy troops have been killed, wounded and captured in failed attempts to seize the Donetsk hamlet of Vuhledar.  They say that one marine brigade of 5,000 men was almost entirely destroyed, for the third time since the Kremlin launched the full-scale invasion nearly a year ago.

US pledges $1 billion more rockets, other arms for Ukraine.  The Biden administration said Monday [8/8/2022] it was shipping its biggest yet direct delivery of weapons to Ukraine as that country prepares for a potentially decisive counteroffensive in the south against Russia, sending $1 billion in rockets, ammunition and other material to Ukraine from Defense Department stockpiles.

Monsanto and BlackRock are buying up Ukraine.  The Ukrainian land reform law, which after 20 years was passed by the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada in 2021, made it possible for international agricultural conglomerates — belonging to the western zone of influence — to buy up large amounts of Ukrainian soil.  At the same time, ordinary people were led to believe that ultimately the opposite was true:  The sponsors of the bill brazenly lied about the alleged protection of Ukrainian farmers and their fertile land.  The international players involved in getting the law passed are agribusiness and biotech giants Cargill, DuPont and Monsanto.  Together, these US companies bought about 17 million hectares in eastern and southern Ukraine.  These are the regions with by far the most fertile soil, not only within Ukraine but even in this world.

BlackRock Plots to Buy Ukraine.  Ukraine has a new Western backer.  It's not a nation-state, or a military contractor.  It's the financial firm BlackRock.  Ukraine announced Wednesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a video teleconference with BlackRock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink.  The pair apparently struck a deal to coordinate investment efforts to rebuild the war-torn nation. [...] It is all rather infuriating:  one can almost guarantee BlackRock is getting paid handsomely by the Ukrainian government for advising on this reconstruction roadmap.  And where is the Ukrainian government currently getting its funding, given its economy is in shambles and war is an expensive undertaking?  The United States government, of course.  By the end of the calendar year, the U.S. will have provided $13 billion in direct budgetary support for Ukraine's government to avoid shortfalls and outright bankruptcy, and President Joe Biden has promised to support Ukraine for "as long as it takes."

Ukraine pushes Putin body-double theory, points out this head feature.  Russian President Vladimir Putin has been deploying body doubles at recent public outings to hide health problems, said a Ukrainian military official who claimed that the decoys have different ears than the strongman.  Ukrainian military intelligence chief Major General Kyrylo Budanov suggested on Ukrainian television this week that Putin's ears looked different across several of the leader's public appearances.  "The picture, let's say, of the ears, is different.  And it's like a fingerprint, each person's ear picture is unique.  It cannot be repeated," he said, according to a Newsweek account of Ukrainian TV.

Officials Reveal Haphazard, Chaotic Way Western Arms Are Being Distributed In Ukraine.  In April the EU's top law enforcement agency Europol warned that smuggling of weapons from the Ukrainian battlefield to the black market outside the warzone had likely already begun.  For five months the West, especially the US and UK, has been pumping more and more weapons into the conflict.  There's also the concern that "criminal gangs" will continue using them long after the war ends.  US defense officials months ago also admitted they had "almost zero" ability to track weapons they hand out to Ukrainian forces.  The Pentagon inspector General also recently admitted this reality on the ground.

Russian missiles hit Ukrainian shopping mall filled with 1,000 civilians.  Scores of civilians were feared killed or wounded in a Russian missile strike Monday on a crowded shopping mall in Ukraine's central city of Kremenchuk, Ukrainian officials said.  At least 13 people were dead and more than 40 wounded by two long-range X-22 missiles fired from Tu-22M3 bombers that flew from Shaykovka airfield in Russia's Kaluga region, said Ukraine's air force command.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Telegram post that the number of victims was 'unimaginable,' citing reports that more than 1,000 civilians were inside at the time of the attack.

Attorney General Merrick Garland Visits Ukraine as U.S. Cities are 'Under Siege' by Criminals.  President Joe Biden's Attorney General Merrick Garland made a surprise visit to Ukraine as major American cities face skyrocketing murder rates and lawlessness.  On the visit Tuesday, Garland met with Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova near the Ukraine-Poland border.  Meanwhile, back in the United States, major cities are continuing to endure a crime wave that includes sky-high murder rates that show no signs of easing up.  Fox News analysis shows five cities, in particular, are on pace to shatter their 2021 murder rates.

U.S. is using intel to fight an info war with Russia, even when the intel isn't rock solid.  It was an attention-grabbing assertion that made headlines around the world:  U.S. officials said they had indications suggesting Russia might be preparing to use chemical agents in Ukraine.  President Joe Biden later said it publicly.  But three U.S. officials told NBC News this week there is no evidence Russia has brought any chemical weapons near Ukraine.  They said the U.S. released the information to deter Russia from using the banned munitions.  It's one of a string of examples of the Biden administration's breaking with recent precedent by deploying declassified intelligence as part of an information war against Russia.  The administration has done so even when the intelligence wasn't rock solid, officials said, to keep Russian President Vladimir Putin off balance.

US Senate Rejects $48 Billion Aid Package For Small Businesses and Restaurants Just Hours After Approving Another $40 Billion for Ukraine.  On Thursday [5/19/2022] — just hours after approving another $40 billion in US taxpayer dollars for Ukraine — the US Senate blocked a bipartisan $48 billion aid package for restaurants, gyms, and other small businesses that have been struggling in Biden's post-lockdown economy.  Presumably, they can't launder that money as easily as shuffling it off to Ukraine, so American business owners get the shaft yet again from its traitorous elected officials.

Ukrainian official says US devising plan to destroy Russia's Black Sea Fleet.  The US is working on a plan "to destroy the Black Sea Fleet" with powerful missiles in order to unblock Ukraine's ports, according to a high-ranking Ukrainian official.  "The effective work of the Ukrainians on warships convinced (the US) to prepare a plan to unblock the ports," Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs adviser Anton Geraschchenko tweeted Friday.  "Deliveries of powerful anti-ship weapons (Harpoon and Naval Strike Missile with a range of 250-300 km) are being discussed."  Geraschchenko's saber-rattling tweet — notably written in Russian — followed an exclusive report by Reuters saying the White House is in the process of putting more advanced missiles in the hands of Ukrainians to defeat Russia's naval blockade.  For the past two months, Ukraine has been unable to ship out grain and other agricultural products because of the blockade, raising the specter of catastrophic food shortages around the world, and especially the developing countries in Africa and Asia.

Captive Russian troops claim commanders kill their own wounded soldiers.  Captured Russian soldiers have accused their commanders of killing their own wounded troops rather than recovering them from the battlefield and sending them for treatment.  In a harrowing account to Ukrainian journalist Volodymyr Zolkin, the young intelligence soldiers described how one lieutenant colonel asked a wounded comrade if he could walk, the Mirror reported.  When the badly injured soldier replied that he could not, the high-ranking officer reportedly shot him — as well as several others — dead.  Another soldier told Zolkin, who has reported about Russian prisoners for Open Media Ukraine, that officers have "finished off their wounded."

Putin's commanders are slaughtering their own wounded soldiers rather than retrieving them from the battlefield for medical treatment.  Russian commanders are slaughtering their own wounded soldiers instead of retrieving them from the battlefield for treatment, Putin's own troops have said.  A lieutenant-colonel was accused of personally shooting dead multiple troops as they lay injured.  It comes as investigations in the horror town of Bucha have revealed 650 civilians were shot rather than hit by shelling in what police say proves they were executed by Russian thugs.  But their barbarity is not directed only towards the Ukrainians, as Russians spoke out about the brutal killings of their own forces within the ranks.  Captured troops recalled one commander asking a soldier if he could walk after suffering an injury, and when the man replied he could not, the officer killed him instantly.

Russia Withdrawing Troops From Ukraine After 'Heavy Losses,' Intelligence Agency Says.  Russia is now withdrawing some of its troops after suffering "heavy losses" in recent days, claimed the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense on Thursday [5/12/2022].  In an update posted on social media, the ministry alleged that "Ukrainian forces are continuing to counterattack to the north of Kharkiv, recapturing several towns and villages towards the Russian border."  "Despite Russia's success in encircling Kharkiv in the initial stages of the conflict, it has reportedly withdrawn units from the region to reorganize and replenish its forces following heavy losses," the agency said, referring to the second-largest city, located in northeastern Ukraine near the Russian border.  But "the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Kharkiv Oblast is a tacit recognition of Russia's inability to capture key Ukrainian cities where they expected limited resistance from the population," the ministry continued.

Russian Frigate Reported on Fire as the Intelligence Community Tries to Convince Us They Know What They Are Doing.  Thursday evening [5/5/2022], there was an unconfirmed report that another Russian surface combatant, the guided-missile frigate Admiral Makarov, was struck by a Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missile.  This is the same type of missile that sank the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the guided-missile cruiser Moskva, last month.

Russia Threatens to Nuke Britain, France, and Germany.  Russia threatened a dramatic escalation of its war in Ukraine Thursday when Russia's Channel One featured a video depicting Russian missiles reaching Berlin, Paris, and London.  According to the UK's Express, Channel One's 60 Minutes program, one of the most popular TV shows in Russia, featured "the chairman of the nationalist Rodina party, Aleksey Zhuravlyov," who "suggested Russia could launch a Sarmat missile attack on the UK."  This was not, however, Zhuravlyov's eccentric view:  "Producers then cut to a map of Kaliningrad and seemed to suggest that missiles could be launched from the Russian enclave between Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea."  Zhuravlyov declared:  "One Sarmat [missile] and that's it — the British Isles are no more."

