Free Republic

Facing a myriad of deadly threats on the battlefield, exploding drones being a particularly serious threat, Russia and Ukraine have both taken extra steps to safeguard their tanks and vehicles by outfitting them with extra layers of protective armor. This improvised armor, sometimes little more than a chain-link cage welded around the outside of a vehicle, is essentially an effort to provide a last-ditch defense against inbound munitions like artillery, anti-tank missiles, or small drones packed with explosives, especially the latter. While both militaries have used such tactics, Russia, in recent weeks, has unveiled a strange-looking — albeit apparently effective...

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed warnings about a potential terror incident in Moscow just days before gunmen attacked a concert hall in the city on Friday. -snip- Earlier this month, the US embassy in Russia issued a security alert warning about a potential terror attack in Moscow and urged people to avoid crowds, monitor local media for updates, and be aware of surroundings. "The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours," the March 7...

Nearly two years into its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia again has the initiative, and its advantages over Ukraine are mounting.Conflict experts are warning that Russia maintains a significant advantage over Ukraine in several key areas right now, and Kyiv will need to seriously dig in if it hopes to fend off Moscow's war machine and have any shot at offensive operations next year.Michael Kofman and Dara Massicot, experts with Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Rob Lee, an expert at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, wrote in commentary published on Friday by War on the Rocks that "while the...

After missing their anticipated salary payments, Russian officers decided to leak sensitive information about Moscow's Black Sea Fleet to a Ukrainian partisan movement. The intelligence later paved the way for a devastating missile strike on the fleet's headquarters in the occupied Crimean peninsula, Ukrainian media reported. Ukrainian resistance fighters told the Kyiv Post in a recent interview that they managed to gather information about high-ranking Russian commanders from officers who were frustrated by Moscow's failure to pay their salaries on time. The officers were financially compensated in exchange for the information, which was then passed along to state agencies and...

Ukrainian forces reportedly launched a massive push against Russia's front-lines in the country's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, threatening Russian positions that had been overseen by a general who was recently fired. The surge marks a dramatic change in pace for Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive. For nearly two months, Kyiv's troops were forced to make slow and steady advances to liberate occupied territory as they faced Russia's formidable defensive lines, which include deadly networks of trenches, barbed wire, anti-armor obstacles, and minefields. Clearing the Russian fortifications — particularly the minefields — has been a painstaking process for Ukraine, which managed to preserve lots...

Ukraine has fended off Russia's advances for more than 16 months, and it's now several weeks into its long-awaited counteroffensive. The pace is grinding in some sectors of the front, but Kyiv's top general says he doesn't want to hear complaints it's going too slow. Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, told the Washington Post that it "pisses" him off to hear commentary that his counteroffensive operations are moving slower than anticipated. Kyiv's military is currently undergoing several offensive maneuvers along the front lines in the eastern and southern regions and has made small — but, at...

kraine has fended off Russia's advances for more than 16 months, and it's now several weeks into its long-awaited counteroffensive. The pace is grinding in some sectors of the front, but Kyiv's top general says he doesn't want to hear complaints it's going too slow.Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, told the Washington Post that it "pisses" him off to hear commentary that his counteroffensive operations are moving slower than anticipated. Kyiv's military is currently undergoing several offensive maneuvers along the front lines in the eastern and southern regions and has made small — but, at times,...

...Before the mutiny was called off, Wagner Group fighters closed in on Moscow and shot down several Russian military aircraft, including an Ilyushin Il-22M airborne command-post aircraft. Photos and videos shared to social media showed the plane engulfed in a fireball as it plummeted from the sky, before ultimately crashing into a field and leaving behind a huge pile of debris. All 10 crewmembers aboard the aircraft were reportedly killed. The Il-22M is a valuable special-mission aircraft that Russia's military has relied on heavily for aerial command and control during its invasion of Ukraine. Britain's defense ministry wrote in a...

