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Thanks @Newsweek for publishing an oped from @SamuelBrownback and me today. #afghanistan #IRF
newsweek.com/time-try-new-ap…
Sarah E. Makin ن retweeted
Last night: 210 drones and at least 21 ballistic missiles at Ukraine, mostly at Kyiv. Ukraine stopped 181 of 210 drones. Not one missile reported stopped, and reports say Patriot interceptors are nearly gone.
Pastors: ask President Trump to help protect Ukraine's churches. Sign 👉 faithundersiege.com/faith-le…
Thank you for having me, @Garymarx!
Check out our documentary series, Faith in War, FaithInWar.com. All free. All important viewing content.
@FaithUnderSiege
Russia has abducted thousands of Ukrainian children, separating them from their families and attempting to erase their Ukrainian identities. What is being done to bring these children home, and why isn't the world paying more attention?
@DCSas, Visiting Fellow at Independent Women's Voice and former senior official in the Trump administration's National Security Council, joins @Garymarx on Peace & Power to discuss Russia's abduction of Ukrainian children, the fight to reunite families, and the latest developments in U.S. policy toward Russia and Ukraine.
Makin discusses her recent Newsmax op-ed, "A Year Later, 31 Children Are Not Enough, Mr. Putin," examining the efforts to secure the return of Ukrainian children and the role First Lady Melania Trump has played through quiet diplomacy. While acknowledging the importance of every child returned, she argues that far more must be done to reunite families and confront Russia's efforts to indoctrinate and assimilate abducted children.
The conversation highlights the work of Save Ukraine, an organization helping rescue children and provide the support they need after returning home. Makin also discusses her documentary project, A Faith Under Siege, including the short documentary Stolen Children, which follows efforts to bring Ukrainian children home. Gary and Sarah then turn to recent developments involving President Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, including a reported diesel arrangement that they fear could generate additional revenue for Russia's war effort. They examine the potential consequences for Ukraine, questions surrounding sanctions enforcement, and the competing diplomatic considerations influencing U.S. policy.
Drawing on her experience in the White House, Makin discusses the challenges of presidential decision-making, the influence of competing advisers, and the importance of maintaining pressure on governments responsible for human rights abuses.
Finally, the conversation explores international religious freedom, President Volodymyr Zelensky's meeting with the Pope, and the role religious leaders can play in defending persecuted communities in Ukraine and around the world. From the plight of abducted children to the difficult choices facing American policymakers, this episode examines the human consequences of Russia's war and the continuing struggle for peace, justice, and religious freedom.
youtube.com/watch?v=Y6KNgYGe…
Sarah E. Makin ن retweeted
HEROES WHO PROTECTED UKRAINIAN CHILDREN FROM RUSSIAN ABDUCTION: "The Russian military came to us. They said that these were their children, that they were the owners. They threatened to kill us and said that they would take the children away....Each child's life was my life, it's a great responsibility." 🤲
Despite the threat from Russian authorities to execute them and take their students, school directors Natalia and Valeri stood their ground and refused to let the children be taken; their decision, saving many students from the experience of more than 19,000 Ukrainian children that have been abducted by Russia in this war.
Watch our new documentary "The Stolen Children," which follows Meaghan Mobbs as she joins the fight to bring Ukraine's children back, working alongside critical organizations such as Save Ukraine; the largest humanitarian organization dedicated to rescuing abducted Ukrainian children and providing critical support to families affected by war.
Watch. Share. Pray for Ukraine's children.
📽️ The Stolen Children: loom.ly/pU-OITI
🌐 faithinwar.com
👤 @mobbs_mentality
#TheStolenChildren #Ukraine #Russia #children #school #family
I left my son w/ the sitter (born in 2002) to get a manicure. Upon returning…
Sitter: “How was it? What color did you get?”
Me: “My all time favorite! Lincoln Park After Dark. But I only wear it in fall and winter.”
Sitter: “Ah. The millennial lore about that color.”
Me: (side eye so hard it almost leaves a mark) Yeah … maybe your mom was wearing it when she birthed you.
Thank you @NEWSMAX for running my latest on Russia’s abduction of children from Ukraine.
"Oct. 10, 2026 marked one year since first lady Melania Trump took on the cause of returning Ukraine's stolen children from Russia.
@FLOTUS opened a door nobody else could open, and she deserves credit for that. A reunion is a family put back together. It is also a child who will not be drilled, given a new name, and eventually handed a Russian weapon and uniform.