Yellen pledges $500 million more in economic aid for Ukraine.  The United States is committed to providing Ukraine another $500 million in direct economic assistance to help fund "critical government operations" in the war-torn country, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced on Thursday.  Yellen announced the economic assistance package at a news conference at the Treasury Department on Thursday after meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.  The money will be used to help Ukraine pay for government salaries, pensions, and social programs aimed at lessening the country's humanitarian crisis caused by Russia's Feb. 24 invasion.  The commitment doubles President Joe Biden's pledge of $500 million in direct budgetary aid for Ukraine last month.

Biden [is] Distributing Another $800 Million to Ukraine, Still Nothing for U.S. Border Crisis.  According to multiple media outlets Joe Biden is sending another $800 million in weapons to Ukraine.  This is the third delivery of U.S. military hardware bringing the total weapons deliveries to $3.4 billion since late February.  Congress has allocated $14 billion for the laundry operation, which may include authorization for much of this current distribution.  In the last several days the Russian military have been posting on their ground reports, about the capture of many millions in U.S. weapons as the Russian army moves more forcefully and methodically to secure the Eastern Ukraine Donbas region.

Elaborate, Staged Photoshoots In The Middle Of A War Zone Are Impossible Yet Here's Zelensky Making One.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky explained to CBS' "60 Minutes" in an interview broadcast Sunday why he chose not to flee Ukraine when Russian forces launched their invasion of the country on Feb. 24.  Driving the news:  "When everyone is telling you, you need to go, you need to think.  Before I do something, I analyze the situation.  I've always done it calmly, without any chaos," Zelensky told CBS' Scott Pelley in the interview via an interpreter.  "I might not be the strongest warrior.  But I'm not willing to betray anyone."  He said he explained to his wife and children that he had to stay because he's the president of Ukraine and they supported his decision.

Pentagon announces $300 million weapons package for Ukraine.  The Pentagon has announced $300 million in additional aid to Ukraine.  The latest package includes a bevy of unmanned aerial systems, secure communications, and laser-guided rockets among other equipment aimed at bolstering "Ukraine's capacity to defend itself."  "This decision underscores the United State's unwavering commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in support of its heroic efforts to repeal Russia's war of choice," Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Friday.

Nightmare Scenario:  Operational Miscalculations Could Trigger Nuclear War.  [Scroll down]  Last week, President Biden announced an unprecedented package of $1 billion in military assistance to Ukraine in addition to $350 million previously pledged which was disbursed within days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.  The new package includes 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, 2,000 anti-armor Javelins, 1,000 light anti-armor weapons, 6,000 AT-4 anti-armor systems and 100 Switchblade kamikaze drones.  Besides providing abundance of anti-aircraft and anti-armor munitions to Ukraine's largely conscript military and allied irregular militias, a senior US administration official told Reuters Washington and its allies were also working on providing anti-ship weapons to protect Ukraine's coast.  Ukrainian forces claimed on Thursday to have blown up a Russian landing ship in a Russian-occupied port.

About That Russia Attacking a Shopping Center Story.  Again, it must consistently be repeated — trust nothing from western or Russian state media about the issues in the Ukraine conflict.  Everyone is shaping the war narrative to fit their agenda.  Question everything you see and hear, wait to get the fulsome picture, and eventually the truth will surface.  An example today [3/21/2022] follows a U.S. and Western media claim that Russia arbitrarily targeted a shopping center in the capital city of Kyiv (Kiev).  According to the narrative, this is an example of Russian military brutality and arbitrary shelling of civilians.  [Video clip]  However, the issues are not as clear as the western narrative would have us believe.  As noted in the report above, the Russians fired missiles into the shopping center during the late-night early-morning hours when no one was shopping, and the stores were closed.  [Pictures]  Yes, when a war is taking place and you use a shopping center as an area to conceal heavy armor and armored vehicles, you turn that shopping center into an authentic target for attack.  If a military hides amid a civilian population, they are putting the civilian population at risk.

Zelensky nationalizes TV news and restricts opposition parties.  On Saturday and Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invoked his emergency powers under martial law to suppress several opposition political parties and implement a "unified information policy."  In an address to the nation delivered Sunday, he announced a temporary ban on "any activity" by 11 political parties.  The ban includes the Opposition Platform — For Life party, which holds 43 seats in Ukraine's national parliament and is the largest opposition party.

NLAW: The British missile taking down Russian tanks.  You've probably heard that the column of Russian tanks heading for Kyiv was stalled for a while and then broke up.  The main reason Russian tanks have had such a hard time in Ukraine is a small anti-tank missile called the NLAW which stands for Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon.  The NLAW is actually a joint venture between Sweden and the UK. It was developed by Saab but is assembled in Norther Ireland for the British military.

UK Defense Ministry:  Russia's offense has stalled as it struggles to replace personnel losses.  If you read Allahpundit's post earlier then you know there's some speculation that the clock is ticking on the Russian invasion.  Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges estimates Russia can only sustain its current levels of deployment for about 10 more days before its troops and ammunition are depleted to the point they can't really mount an effective fight.  Hodges also pointed to the possibility of a Russian default as soon as tomorrow which would also create serious domestic problems that might keep Putin occupied.  Lt. Gen. Hodges was quick to say his view of the current situation was based not on any inside information or intelligence but on his own past experience.  However, a couple of hours ago the UK Ministry of Defense released an assessment that dovetails pretty well with what Hodges was saying.

Ret. U.S. general:  Russia has 10 days to try to win this war before it runs out of gas.  This is just one man's assessment, but Ben Hodges's analysis of the state of play jibes with that of retired Aussie Gen. Mick Ryan, whom I wrote about this morning.  Like Hodges, Ryan believes that the Russian advance has either already culminated or is about to.  They're too poorly supplied and have taken too many losses to push forward inexorably, particularly when doing so would involve them in urban warfare.  There seems no chance at this point that Russia will ever occupy Kiev.

Putin Is Finding War Is Hell, and Expensive.  Many in the West had a mistaken belief that the Russian war machine was a rough match for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and they are surprised at how much trouble the massive force is having subduing a much smaller and less-equipped neighbor, Ukraine.  During my time as NATO's military commander, I spent time with the Russian military and the chief of its general staff at the time, General Nikolai Makarov.  A congenial figure, Makarov told me about Russian efforts to modernize his forces, starting with professionalizing them and weaning the nation from a brutal conscript system.  There were plans to improve offensive cyber capabilities, precision-guided weaponry and unmanned vehicles.  He seemed confident of progress, but from all I have seen in Ukraine, the decade-long effort has not been successful, and draftees abound.  There is little evidence of the hardware improvements, either.  The Russians present not as a sophisticated 21st-century army, but rather a blunt force in the style of World War II's militaries.

Orwell Was Right.  In the last weeks, Russia took an already exacting speech environment to new extremes.  A law was passed that would impose 15-year prison sentences for anyone spreading "fake news" about the Ukraine invasion; access was cut to Facebook and Twitter; stations like Echo Moskvi and TV Rain as well as BBC Russia, Radio Liberty, the New Times, Deutsche Welle, Doxa, and Latvia-based Meduza were effectively shut down; Wikipedia was threatened with a block over its invasion page; and national authorities have appeared to step in to prevent coverage of soldiers killed in the war, requiring local outlets to use terms like "special operation" instead.  The latter development is connected to the state media regulator, Roskomnadzor, issuing a remarkably desperate dictum requiring news outlets to "use information and data received by them only from official Russian sources."  Russia also appears in the middle of a general crackdown on local media, not so much because those outlets are dissenting, but because they're more likely to provide indirect evidence of war failures or the effect of sanctions.

White House Briefed TikTok Influencers on Ukraine: 'A Press Briefing for Kindergartners'.  The White House on Thursday [3/10/2022] held a special briefing for 30 TikTok influencers on Ukraine, in the Biden administration's apparent continuing attempt to use the platform and its young users to get out its message.  The Washington Post reported on Friday that the White House gathered the TikTok users to "receive key information" about the war in Ukraine.

My nomination for the Baghdad Bob Award:
 Pro-tip from Lavrov:  "We didn't invade Ukraine".  The good news:  Russia's foreign minister assured the world that Vladimir Putin has no desire to follow up his war in Ukraine by invading other countries.  The bad news:  Sergei Lavrov flatly denied that Russia attacked Ukraine, too.  "Why should they believe a word you say?" asked a reporter. [...] If Russia didn't invade Ukraine, then why are there all those Russian tanks, artillery, and soldiers in Ukraine at the moment?  And for that matter, what was Lavrov doing in Anatolia in the first place?  The answer to the latter question is ... not much.  Lavrov met with Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba in Turkey to hold the highest level talks between the two countries since tensions began rising a few weeks ago.  Lavrov came to the Anatolia talks without any authority to negotiate even a cease-fire, as it turns out.

