Section: The Washington Free Beacon (USA)
Army Commander: Russia Could Cut Off U.S., NATO Allies from the Baltics
Russia could split NATO’s defenses by launching an offensive from the enclave of Kaliningrad near Poland, the commander of U.S. Army Europe warned this week. The Soviet Union annexed Kaliningrad—a territory sandwiched between Poland to the south and Lithuania to the east—after World War II. It has continued to be of great strategic...
US Supplying Ukrainian Army With ‘Secondhand Stuff’
The non-lethal military aid that the U.S. government has supplied to Ukraine is “secondhand stuff,” a Ukrainian special forces commander said recently. In notably poor condition are several Humvees made in the 1980s and 1990s that the United States sent to the country in July to help the Ukrainian government fight Russia-backed separatists. The...
Polish Minister: Europe Looking for ‘Any Good Excuse’ to Ease Pressure on Russia
Eastern European leaders are expressing concerns that Western officials will overlook Russia’s ongoing support to separatists in Ukraine amid efforts to partner with Moscow against the Islamic State terrorist group, Reuters reports. France President Francois Hollande has called on the United States, Russia, and other Western nations to set...
Putin’s Challenge
President Obama challenged the media to explain how Russia is challenging U.S. leadership in the world, so we did. Last week, a peevish POTUS asked 60 Minutes reporter Steve Kroft to explain “in what way” Russia’s aggression was intended as defiance against the West. The Obama administration has long asserted that Russia’s military...
Russia Targets Christians, Religious Minorities in Ukraine
Russia and its proxy forces have engaged in a systematic campaign in the last year to abuse religious minorities in Ukraine, according to a new report and accounts that have garnered scant attention in the Western press. In its annual report on International Religious Freedom, released Wednesday, the Department of State said that conditions for...
Investigators: Russian-Made Missile Downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Over Ukraine
A Russian-made Buk missile downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, according to Dutch investigators probing the July 2014 crash over Ukraine. The Dutch Safety Board concluded that the airplane traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala broke apart after being hit by a missile fired from easter Ukraine. USA Today reported: Dutch Safety Board (DSB) chairman...
Obama Said Something Embarrassingly Wrong About Ukraine
President Obama said something bizarre about foreign policy during his appearance on 60 Minutes over the weekend. Pressed by Stever Kroft on whether Vladimir Putin’s aggressive actions in Ukraine and Syria (where Russian bombers are targeting U.S.-backed forces) posed a “challenge” to his leadership, the president rejected the premise of...
France, Germany Tell Ukraine to Cooperate with Putin
Leaders in France and Germany pushed Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to accept a plan requiring him to cooperate with Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Paris last week. The plan was developed for the meeting by French diplomat Pierre Morel, and Poroshenko was prepared to dismiss it in the negotiations with French President Francois...
White House: Russians ‘Desperate’ to Meet With Obama
White House spokesman Josh Earnest suggested during Thursday’s briefing that the Russians were “desperate” for president Vladimir Putin to meet with President Obama next week. Obama and Putin will have a face-to-face meeting in New York at the United Nations General Assembly, amid tensions over Russian aggression in Syria and Ukraine. The...
Russia Plans Second Big Military Base Near Ukrainian Border
By Anton Zverev BOGUCHAR, Russia (Reuters) – Russia is planning a second major military base near the border with Ukraine, where NATO accuses Russian troops of helping pro-Moscow separatists fight Kiev’s forces. The new base will house 5,000 soldiers and heavy weaponry, according to public documents and people working at the site. It is...
