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Western leaders must remind their populaces what is under pressure and at stake. Many of us held our breath, and then exhaled in nervous relief, as a reported Russian missile strike on Poland turned out to be falling debris from Ukrainian defense systems. But the episode—and a declaration by the Polish military chief that Russia is “escalating” its invasion and getting “closer and closer to the NATO borders”—underline the danger that the shooting war might spill into alliance territory.  Yet the clash of militaries is only part of a wider conflict pressed by Russia against the West. “The world is…

Some 74 percent of Russian citizens recently surveyed said they support the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine. But 22 percent, up from just 9 percent in March, say that they don’t actually understand what the war is about, according to a Chicago Council- Levada Center survey of Russian public opinion released this week.  The survey, conducted at the end of November, found that 53 percent of respondents believe that Russia’s so-called “special operation” is succeeding, while 30 percent said the opposite. And some 53 percent believe that the Russian government should open negotiations with Ukraine to end the war.  Polling and surveys of…

FILE – During a trip organized by the Russian Ministry of Defense, Russian soldiers stand guard as foreign journalists visit a grain elevator in Melitopol, southern Ukraine, Thursday, July 14, 2022. (AP Photo, File) Ukraine’s military struck a hotel complex housing dozens of Russian soldiers in the occupied city of Melitopol on Saturday night, reportedly using long-range artillery supplied by the United States. Ivan Fedorov, the exiled mayor of Melitopol, said in a Telegram post that the hotel complex was housing up to 200-300 Russian soldiers, adding that dozens of them were killed or wounded in the attack.  Russian authorities…

A pro-putin propagandist has declared on state TV that Russia must win its war in Ukraine or World War III will happen. Margarita Simonyan, head of RT, suggested that a major new conflict could occur should Kyiv take back Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Samoyed said: "In their view (the West and Ukraine), Russia's victory means for Russia to retain at least something, including Crimea. "They believe that Ukraine should take it all. Donbas, the Kherson region, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea as well, that would suit them. Other options don't suit them. World War 3 doesn't suit them either." She…

Kyrylo Budanov said Russians believe defeat in Ukraine is a (Image: GETTY ) Public morale in Russia regarding the war in Ukraine is demonstrably affected by its military bloggers on Telegram, a messaging service that has become one of the most popular forms of media in the country. Kremlin officials are, to some extent, exposed to these writers. Russian propagandists believe that defeat in the war is a “foregone conclusion” and are now just thinking about “how to lose” without being humiliated, a Ukrainian official has claimed. Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, claimed that Ukraine “have…

Moscow says Ukraine converted old Soviet drones into long-range weapons that struck hundreds of miles inside Russian territory. Explosions at the Dyagilevo and Engels airbases deep within Russia suggest that Ukraine can strike the very outskirts of Moscow—and, perhaps, that U.S. officials may need to revisit their rationale for withholding various long-range weapons. On Monday evening, the Russian Ministry of Defense said modified versions of the Soviet-era Tupolev Tu-141 Strizh reconnaissance drones had struck air bases at Engels, 372 miles from Ukrainian-controlled territory, and at Dyagilevo, 122 miles southeast of Moscow. It blamed the strikes on “the Kyiv regime.” The…

US senators will get a classified briefing on Ukraine next Wednesday, according to a Senate aide. The briefing comes as the administration is pushing for $37 billion more in aid to Ukraine, which could be folded into a year-end omnibus bill that must be approved before a Dec. 16 deadline to fund the government.  It’s still uncertain whether the administration will get a deal on a giant omnibus package or have to settle on a stop-gap resolution to fund federal agencies at last year’s levels — something the Pentagon has warned against. Background on the funding: The Ukraine funding request…

Russian conscripts appear to be in open revolt as footage emerges of recruits marching off a military base in the city of Kazan. https://youtu.be/2-4gQt_HRyQ?t=41 Mobilised Russian soldiers preparing for the war in Ukraine appear to have enough poor equipment and training as a mass walkout is caught on camera in Kazan, southwest Russia. The footage shows uniformed conscripts marching towards a guarded gate and demanding to be let through. Nice one! Fight for your life, for your rights and for what is right don’t let those corrupted and evil leaders of yours dictate if you get to live or not

Anna Rose Layden Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said she sees a “reduced tempo” when it comes to the war in Ukraine and that both Russian and Ukrainian armies are settling in for the winter months to prepare for counteroffensives in the spring. Haines told NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell on Saturday the fighting, primarily in the eastern Ukrainian region Donetsk, has already slowed down for the winter. “Once you get past the winter, the sort of question is: What will the counteroffensive look like?” Haines said at the Reagan Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California.…

U.S. officials are working to broker a deal with NATO and Middle Eastern nations to send some of their NASAMS interceptors to Ukraine, Raytheon Technologies CEO Greg Hayes said Thursday. The deal would allow Ukraine, which has reportedly been putting its recently received National Advanced Surface to Air Missile Systems to very effective use against incoming Russian missiles, to avoid a two-year wait for new ones from Raytheon’s factory, Hayes said in an interview.  “The DOD is going to attempt to do some trading for us where we'll take some from the Middle Eastern countries that are our friends and…