Victoria Nuland:  Ukraine Has "Biological Research Facilities," Worried Russia May Seize Them.  Self-anointed "fact-checkers" in the U.S. corporate press have spent two weeks mocking as disinformation and a false conspiracy theory the claim that Ukraine has biological weapons labs, either alone or with U.S. support.  They never presented any evidence for their ruling — how could they possibly know? and how could they prove the negative? — but nonetheless they invoked their characteristically authoritative, above-it-all tone of self-assurance and self-arrogated right to decree the truth, definitively labelling such claims false.  Claims that Ukraine currently maintains dangerous biological weapons labs came from Russia as well as China.  The Chinese Foreign Ministry this month claimed:  "The US has 336 labs in 30 countries under its control, including 26 in Ukraine alone."  The Russian Foreign Ministry asserted that "Russia obtained documents proving that Ukrainian biological laboratories located near Russian borders worked on development of components of biological weapons."  Such assertions deserve the same level of skepticism as U.S. denials: namely, none of it should be believed to be true or false absent evidence.  Yet U.S. fact-checkers dutifully and reflexively sided with the U.S. Government to declare such claims "disinformation" and to mock them as QAnon conspiracy theories.

DNI: Ukraine labs not involved with biological weapons, despite Russian charges.  Ukraine's government operates over a dozen laboratories engaged in research on biological warfare defenses and other medical research that could fall into Russian hands, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told Congress on Thursday [3/10/2022].  Ms. Haines rejected Russian government claims that the facilities are making bioweapons, a theme that has circulated in conservative media as Moscow's invasion of its smaller neighbor entered its third week.  "We do not assess that Ukraine is pursuing biological weapons, which have been basically the propaganda that Russia is putting out," Ms. Haines said in testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

McDonald's Shuts Down 850 Restaurants In Russia.  McDonald's announced Tuesday [3/8/2022] that it will temporarily close all 850 of its restaurants in Russia over Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.  "McDonald's has decided to temporarily close all our restaurants in Russia and pause all operations in the market," the press release stated.  The press release was originally an email CEO Chris Kempczinski sent to McDonald's employees and franchisees.

Pressure mounts on KFC to shutter its 1,000 Russian restaurants as McDonald's Coca-Cola, Starbucks and Pepsi all halt business there indefinitely.  KFC faces mounting pressure to shutter its 1,000 Russian restaurants after McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Starbucks all halted business there indefinitely because of Putin's invasion of Ukraine.  The chain is the only significant US-owned fast food chain still operating in Russia, after its rivals announced plans to suspend business there indefinitely.  KFC is owned by Yum!  Brands, a Louisville, Kentucky-headquartered operation which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and whose CEO David Gibbs has been with the company since 1989. Yum! also operates 50 Pizza Hut locations across Russia.

Nickel prices soar 90% to new record high on worries about shortages from major supplier Russia.  Nickel prices in London logged a record surge on Monday [3/7/2022] amid escalating concerns that production in Russia will be disrupted in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.  The three-month nickel contract leapt 90% to trade above $55,000 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange, according to pricing from Bloomberg.  That marks a new all-time high, and the jump of more than $26,000 marked the biggest single-day dollar gain ever.  Russia is the world's third-largest nickel producer, according to the US Geological Survey, with roughly two-thirds of global nickel production used to make stainless steel.  Nickel is also key in the growing market for batteries used in electric vehicles.

Putin's invasion grinds to a halt:  Kyiv claims to have destroyed dozens of Russian helicopters overnight, and killed 11,000 troops.  Russia's invasion of Ukraine appears to have ground to a halt with no significant territory captured despite a weekend of heavy fighting, with Kyiv's men claiming to have taken out dozens of helicopters and recaptured a city this morning[,] sparking hopes that the unlikeliest of victories may be on the cards.  Putin's men renewed their bombardments on Mariupol, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv this morning as hundreds of civilians tried to evacuate Irpin — on the outskirts of Kyiv — across a destroyed bridge after days of heavy attacks in an attempt to encircle the capital.  But Russian commanders have not significantly advanced their frontline since the city of Kherson and nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia were captured last week.

This is how the Ukranians Handle Looting.  BLM and Antifa wouldn't bother entering a single store if this is how the police in the USA dealt with looters.  This guy was caught trying to steal all kinds of stuff from a Best Buy type store and got caught, so they tied him to a pole and whipped him with their belts.  [Video clip]

Russia seizes Europe's largest nuclear plant:  Facility which provides 20% of Ukraine's power.  Boris Johnson has accused Russia of 'threatening the security of the whole of Europe' after Putin's troops attacked the continent's largest nuclear power plant overnight, sparking a fire that raged for hours before emergency crews were eventually allowed to extinguish it as Russian soldiers seized the complex.  Mr Johnson condemned the attack as 'reckless' after a phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky who branded it 'nuclear terrorism'.  Jens Stoltenberg, who is in Brussels today to meet with NATO allies, denounced attacks on all civilian infrastructure and said the fire at the plant underlined the need to end Putin's war as soon as possible.

Manchin fumes as US buys 500,000 barrels of Russian oil a day amid Ukraine war.  Sen. Joe Manchin called on President Joe Biden to ramp up domestic energy production to curtail the United States's reliance on Russian oil and gas imports, accusing the White House of pushing "hypocritical" policies.  The West Virginia Democrat said in a statement late Monday [2/28/2022] that the U.S. importing about a half-million barrels of oil products from Russia a month poses a "clear and present danger to U.S. national security."  The "entire world is watching as Vladimir Putin uses energy as a weapon in an attempt to extort and coerce our European allies," said Manchin, who leads the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Russian Forces Drop Thermobaric Bomb On Ukrainian Military Base, Killing 70.  Russia used the potent vacuum bomb during its invasion of Ukraine, Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, told reporters on Monday night after a meeting with U.S. lawmakers.  A vacuum bomb, also called a thermobaric weapon, works by taking in oxygen to create powerful, high-temperature explosions.  If used in a civilian setting, such an attack could constitute a war crime.  "They used the vacuum bomb today," Markarova said.  [Video clip]

Exxon Mobil is pulling its $4 billion Russian oil and gas operations and halting new investments after the Ukraine invasion.  Exxon Mobil said it will pull its $4 billion Russian oil and gas operations and halt new investments as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.  The decision, which was made on Tuesday [3/1/2022], will see Exxon pull out of managing its large oil and gas production facilities on Sakhalin Island in Russia's Far East.  This decision puts the fate of a proposed multi-billion dollar liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility there in doubt.

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Russian Air Force.  On the fifth day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, one of many unanswered questions is why Russia has launched a military campaign at huge cost with maximalist objectives, and then declined to use the vast majority of its fixed wing combat aircraft. [...] Instead, the roughly 300 modern combat aircraft which the VKS have positioned within easy range of the main contact zones in northern, eastern and southern Ukraine appear to have largely stayed on the ground throughout the first four days of fighting.

Thermobaric Bomb Turns the Night to Day, Putin Unleashes one of the Deadliest Weapons in his Arsenal on Civilians.  Putin's army is struggling big time in his attempts to take Kyiv, now he's resorted to unleashing one of the deadliest non-nuclear weapons in the world on the civilians who are decimating his troops, thermobaric 'vacuum' bombs.  [Video clip]

Russian Missile hits an Apartment Building that has No Military Value Whatsoever.  Once again we see the Russian military committing yet another war crime by targeting civilians.  This time they killed countless people by hitting the side of an apartment building that was still packed with people.  The Russian military is known for their brutality in order to keep individuals from wanting to go up against them, in the Chechen was they would purposely target family members of military members in order to get them to turn themselves in.  It looks like in Ukraine they are implementing the same type of attacks.  [Video clip]

Belarus votes to give up non-nuclear status.  Voters in Belarus have approved constitutional reforms that will allow the country to host nuclear weapons at a time when the former Soviet republic has become a launchpad for Russian troops invading Ukraine.  Russian news agencies on Monday [2/28/2022] cited the Belarusian elections commission as saying that some 65.2 percent of people who took part in a referendum voted in favour of the change.

Russian soldiers in Ukraine becoming disoriented, US official says.  Russian forces are reportedly becoming demoralised, disoriented and hungry on the third day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.  A senior United States official told ABC News that Russian soldiers had been overheard complaining that Ukrainian resistance was much stiffer than they had anticipated.  On one radio call, the official said they heard a soldier saying:  "We don't know who to shoot — they all look like us."

World's Largest Cargo Plane Destroyed at Contested Airport Near Kyiv, Ukrainian Government Says.  The Ukrainian government said Sunday that "the world's largest aircraft" has been destroyed at a strategically important airport outside Kyiv amid a Russian attack.  "This was the world's largest aircraft, AN-225 'Mriya' ('Dream' in Ukrainian)," Ukraine's' Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter alongside a photo of the plane.  "Russia may have destroyed our 'Mriya.  But they will never be able to destroy our dream of a strong, free and democratic European state.  We shall prevail!"

Putin Shows Signs of Panic, as He Calls on Ukraine Military to Mutiny.  [Scroll down]  The Ukrainian people are not welcoming the Russians, and if this operation draws out, Russia might find itself facing an effective and motivated insurgency.  In fact, Putin has probably done more to build Ukrainian nationalism than anything in modern history.  None of this says Ukraine will prevail; what it does say is that the 48-hour blitzkrieg that culminated in Zelensky fleeing Kiev Putin planned doesn't seem likely to materialize.  As a result, Putin now is in the position of bringing this adventure to a swift conclusion or paying a much higher price than he'd intended.