But Putin has used the dialogue to smudge the difference between a crime and the ordinary wreckage of war.
Most of the 31 children returned under the pressure the first lady applied came out of occupied territory in Ukraine, not out of Russia itself. Some of the children sent back were never abducted. They were separated by fighting, or they were living on the wrong side of a new line.
Putin releases the children it can afford to release, and would like us to call that cooperation.
We must not let the channel the first lady opened become a stage for the children Moscow was already willing to give up. The goal is thousands, not dozens. This is the test of whether the channel is ours or his." — Sarah E. Makin @DCSas for @NEWSMAX.
newsmax.com/politics/childre…
My son has that same fiery red hair. He’s little, loud, and convinced the world is mostly safe.
Ariel Bibas was four. Kfir was still a baby. Both were taken from their home on October 7 with their mother, Shiri. They did not come back. Their lives were stolen.
On this day I hold my boy a little longer and say their names, because forgetting them would be its own kind of failure.
Paris renames scenic path in ‘particularly peaceful’ gardens to honour slain Bibas children
thejc.com/news/world/paris-r…
Sarah E. Makin ن retweeted
Thank you @WSJ.
The persecution on Chinese Christians and House Churches reveals a type of institutional risk that does not show up on a spreadsheet for businesses and companies, it cannot be hedged or diversified. For businesses, it often means loss of competitive edge or capital invested.
For Christians like my parents, it means loss of freedom.
wsj.com/opinion/religious-pe…
#FreeLightofZionChurch #FreeZionChurch
感谢 @WSJ。
中国对基督徒和家庭教会的迫害，揭示了一种企业和商业活动中难以在财务报表上体现的制度性风险。这种风险无法通过对冲来规避，也无法通过分散投资来化解。
对企业而言，这往往意味着投入资本的损失。
对基督徒而言，这意味着自由的丧失。
Sarah E. Makin ن retweeted
I want to thank @MilitaryTimes and @Cebeyersdorfer for helping us share our mission and raising awareness about veterans mental health.
Green Beret who survived an IED now clears Ukraine’s landmines militarytimes.com/off-duty/m…
Sarah E. Makin ن retweeted
These families - often including American citizens - live with the uncertainty of what is happening to loved ones in China. Law abiding citizens can be thrown in jail just for believing in a higher power than the Chinese Communist Party.
theepochtimes.com/article/fa…
Thank you, @realDailyWire, for running this op-ed today.
“If we keep negotiating and cooperating with a power that is openly at war with our values — and committing the same atrocities we have gone to war to stop — we do not look sophisticated. We look like we have forgotten who we are, and we hand China the moral high ground we used to occupy without apology.”
Continued compartmentalization of trade/AI from human rights issues is not realism; it is amnesia.
cc: @IWF @bdomenech
Religious Freedom Belongs On Today’s Agenda With Xi
Trump must prioritize the release of political & religious prisoners held hostage by the Chinese Communist Party. @realDailyWire @DCSas
dailywire.com/news/religious…
Sarah E. Makin ن retweeted
Netanyahu went after Qatar and Turkey in the same breath.
On Qatar: "It tries to brainwash young people into hating Israel. It hosted Hamas leaders on its territory."
On Turkey: "Erdogan hosts Hamas leaders. He kills journalists and political opponents and holds a record when it comes to this. He occupied northern Cyprus, threatens Greece, and now wants to take control of Syria."
Thank you, Paul!
@DCSas is exactly right. Religious liberty, and in particular, prisoner release, should absolutely be a priority today and tomorrow with the Chinese leader: dailywire.com/news/religious…
My menu recs:
Amuse-bouche: release of political prisoners
First course: end the long-arm harassment of Uyghurs, Hong Kongers, and Falun Gong in the U.S.
Palate cleanser: no more family-hostage diplomacy
Dessert: Xi actually having to hear the words “transnational repression” out loud. White House honey ice cream is a nice touch, maybe add “stop disappearing people and stalking their families abroad.” Chef’s choice.
What’s on the menu for President Trump’s state dinner with Chinese President Xi Jinping:
- Yellow squash velouté, wild mushroom fricassée, crispy pancetta & scallion oil
- Sesame-crusted sea bass, baby bok choy, roasted eggplant & sauce verte
- Vanilla crémeux, White House honey ice cream, walnut frangipane & sour cherry confit
Sarah E. Makin ن retweeted