Zelensky Calls on European Citizens with 'Combat Experience' to Help Defend Ukraine.  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is calling upon European citizens with combat experience to travel to Ukraine and fight against Russia.  Zelensky's plea to Europeans came in a speech Friday: [...] The request comes as Zelensky has provided his civilians and militia fighters with 18,000 submachine guns and ammunition to help in the combat effort after the Ukrainian government broadened the right to bear arms the night before Russian President Vladamir Putin launched a total invasion, Breitbart News reported.  Once Russian forces began their assaults on Ukrainian cities, Zelensky announced guns would be given to any citizen willing to combat the Russians.

Putin Officially Launches a Full Invasion of Ukraine, Lodges Disturbing New Threats Against the West.  As RedState reported earlier, Secretary of State Antony Blinken shared on Wednesday evening that he believed Russia would fully invade Ukraine within hours.  That has now been confirmed by none other than Vladimir Putin himself.  Per an announcement from the Russian president, his military forces are moving into greater Ukraine, including Kyiv, in order to "demilitarize" and "denazify" the sovereign nation.

Biden issues first sanctions after Putin orders 'peacekeeping forces' into two pro-Russian regions in Ukraine.  New videos show the Russian army's so-called 'peacekeeping' force on the ground inside Ukraine, as the United States was trying to convince European allies to follow their lead and impose tough sanctions.  Military vehicles were seen after night fell on Monday in Makiivka, in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), recognized hours earlier as an independent state by Vladimir Putin.  Other footage showed armored vehicles at other locations in the DPR and neighboring Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), also recognized by the Kremlin.

Time Magazine Bestows "Person of Year" Award to the World's Largest Beneficiary of Taxpayer Funding.  Comrade rebels, this is as fitting an attribution as one could make, given the state of international affairs.  Time Magazine has decreed their oft coveted "Person of The Year" award to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the world's richest man as delivered by congress via U.S. taxpayers.

Elon Musk Was Placed On The Ukrainian Kill List For About 10-15 Minutes Before Being Removed — Luckily We Have A Screenshot.  For the last eight years, a group of publicly unknown activists in Ukraine have been compiling lists of 'enemies of the people' with impunity.  Hundreds of thousands have been declared criminals without trial.  Among them are not only Russian citizens, but also Ukrainian opposition figures and bloggers, European politicians, and US citizens.  At the very least, being added to this list is a stigma that makes life difficult in Ukraine, but it can also serve as justification for imprisonment or, in some cases, even being killed.  This is exactly what happened last summer to Daria Dugina, daughter of world-famous Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin, who's name also can be found on that list.  The main page of the Ukrainian Mirotvorets website proclaims that the outlet represents a 'Center for Research of Signs of Crimes against the National Security of Ukraine, Peace, Humanity, and the International Law'.  It claims to have been created by a group of academics, journalists, and other specialists.  However, their names are known to no one, and the outfit itself has never even been officially registered in Ukraine.

Democrats Won't Give Emergency Funds to Maui & Florida Without Billions for Ukraine.  Democrats won't give any relief to Maui and Florida unless Republicans agree to a $24 billion package for Ukraine.  They plan to give a lot less to Maui.  Maui probably needs $6 billion and FEMA is asking for $12 billion.  These Americans are in dire straits.  We need to do whatever we can do for THEM!  [Tweet with video clip]  Sen. Tammy Duckworth let it be known that she will block a plan put forth by Sen. Rick Scott to provide aid for the Maui fires and Hurricane Idalia because it doesn't include Joe Biden's demand for another $23 billion for Ukraine.  Aid for a foreign country tied to a bill funding disaster relief for suffering Americans makes no sense whatsoever.  They have nothing to do with each other.

Misdirection.  The war in Ukraine is lost.  Every Western nation knows it and their economies (and people) are paying too high of a price to continue a war that is destroying their countries.  What if they know the world is collapsing and this war is just a laundromat to get their money (and its perceived power) hidden somewhere "safe"?  As for the war's continuation, there will be no Ukrainians left to fight in very short order.  The only Western goal that will be achieved is the destruction of Ukraine's sovereignty.  That will (in their eyes) provide cover for their corruption, nation building and biological weapons programs.

Biden to Send Maui Less than One-Tenth of One Percent of What He Wants to Send Ukraine.  President Joe Biden is asking Congress to approve $24 billion more in aid for Ukraine, which would bring the total amount of U.S. taxpayer-funded aid to Ukraine since February 2022 to $135 billion.  In contrast, Biden announced Wednesday that he would send $95 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to aid in rebuilding Maui after the nation's deadliest fire in over a century, which has claimed more than 115 lives, with hundreds still unaccounted for.

Send help to Hawaii, not Ukraine.  The Biden Administration has just announced that the White House is requesting another $24 billion for Ukraine, adding to a tally that has already well surpassed $150 billion in U.S. taxpayer supplied arms, economic assistance, and other forms of non-refundable "relief."  The effort to pump more money into the Slava Slush Fund, despite the reality that Russian forces put the kibosh on the much hyped Ukrainian "counteroffensive," speaks to the utter shamelessness of the D.C. Uniparty.  These individuals and institutions couldn't care less about Ukraine.  They never did care about the people of Ukraine or their sovereignty.  This is nothing more or less than a blatant get rich quick scheme for the defense industry in the Beltway.  It's most certainly the ugliest foreign policy boondoggle since the end of the Afghanistan and Iraq defense industry swindle operation.

Biden asks Congress for an extra $13 billion for Ukraine.  The Biden administration asked Congress on Thursday for an additional $21 billion in funding for Ukraine, teeing off a bitter showdown with the GOP-controlled House.  The total $40 billion request includes $13 billion in emergency defense aid and wildfire pay and an additional $8 billion for humanitarian support of Ukraine, as well as $12 billion for disaster relief after a season of heat and storms, as well as $4 billion for the border and to combat fentanyl to attract Republicans to the deal.  The breakdown of the $13 billion defense request includes $9.5 billion for equipment and replenishment of Pentagon stocks and $3.6 billion for continued military, intelligence and other defense support.

M1A1 Abrams Tanks [are] Finally Heading To Ukraine.  Helping Ukraine repel Russia's illegal war of territorial aggression has frequently been cited as a top priority by members of the Biden Administration,a cause in whose over $46 billion in military aid has been sent.  Given that the UK's Challenger 2 tanks arrived in Ukraine in March, it would seem like the Biden Administration hasn't treated their pledge of Abrams tanks with any urgency.  To be sure, several U.S. weapon systems (HIMARS, Patriot, Excalibur and various drones) have proven absolutely vital in letting Ukraine resist the Russian invasion.  But for something the U.S. defense establishment, and just about all our NATO allies, view as a top priority, the Pentagon as been quite sluggish at getting them tanks.  A cynic might wonder if it's because, being drawn from existing stocks, sending them M1A1s doesn't grease enough Beltway Bandit palms.

US Aid to Ukraine Amounts to $900 Per American Household, Economist Says.  Congressionally approved aid for Ukraine has cost each U.S. household hundreds of dollars, Heritage Foundation budget expert Richard Stern says.  "The formal aid packages alone amount to a staggering $113 billion — roughly $900 per American household and almost 12 times the spending cuts promised by House leadership in the annual spending bills," Stern, director of The Heritage Foundation's Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget, said in an email to The Daily Signal, Heritage's news outlet.  "As with all new federal spending," Stern added, "this $113 billion spending spree was added to our national debt and will cost more than $300 in interest costs per household over the decade.  Of course, we've given more aid than that, but haven't paid the bill on it yet."  Congress already has greenlighted over $113 billion in "aid and military assistance to support the Ukrainian government and allied nations" since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Biden's Billions for Ukraine Could Have Built a Wall Two Times Across U.S.-Mexico Border.  President Joe Biden, with help from Congress, has sent more than $66 billion in American taxpayer money to Ukraine since the start of its war with Russia — an allocation of money that could have built a border wall nearly two times across the United States-Mexico border.  Since the start of the war in 2022, Congress has approved more than $113 billion in aid for Ukraine, and Biden is expected to ask for another $10 billion aid package when Congress returns from recess.  Since 2022, the United States has given more foreign aid to Ukraine than to any other country in the world, according to a Washington Post analysis.  The bulk of the allotted aid has gone to military contractors making weapons and equipment for Ukraine while the rest has been used to supplement Ukraine's national budget and provide humanitarian relief.

Minus ten percent for the Big Guy, of course.
 Report: Biden to Ask for Another Ukraine Aid Package 'North of $10 Billion'.  President Joe Biden will soon ask Congress for a Ukraine aid package that could exceed $10 billion, a report released Tuesday found.  Punchbowl News reported the Ukraine aid battle will resume when Congress returns from recess.  The incoming request, which could be "north of $10 billion," follows as Ukraine continues its slow-moving counteroffensive against Russia, and America and other NATO countries have pledged support for Ukraine.  The Army's acquisition chief told reporters on Monday that the Department of Defense was working on a funding package for lawmakers to consider.  The package would be used to replenish American weapon stockpiles which have been depleted after providing munitions to Ukraine's protracted conflict with Russia.

US announces $400 million in military aid for Ukraine.  The United States on July 25 announced additional security assistance for Ukraine valued at up to $400 million, the Pentagon said.  The new U.S. aid for Ukraine includes air-defense munitions, armored vehicles, anti-armor weapons, and "other equipment to help Ukraine counter Russia's ongoing war of aggression."  The aid is the 43rd drawdown of equipment from Defense Department inventories for Ukraine since August 2021, the Pentagon said in a statement.

The Editor says...
 The Pentagon "found" $6.2 billion dollars for Ukraine about a month ago, but it's already time for another installment?

The reason they don't want to audit the aid to Ukraine.  We've been hearing rumors and scattered reports of this since last summer, but any time it's mentioned publicly, both the White House and their docile servants in the legacy media rush to squash the stories as "Russian disinformation."  But a recent report from the Defense Department's Inspector General found a "lack of accountability" in maintaining control of the weapons and military gear we have been sending to Ukraine.  And that has resulted in millions of dollars worth of arms and weapons winding up in the hands of criminal gangs.  It's going to be hard for our cable news talking heads to write this one off as disinformation unless they want to claim that the IG's office is in on the scam.

Criminal Gangs, Arms Traffickers in Ukraine Snatching Weaponry, DOD Inspector General's Report Says.  Criminal gangs, arms traffickers and other bad actors in Ukraine accessed dangerous weapons including grenade launchers, machine guns, bulletproof vests for battle and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, the Defense Department's internal watchdog found.  The Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project obtained the 19-page report by the Pentagon's Office of Inspector General through the Freedom of Information Act.  [Tweet]  "In late June 2022, the SBU disrupted a group of Ukrainian criminals posing as members of a humanitarian aid organization who distributed bulletproof vests," the report says. "The group illicitly imported the vests and sold them, rather than distributed them to Ukrainian forces.  A member of the group was found with a cache of vests worth $17,000."

NYT: around 20% of Ukraine's weapons [were] lost in first weeks of counteroffensive.  According to a report in the New York Times, Ukraine is rethinking its strategy after losing some 20% of its weapons early in its counteroffensive.  The New York Times is reporting that around 20% of Ukraine's armament and vehicles sent to the frontlines was damaged or destroyed in the first weeks of the counteroffensive.  It says this has forced Ukraine to rethink its strategy and slow down a little which resulted in fewer losses in the following weeks.  [Tweet]

Pentagon Happens to Find 'Accounting Error' Allowing Another $6.2 Billion for Ukraine.  President Joe Biden has sent around $35 billion to Ukraine in almost 18 months.  Imagine how many people that money could feed here in America.  Ukraine wants more money since it's launching a new counteroffensive against Russia.  Well, our Pentagon just happened to find an accounting error that allowed them to send another $6.2 billion to Ukraine. [...] The discovery also just happened to occur towards the end of the fiscal year, and Congress doesn't have as much money on hand to dole out.  The $6.2 billion also allows the U.S. to meet its pledge of $40 billion to Ukraine.

Oops!  Ukraine sure has been lucky for the last year or two.  I wonder why.
 Pentagon Discloses "Accounting Error" Resulting in $6.2 Billion Surplus for Ukraine.  The Pentagon revealed on Tuesday that an overestimation in the value of weapons sent to Ukraine over the past two years has resulted in an extra $6.2 billion of U.S. taxpayers' money earmarked for the Eastern European country.  This figure is approximately double what was originally estimated and allegedly will be utilized for future security packages.  Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh provided clarification on the nature of the error, explaining that the military services had used the replacement cost rather than the book value of equipment pulled from Pentagon stocks and sent to Ukraine.  According to Singh, the error was identified during a detailed review of the accounting process.

Pentagon Says It Made $6 Billion "Accounting Error", Clearing More Aid For Ukraine.  Due to a massive accounting error, which happened just four weeks after a $3 billion accounting error, the value of weapons supplied to Ukraine by the United States was overstated by $6.2 billion over the past two years, according to AP.  Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said that a detailed review of the accounting error found that replacement costs were recorded for the equipment, not the actual book value of items pulled from Pentagon stocks and sent to Ukraine, adding that final calculations reveal a $3.6 billion error in the current fiscal year, and $2.6 billion in the 2022 FY, which ended last Sept. 30.  [Tweet with video clip]

Pentagon accounting error provides extra $6.2 billion for Ukraine military aid.  The Pentagon said an accounting error resulted in a $6.2 billion overestimation of the value of weapons being sent to Ukraine over the last two years as the European nation fights off a Russian invasion.  The significant error means there is a surplus of funds available for future military aid packages sent to Ukraine.  On Tuesday, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told the press that the multi-billion dollar error was the result of military services using replacement costs as opposed to the book value of the equipment.

Pentagon Reveals $6.2 Billion Overestimation in Weapons Sent to Ukraine.  The Pentagon has admitted a significant accounting error, revealing that it overestimated the value of weapons sent to Ukraine by $6.2 billion over the past two years.  The final calculation of the accounting error is far higher than the Pentagon previously estimated in May when it first revealed the miscalculation as $3 billion.  The new figure is approximately double the initial estimates, leading to a purported surplus that will be allocated to future security packages.

Watch How Russia Is Detroying Billions Of US Dollars In Equipment With Cheap Drones.  Russian Kamikazi Lancet drones appear to be easily destroying all of the NATO equipment that we are sending to Ukraine.  [Lengthy video clip; sound effects apparently added for dramatic effect.]

Another Week, Another $2.1 Billion to Ukraine.  The Biden Department of Defense announced another $2.1 billion air defense and munitions package to Ukraine, signaling our unwavering support for Ukraine.  Ukraine is where Joe and Hunter allegedly secured a $10 million bribe.

This Is Where Your Tax Dollars In Ukraine Are Going.  Ukraine is now producing war propaganda in the style of Bollywood dance videos with your tax dollars.  Another 70% has gone missing, most likely into Swiss villas and 10% back to the big guy.  [Video clip]

Mexican Cartel Member Spotted With A Javelin Missile The US Sold To Ukraine.  A Gulf Cartel member was filmed with what Milenio TV said was a Javelin anti-tank missile A member of the Cartel Del Golfo (CDG) in Tamaulipas, Mexico carrying a US-made anti-tank weapon, as shown on Mexican TV channel Milenio, May 30th.  A militant wearing the insignia of Mexico's notorious Gulf Cartel (Cartel Del Golfo, CDG) was filmed in the state of Tamaulipas carrying a US-made anti-tank missile launcher.  Milenio TV identified the weapon as a Javelin, thousands of which were sent to Ukraine by the Pentagon.  [Video clip]

We Need A Ceiling On U.S. Aid To Ukraine.  While the United States is close to reaching its federal debt ceiling and talks continue between the Biden administration and House Republican leaders, there seems to be no ceiling on the amount of financial assistance our country is providing to Ukraine.  After fifteen months, the war in Ukraine continues with no end in sight.  This weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to the G-7 summit in Japan to solicit more military assistance for his country.  Regardless of his plea, it is indisputable that the United States government has generously funded the Ukrainian war effort.  Although, it can be argued that European countries should do more to support Ukraine.  In the first year of the war, assistance from the European Union toward Ukraine was only $35.3 billion, much less than what the United States contributed.  This is a stark imbalance, especially since Ukraine is in Europe's "backyard," but is halfway around the world from the United States.

What an amazing coincidence!
 $3 billion accounting error means the Pentagon can send more weapons to Ukraine.  The Pentagon has overestimated the value of the weapons it has sent to Ukraine by at least $3 billion — an accounting error that could be a boon for the war effort because it will allow the Defense Department to send more weapons now without asking Congress for more money.  The acknowledgment Thursday comes at a time when Pentagon is under increased pressure by Congress to show accountability for the billions of dollars it has sent in weapons, ammunition and equipment to Ukraine and as some lawmakers question whether that level of support should continue.

More Money!  U.S. to Hand Over Another $1.2 Billion in Aid to Ukraine: Report.  The Biden administration is set to announce another $1.2 billion in military aid to Ukraine, it is claimed.  The package is said to be valued at $1.2 billion.  It will reportedly be used to purchase various air defence equipment for the country, alongside more ammo for artillery and rocket systems.  According to a report by the Associated Press, the Joe Biden administration could announce the newest batch of military funding as early as Tuesday, with the package set to coincide with a Ukrainian counteroffensive against invading Russian forces.

Perpetual War: Biden Announces New Ukraine Military Aid Package of Another $325 Million.  Robbing Americans who can ill afford this rampant legal plunder to prop a brutal dictatorship.  This is nothing short of war against our own country.  Billions for this evil clown (who closed the churches, imprisoned the priests, shut down the free press) and a big middle finger to Americans.  America should be punishing this behavior not heaping billions, accolades and endless, sycophantic puff pieces in the government press.

US sending $325 million in more military aid to Ukraine.  The U.S. is sending Ukraine about $325 million in additional military aid, including an enormous amount of artillery rounds and ammunition as the launch of the spring offensive against Russian forces approaches, the Pentagon said Wednesday [4/19/2023].  The U.S. has declined to say exactly how much munitions will be sent to Ukraine, but the latest package resembles other recent deliveries, which included rockets for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, and howitzers, as well as an array of other missiles and anti-tank ammunition.  It will all be pulled from Pentagon stocks, so it can go quickly to the front lines.

Biden Regime Announces Another Military Package for Ukraine.  Another one!  The Biden Regime is sending another military package to Ukraine.  The details of the latest military package to Ukraine will be announced later.  [Tweet]  This announcement comes after leaked documents revealed US special forces are on the ground in Ukraine.  Newly leaked Defense documents show western forces are on the ground in Ukraine.  Biden sent US soldiers to Ukraine after he sent billions in military aid.

Prize-Winning Journalist Reveals How Ukraine President, Officials Allegedly Embezzled $400 Million.  Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, fresh off his allegations that the U.S. was behind the Nord Stream pipeline explosions, has published a report that alleged the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is aware of widespread corruption in Ukraine and the embezzlement of US aid.  Hersh's report accuses the Ukrainian government of using U.S. taxpayer money to purchase diesel from Russia to fuel its military.  He further suggested that Ukrainian officials are "competing" to set up front companies for export contracts to private arms dealers around the world.

Trading With the Enemy.  The Ukraine government, headed by Volodymyr Zelensky, has been using American taxpayers' funds to pay dearly for the vitally needed diesel fuel that is keeping the Ukrainian army on the move in its war with Russia.  It is unknown how much the Zelensky government is paying per gallon for the fuel, but the Pentagon was paying as much as $400 per gallon to transport gasoline from a port in Pakistan, via truck or parachute, into Afghanistan during the decades-long American war there.  What also is unknown is that Zelensky has been buying the fuel from Russia, the country with which it, and Washington, are at war, and the Ukrainian president and many in his entourage have been skimming untold millions from the American dollars earmarked for diesel fuel payments.  One estimate by analysts from the Central Intelligence Agency put the embezzled funds at $400 million last year, at least; [...]

Quagmire!
 For $80 Billion (And Counting) U.S. Taxpayers Have Bought A Bloody Stalemate In Ukraine.  The trove of recently leaked intelligence documents related to the Ukraine war should prompt Americans to start asking tough questions about our involvement in that conflict, which one of the documents, a Feb. 23 overview of fighting in Ukraine's Donbas region, describes as a "grinding campaign of attrition" that has reached a "stalemate."  U.S. taxpayers have poured nearly $80 billion into this war over the past 14 months.  At what point are we allowed to ask whether a "stalemate" in a "grinding campaign of attrition" is a good deal for Americans?

Here's the weekly billion going to Ukraine:
 Pentagon announces $2.6 billion Ukraine military aid package.  The Department of Defense announced a massive new military aid package for Ukraine on Tuesday valued at $2.6 billion.  President Joe Biden authorized $500 million worth of ammunition for U.S.-provided HIMARS, air defense interceptors, artillery rounds, anti-armor systems, small arms, heavy equipment transport vehicles, and maintenance support through his authority to take weapons from U.S. stockpiles.  In addition to the artillery and ammunition, the drawdown also includes 11 tactical vehicles to recover equipment, 61 heavy fuel tankers, 10 trucks and 10 trailers to transport heavy equipment, roughly 400 grenade launchers, and others.  By allocating this aid via the president's drawdown authority, the aid could reach Ukraine within weeks.

The Editor says...
 This would be a lot easier to swallow if it was a one-time expenditure, but it seems like there's an announcement like this every week or two; and in every case, the announcement is made as if it was a one-time-only bundle of cash.  Apparently we're not supposed to remember that a similar pile of money has gone down the drain in the last few weeks.  They must think we're stupid!

Asking for a friend - were we supposed to be giving Ukraine all our money and weapons?  Oh, "just another [insert: hundred million dollar multiple]" — no bigs, especially since it's weapons, not like actual cash or anything.  In actual fact, it is a big deal, and getting bigger every embark box we send them.

U.S. Weapons Sent To Ukraine Are Now Being Found in Iran.  Military aid provided by the United States and its NATO allies to Ukraine is being found in the hands of Iranians, according to a new CNN report.  "Russia has been capturing some of the US and NATO-provided weapons and equipment left on the battlefield in Ukraine and sending them to Iran, where the US believes Tehran will try to reverse-engineer the systems," four sources familiar with the matter told CNN.  "Over the last year, US, NATO and other Western officials have seen several instances of Russian forces seizing smaller, shoulder-fired weapons equipment including Javelin anti-tank and Stinger anti-aircraft systems that Ukrainian forces have at times been forced to leave behind on the battlefield," CNN added.

Where are the tens of billions being spent in Ukraine really going?  Analysis dares to ask the tough questions.  An op-ed published this week at LifeSite News, of all places, asked the kind of tough questions about tens of billions in taxpayer dollars being spent in Ukraine that every reporter and politician in Washington, D.C., should be asking, but aren't — namely, where is all that money really going?  "Following the unscheduled January visit of CIA Director William Burns to Kyiv, many Ukrainian officials have been removed from their posts.  This sudden 'anti-corruption' drive, which saw many ministers replaced, was ostensibly undertaken to combat a culture of institutionalized plunder which earned Ukraine the title of 'Most corrupt nation in Europe,'" columnist Frank Wright began.  "Yet the cleaning of this Augean stable has halted, leaving the most controversial suspect in office.  If these sackings and resignations were undertaken to oust the guilty, why stop short of removing the most obviously compromised minister of all?" he continued.

There is an announcement like this almost every week:
 Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Says the U.S. Will Send Another $10 Billion to Ukraine.  Ahead of a meeting with several other world financial leaders, United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on partner nations to join in continuing to send more aid to Ukraine as the Russian invasion enters its second year.  "Our economic assistance is making Ukraine's resistance possible by supporting the home front:  funding critical public services and helping keep the government running," Yellen said at a news conference in India.  "In the coming months, we expect to provide around $10 billion in additional economic support for Ukraine."

Social Security is Broke, but American Taxpayers Just Gave Ukrainian Pensioners a Double-Digit Raise.  As American taxpayers paying into Social Security today stare down the barrel toward substantial cuts to their own benefits, estimated to take place in 2034, they can at least take solace in knowing that all categories of Ukrainian pensioners will get a 20% raise in March 2023.  "As early as this March," says Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, "the government will index pensions by 20%" for about 10 million Ukrainians.  Indexing the payments "is not mandatory according to the Law of Ukraine on the State Budget for 2023," but benevolent President Zelensky has instructed them to reprice the benefits upwards anyway.  And why wouldn't he?  His government is swimming in American cash.  Americans have spent more than $100 billion on aid to Ukraine.  And, as the notoriously corrupt Ukrainian government is undoubtedly well aware, money is fungible.

US announces [another] $2.2 billion military aid package for Ukraine.  Pentagon spokesman Brig.  Gen. Patrick Ryder confirmed the aid package includes Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) munitions, which can be launched from HIMARS and M270 rocket artillery systems and have a range of 150 kilometers.  He said that the GLSDB would help the Ukrainian military carry out operations to defend the country and liberate the territories occupied by the invaders.  When asked whether the missiles will be used for strikes against Russian targets in the occupied Crimea, the Ryder noted that is for Ukraine to decide.

In Ukraine, it appears America will soon be arming both side's combatants.  I happen to be one who believes that the escalating war in Ukraine is entirely Biden's fault, that the current Ukraine government is completely corrupt, and that the entire thing, which has seen tens of thousands of Ukrainian deaths and the destruction of large swaths of that country, has become a profitable boondoggle for politicians and military contractors.  Call me cynical or naïve, but that's where I am.  I also think the whole enterprise has taken on a truly hallucinatory quality, exacerbated by the news today:  Putin is negotiating to buy abandoned American weapons from Afghanistan while Biden is sending 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.  We will have armed both sides to the battle.

As Biden's Blank Checks to Ukraine Continue, How Long Will It Take the U.S. to Replenish the Munitions We've Given Away?  In total, the United States has committed more than $24.9 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration, according to the Defense Department on January 6.  And with no end in sight and U.S. military stockpiles running dangerously low, the question is:  How long it will take to replenish those stockpiles?  As Daily Caller reported on Sunday, even at emergency production rates, it will take years before the U.S. is able to restock supplies of critical munitions sent to Ukraine, according to a recent analysis conducted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington, D.C. based think tank.

Empty Bins in a Wartime Environment: The Challenge to the U.S. Defense Industrial Base.  The U.S. defense industrial base is not adequately prepared for the international security environment that now exists.  In a major regional conflict — such as a war with China in the Taiwan Strait — the U.S. use of munitions would likely exceed the current stockpiles of the U.S. Department of Defense.  According to the results of a series of CSIS war games, the United States would likely run out of some munitions — such as long-range, precision-guided munitions — in less than one week in a Taiwan Strait conflict.  The war in Ukraine has also exposed serious deficiencies in the U.S. defense industrial base and serves as a stark reminder that a protracted conflict is likely to be an industrial war that requires a defense industry able to manufacture enough munitions, weapons systems, and matériel to replace depleted stockpiles.

There's an announcement like this almost every week:
 Joe Biden's Secretary of State Announces $2.5 Billion More in Ukraine Military Aid.  President Joe Biden's Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, announced another $2.5 billion in military aid for Ukraine on Thursday and said the United States "will stand united with Ukraine for as long as it takes."  The most recent aid package comes after Congress awarded $45 billion to Ukraine in the massive $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill that Biden signed into law last month, bringing the total amount of U.S. aid sent to Ukraine to over $110 billion.

The US Is Shipping So Many Weapons To Ukraine, Defense Companies Can't Keep Up, Top Navy Officers Warn.  Top officers in the U.S. Navy warned that the Ukraine war is putting a strain on an already stretched industrial base Tuesday, complaining defense contractors continue to fall behind in keeping up with the Navy's needs, according to media reports.  Defense companies have struggled for years to keep pace with the Navy's demands, citing pandemic-induced supply chain setbacks and a shortage of available labor, Navy Times reported.  As the U.S. continues sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine, heightening the burden on weapons manufacturers, top Navy brass expressed worry that the fleet could fall dangerously low on needed assets if the war stretches out much longer.  "If the conflict does go on for another six months to another year, it certainly continues to stress the supply chain in ways that are challenging," Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said in a follow-up to his remarks at the annual Surface Navy Association conference conference Tuesday.

The War in Ukraine has Underscored the Necessity of America Exiting NATO.  With the passage of the ludicrous omnibus bill the total amount spent and committed to be spent by the United States in Ukraine since the Russian invasion is in excess of $110 Billion.  That amount exceeds the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 130 nations.  Further, only America and its chief adversaries China ($239 Billion) and Russia ($154 Billion) spend more per year on their defense budgets.  During this same period of time the 27 nations of the European Union plus Great Britain have spent or committed to spend $36 Billion in Ukraine or half of what the taxpayers in the United States have been obligated to contribute.  Meanwhile the U.S. national debt is now $31.5 Trillion and will, due to unconstrained spending, increase at least another $15+ Trillion in less than ten years, thereby abetting uncontrolled inflation and potential insolvency.  (It took this nation 224 years to accumulate the first $15 Trillion, 13 years for the second $15 Trillion and less than 10 years for the third $15 Trillion.)  The United States with less than 5% of the world's population is responsible for 45% of global national debt.

Here's Everything Wrong With Congress's Plan To Give Zelensky Cash For Christmas.  Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky is slated to receive a hero's welcome in the U.S. capital today, just as Congress is poised to award him another $45 billion in its mammoth inflationary spending bill.  It may be Zelensky's first time leaving Ukraine since the war with Russia began, but it's not his first time appearing before an American audience to beg for more money.  And it certainly won't be his last.  Already, Zelensky is prepared to use his congressional address to complain that the beaucoup bucks the U.S. has thrown at Ukraine in the last 10 months — more than $100 billion total if the omnibus passes — is still "not enough."

The Zelenskyy Clearing House Sweepstakes.  An interesting infographic from Will Geary that gives context to the amount of money the United States is spending in Ukraine.

Congress Quietly Slips Ukraine Debt Relief into 4,400 Page National Defense Authorization Act.  When it comes to congress and the graft that is Ukraine, nothing should come as a surprise.  Last month, the Biden administration asked Congress for another $37.7 billion in support for Ukraine.  If that passes, and it certainly will, Congress will have approved more than $100 billion in Ukraine-related spending.  To wit, yesterday congress slipped Ukraine Debt Payment Relief, into the 4,400 page National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which will make the Senate happy as the intent of the upper chamber is to continue the laundry operation.

The terrible consequences of stolen elections and government corruption.  This administration's irresponsible spending has increased the national debt to $131 trillion, and yet they continue to throw billions we do not have to Ukraine to protect a border that is irrelevant to Americans; it's part of their scheme to take Putin down but the war has killed thousands of Ukranian civilians with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's complicity.  Where have the billions of dollars gone?  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wants an audit; the Democrats say 'no.'  It is likely that much of that money has found its way into the pockets of pro-war Democrats and the Republican consultant class along with the those Ukrainian oligarchs who are running Zelensky and buying mansions in Switzerland.  Biden wants to forgive billions in student loans; he wants working taxpayers who could not afford college to pay for those who did but are slackers.  He wants to continue to subsidize millions of illegal migrants he's ushered into the country.  Homeless Americans, nearly all of them mentally ill and/or drug-addicted, are abandoned onto the streets of Democrat-run cities like detritus but Biden ignores them.

The Biden Administration Could Face Audits Over the Billions it Sent to Ukraine.  The Biden Administration is in hot water after the billions of dollars it sent to Ukraine in aid is no where to be found.  Republicans are warning the Biden White House that it will audit the administration if the $20 billion in military aid that was sent to Ukraine can't be tracked down.  The audit would determine how much U.S. money is ending up in the wrong hands of a different country.  The Biden Administration had previously attempted to find out where there money is, however, only a fraction of the aid was provided to the country.  Republican leader and likley future House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that once the GOP takes over the House, no more "blank check[s]" will be handed out to Ukraine.  He blames much of the nation's recession on the billions of dollars sent in aid.

Biden Admin Can't Account for $20 Billion in Aid to Ukraine.  As TGP reiterated earlier today, we really have no idea where billions sent to Ukraine landed.  Now the Biden Administration is admitting this is the case.  We reported moments ago that we have no idea where the billions allocated to Ukraine eventually landed.  Since the war started, the US has sent more than $50 billion to Ukraine.  Where has the money gone?  We really don't have any idea.  But we did get a clue recently with the fall of FTX.  We learned that Ukraine was "investing" in FTX with money the US sent to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy Asks for Another $55 Billion to Pay for Budget, Infrastructure, Government Expenses and Pensions of Ukraine.  Has anyone stopped to ask why the United States taxpayer is responsible for funding the government operations of Ukraine, to include the paychecks and pensions of Ukrainian government officials, or nah?  As Joe Biden and various Democrat and Republican leaders are gleefully willing to keep pushing U.S. taxpayer money into Ukraine, there does come a time when we have to start asking some questions about the disconnect in regard to the opinion of the American people.

It's Time to Speak the Truth About Ukraine.  Joe Biden, the military-industrial-congressional complex, State Department neocons, the War Party comprised of all Democrats and many corporate Republicans, and Western globalist elites have the United States and NATO in a Ukrainian proxy war against Russia.  The warmongers are obsessed with destroying Russia.  To achieve it, they are determined to fight to the last Ukrainian.  In eight months, Congress has wasted $69 billion of American taxpayer money to fund their proxy war.  That's about $8 billion more than Russia's entire annual military budget.  And to the delight of the American arms industry, there is no end in sight.  Biden is soon expected to request another $50 billion.  Meanwhile, Biden and Congress have betrayed the American people — doing next to nothing to solve the crises of inflation, self-inflicted shortages of fuel and food, an invasion of five-and-a-half million illegal aliens, out-of-control violent crime, and a fentanyl epidemic imported from China and Mexico that is killing 100,000 Americans every year.

Even As We Fund Ukraine, Our Money's Going To Putin.  Less than half of American families paid any income tax last year.  But those who did have a right to expect the money we fork over to Uncle Fed will do at least some good for us.  Of course, we all realize a trillion or two disappears into the DC swamp.  But learning we sent more than a billion dollars to Taliban-run Afghanistan, whose favorite song on the radio is "Death to America, Cha, Cha, Cha," does raise the hackles somewhat.  Even worse, the Biden government has illegally decreed that we poor American working stiffs should never know where that money went once it arrived in Kabul.

Congress Trying to Ram Through $50 Billion More for Ukraine Before GOP Takes Control of the House.  Lawmakers from both parties are reportedly seeking to lock in a staggering $50 billion in additional military aid for Ukraine before a new Congress is sworn in this January.  The move is yet another indication that your elected senators and representatives no longer view the American people as their top priority, but rather, the government of a corrupt Eastern European nation is their new baby.  NBC News reports that multiple sources have confirmed ongoing discussions regarding a government funding bill during the lame-duck session following the election.

Zelensky Thanks Biden for 'Another $725 Million Security Aid Package'.  Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has personally thanked U.S. President Joe Biden for supplying Kyiv with another "security aid package" worth $725 million.  "Sincerely grateful to [the President of the United States and] the [American] people for providing another $725 mln [sic] security aid package," the Ukrainian head of state said in a message posted on the Twitter microblogging site.  "We will receive, in particular, much-needed rounds for HIMARS and artillery," he added.

Biden OKs $1.1 billion in new military aid to Ukraine.  President Biden on Wednesday signed off on a $1.1 billion security assistance package to Ukraine, bringing the total U.S. commitment to $16.2 billion since the start of Russia's invasion seven months ago.  The support will include 18 additional High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) that have proven to be highly effective on the battlefield.  Also included will be 150 Humvees and 150 tactical vehicles needed to tow heavy weapons, Pentagon officials said Wednesday.  The latest package comes as part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).  The program does not pull weapons directly from U.S. stockpiles, but uses congressionally-appropriated funds to contract for the hardware through the private sector.

I sure hope this is satire:
 Congress Signs Up For $40 Billion Per Month Ukraine+ Subscription.  To avoid fighting over further spending bills, Congress has opted instead to sign up for the brand new subscription service Ukraine+, which only costs $40 billion per month.  "We are proud to be the very first customers for this exciting new service," said Congressman Dan Crenshaw.  "Henceforth, $40 billion US dollars will simply be automatically deducted from our account every month, allowing us to continue laundering money and paying off defense lobbyists in perpetuity.  Thanks, Ukraine+!"

The Biden Administration has now sent almost $16 Billion in weapons and equipment to Ukraine.  The Biden administration is sending another $600 million in military aid to Ukraine, the State Department announced on Thursday, as the U.S. rushes more weapons to fuel Kyiv's counteroffensive against Russia.  The White House said it was the 21st time that the Defense Department has pulled weapons and other equipment off the shelves to deliver to Ukraine.  The package will include more of the same types of ammunition and equipment that have helped Ukrainian forces beat back the Russian forces in portions of the east and south.

Biden Administration Plans to Ask Congress for Another $14 Billion For Ukraine.  This has become absurd.  According to an AP report, Joe Biden is planning to ask congress for an additional $13.7 billion for Ukraine within a budgetary request for $47 billion spending package.  According to the report the Ukraine spending request will be inside a package for additional COVID-19 spending, Monkeypox spending and other domestic relief.

Americans Are Paying The Bill For Our Government's 'Unwavering Support' Of Ukraine.  Is there an amount of military aid for Ukraine the U.S. won't approve?  Within the past two weeks alone, the Biden administration has committed nearly $4 billion in security assistance by allocating $3 billion and $775 million in separate packages.  The grand total of military aid delivered to Ukraine since President Biden took office in January 2021 is a whopping $13.5 billion, and that number is only set to increase.  What is particularly pernicious about the weapons gravy train is the lack of a clear endgame in the conflict itself, an ugly feature of U.S. engagement in proxy wars.  When asked how long the war in Ukraine and, by extension, military aid will last, variations of "indefinitely" seem to be the going answers from U.S. leaders.

Biden's Teetering House of Cards.  On day one of his administration Biden put an end to the energy independence achieved under Trump.  He cancelled the Keystone Pipeline and cut off most new drilling and fracking on federal land.  That single action kicked off the highest inflation in forty years; our economy depends first and foremost on fuel.  Biden pretends that there is a climate crisis (there is not) but he will spend billions on green projects, billions that will end up in the pockets of grifters like all those companies who got millions from the Obama administration, companies like Solyndra.  The companies fail, the money disappears.  Biden has sent billions to Ukraine, the third most corrupt nation on the planet (Russia is number seven).  Now he wants to "forgive" (transfer the debt to citizen taxpayers) nearly a trillion dollars of student loans to buy votes.  This is monstrous and should cost him the votes of millions of Americans who will bear the cost of this irresponsible executive order.

Why is the Biden administration paying off Ukraine's debt but not ours?  "Biden administration allocates billions to pay down the budget deficit ... in Ukraine."  This sounds like a parody headline from the Babylon Bee, but it is actually a real thing that's happening under President Joe Biden's watch.  On Monday, the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, announced that it is sending an additional $4.5 billion in U.S. taxpayer money to Ukraine.  And it's not going to humanitarian aid or even weapons for fighting off Russia's brutal invasion — debatable but at least understandable forms of U.S. aid — it's going to reduce the Ukrainian government's budget deficit.

Biden [is] Sending Another $550 Million In 'Security Assistance' To Ukraine.  On Monday, the Biden administration announced that it would be sending another round of support worth $550 million to Ukraine to help the war-torn nation defeat Russian President Vladimir Putin.  White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said the Department of Defense (DOD) would send more "security assistance" to Ukraine, including ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System alongside ammunition for 155 mm artillery, The Hill reported.  "In total, the United States has committed approximately $8.8 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden administration," the DOD said in a statement Monday.  "Since 2014, the United States has committed more than $10 billion in security assistance to Ukraine."

It doesn't cost $100 million to train 30 Ukrainian fighter pilots.  Representative Adam Kinzinger (Rino-IL) introduced an amendment to H.R. 7900, the National Defense Authorization Act ("NDAA") for fiscal year 2023, that reduces by $100,000,000 operations and maintenance funding to the U.S. Air Force's Flying Hour Program.  That funding will instead go to a program touted as training Ukrainian pilots to fly our F-16s.  The House passed the NDAA on Friday.  I'm sure OpEds are in draft right now discussing both why this is crucial to our safety and security and why it's a really bad idea.  I would just like Congress to acknowledge the truth: that this is, de facto, their agreement to declare our full participation in the Ukraine war.  Yes, Ukraine has about 30 fighter pilots with sufficient English language skills to be trained to operate our military jets.

The U.S. Has Now Spent More in Ukraine Than in the First 5 Years in Afghanistan.  The United States is fighting a proxy war in Ukraine against Russian aggression, and we're not doing it on the cheap.  The Biden administration announced on Friday [7/8/2022] that we were sending another $400 million in military aid to Ukraine.  This comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory over the eastern Luhansk region last week.  Putin jumped the gun a little, although Russian troops hold the upper hand throughout most of the region.  The problem for Putin is that those pesky Ukrainians refuse to surrender.  And the United States is making their continuing resistance possible by giving Kyiv high-powered weapons to fight with.  To date, we've spent $8 billion in military assistance to the Ukrainian army with tens of billions of dollars in military hardware in the pipeline.  Congress authorized $54 billion in military and other aid to Ukraine — some of which went to our NATO allies to help us defend Kyiv.

$40B Ukraine bill reportedly full of pork, includes $500 million for electric vehicle development.  President Joe Biden has the pedal pressed to the metal and it's full speed ahead as his administration continues its intense push to radically transform America into a new green utopia in which electric cars will be the only vehicles on the road, including half a billion dollars for battery materials tucked inside of the controversial $40 billion Ukraine aid package.  The $500 million that's included in the massive foreign giveaway, at a time when conditions on the domestic front are deteriorating by the day, is to "expand funds available under the Defense Production Act to obtain critical battery minerals like nickel, cobalt, lithium and graphite," according to Bloomberg.

No Way Out but War.  The United States, as the near unanimous vote to provide nearly $40 billion in aid to Ukraine illustrates, is trapped in the death spiral of unchecked militarism.  No high speed trains.  No universal health care.  No viable Covid relief program.  No respite from 8.3 percent inflation. [...] The proposed budget for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in fiscal year 2023 is $10.675 billion.  The proposed budget for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is $11.881 billion.  Ukraine alone gets more than double that amount.  Pandemics and the climate emergency are afterthoughts.  War is all that matters.  This is a recipe for collective suicide.

The Truth About the $40 Billion in US Aid Ostensibly Being spent to arm Ukraine.  Once you take time to parse the details you quickly realize the media is misleading the American public on the reality of the $40 billion dollars ostensibly designated to buy weapons and equip Ukraine with a cornucopia of lethality.  Mark Cancian at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (aka CSIS) provides an excellent breakdown of what was actually appropriated.

Hawley says 'astronomical' $40B Ukraine aid bill is evidence of Biden's 'misplaced priorities' and hurts US.  Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is warning that a measure by Congress to give Ukraine $40 billion additional funding in its war against Russia is evidence of the Biden administration's "misplaced priorities" and will be detrimental to the security of the U.S.  The Senate advanced a $40 billion Ukraine aid bill on Monday evening, despite opposition from a handful of Republican senators, in a vote tallying 81-11.  Hawley told Fox News Digital Tuesday during an exclusive interview that the reason why he voted "no" to advance the aid package is due to the fact that it will harm the United States' standing domestically as well as on the world stage and doesn't represent a "nationalist" foreign policy view.

Pelosi's Reason Why Americans Should Support $40 Billion for Ukraine Defies Belief.  The House passed a bill for $40 billion in weapons and other aid to Ukraine and the war effort on Tuesday.  That was $7 billion on top of what Joe Biden had asked for and on top of the $13.6 billion that was passed last month.  Joe Biden said they needed more because they had already spent everything.  While 57 Republicans voted against the new bill for $40 billion, most voted for it.  It still has to go through the Senate.  Congress had already passed a bill that gave Joe Biden the right to provide virtually anything out of our own stockpiles to Ukraine.  Meanwhile, officials are raising questions about how our own stockpiles are being depleted with this effort.  There are also big questions about whether they are ensuring the weapons are getting to where they're supposed to go.

Joe Biden Asks Congress for $33 Billion More for Ukraine to Fund Their Government Salaries, Pensions and Budget Obligations.  This is getting seriously out of hand.  On top of the $14 billion already appropriated for Ukraine assistance, Joe Biden is now asking for a supplemental budget allocation of an additional $33 billion for Ukraine.  [Indeed], that's almost $50 billion in aid, plus the billions in distributed weapons.  Biden is asking for U.S. taxpayers to fund the budget, salaries and pension obligations of the Ukraine government.

Biden asks Congress for $33 billion in military, economic and humanitarian aid to help Ukraine fight Russia.  President Joe Biden on Thursday asked Congress for an additional $33 billion in military and humanitarian assistance for the Ukraine, which officials say could fund the war there for the next five months.  Biden said the previous money allocated for the Ukrainians has been spent.  'Basically we're out of money,' he said in remarks at the White House.

Report: Missing $1.8 Billion in Aid Linked to Corrupt Oligarch Who 'Bankrolled' Ukraine Revolution.  In a live video presentation, Thursday night, conservative radio host Glenn Beck accused the Obama administration of funneling $1.8 billion in taxpayer dollars to Ukraine in order to fund the Ukrainian revolution against Russia.  Calling the scandal bigger than the Reagan-era "Iran Contra" scandal, The Blaze founder said that his research team made the discovery while looking into the phone call between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky, which spurred the Democrats' now-failed impeachment charade.

Feds Buy Border Fence ... for Ukraine.  As part of the U.S. Crisis Support Package for Ukraine announced by the White House in April, the State Department awarded a $435,000 contract to B.K. Engineering System in Kyiv for razor wire to help "defend the newly imposed borders between Ukraine's mainland and the Crimean peninsula."  The contract was awarded on June 12, but was just posted online this week.

Document location http://akdart.com/ukr.html
Updated April 27, 2024.

©2024 by Andrew K. Dart