Wagner Group mercenaries appeared ready to clash with Russian soldiers defending Moscow from a sudden armed rebellion over the weekend. Hail-mary negotiations, mediated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, stopped the potential bloodshed in the capital. Lukashenko, a second-rate dictator and close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has since seized on the opportunity to boast about how he saved Moscow from the mutiny — "humiliating" the Russian leader for being unable to do this himself, war experts say. After Wagner fighters captured the southern city of Rostov-on-Don early Saturday, they continued north toward Moscow as the city prepared its defenses...

Harrowing footage published by Ukraine's special operations forces this week shows their troops storming a Russian trench and engaging in deadly close-quarters fighting with Moscow's soldiers. The assault appears to have caught the Russians by surprise and left several dead as the Ukrainians cleared their way through the dirt maze. In stark contrast to the reactions by the Russian soldiers, Kyiv's forces appear to have executed the mission flawlessly, doing "everything right," a former US Army infantry soldier said. "What the Ukrainians did is very unique in their level of proficiency," John Spencer, chair of urban warfare studies at West...

The US military is leading a team that is helping to repair Ukraine's military hardware over the phone. These virtual exchanges often take place during battle, the Associated Press reported. Ukrainian troops, meanwhile, are pushing artillery systems to the limits to keep Russia at bay.

Ukraine is finally getting the Western-made tanks that it wants, but there's still a few big items on its wishlist. Kyiv says the next thing it wants is fighter jets. "We have new tasks ahead: Western-type fighter jets, sanctions, Peace Formula implementation," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said after Germany announced on Wednesday it would send Leopard 2 main battle tanks, a decision that followed weeks of mounting pressure by European countries. Yuriy Sak, an advisor to the Ukrainian defense minister, concurred, telling Reuters that "the next big hurdle will now be the fighter jets." Some others, however, have pointed...

The attack sparked sweeping criticism and condemnation of Moscow's military leadership by prominent lawmakers, government officials, and military bloggers. They complained that the Kremlin placed troops near ammunition storage, allowed them to use cellphones that emit location data, and stationed them within firing range of Ukrainian weapons. Scores of Russian troops were killed over the New Year holiday in a Ukrainian HIMARS strike. A string of Russian command failures allowed the deadly attack to happen. Security experts told Insider that the incident highlights a critical lack of skill at a tactical level. A recent Ukrainian strike killed scores of Russian...

An elite Russian military brigade suffered so many losses while fighting in Ukraine that it was essentially "wiped out" and is expected to take a long time to rebuild, according to a new report. When it was first sent into Ukraine, the 200th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, stationed in northwestern Russia near its border with NATO-leaning Finland, had more experience, newer equipment, and better training than many other Russian units, The Washington Post reported on Friday. But despite these advantages, the 200th suffered greatly in the months of combat that would follow. Shortly after the invasion, units belonging to the...

Sailors on the Lincoln originally noticed an "odor and cloudy appearance" in the ship's drinking and bathing water on September 21, and testing the following day revealed that E. coli bacteria was present in some of the vessel's potable water tanks, the Navy said in an October 13 statement. The Navy said at the time that the presence of E. coli bacteria was actually unrelated to reports of an "odor and cloudiness," which the service said disappeared on September 22. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, bilge water is liquid that drains from the interior areas or upper decks of...

former CIA officer said Vladimir Putin had been backed into a corner over his war in Ukraine. Robert Baer told CNN the Russian leader was unlikely to deescalate, given all his setbacks. Baer also said the chances that Putin might turn to tactical nuclear weapons were increasing. As military setbacks in Ukraine force Russian President Vladimir Putin into a corner, one former CIA officer argues that the chances he might turn to nuclear weapons are increasing. "I think the chances of his de-escalating are close to zero," Robert Baer, a former CIA case officer, told CNN on Tuesday, adding that...

- Trump took swipes on social media at potential 2024 rivals Govs. DeSantis and Youngkin. - It's been speculated that the Florida and Virginia governors could seek the GOP nomination in 2024. - Though he has not said he's running for re-election, Trump once again teased he may make another White House run.

Ukraine could push Russian forces back to its pre-war borders by 2023 — wiping out its territorial gains — because President Vladimir Putin's troops are "exhausted," a retired US general said on Thursday. Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the former commanding general of the US Army in Europe, told Insider that Ukraine's ability to push Russian troops back to the existing borders depends on continued Western support through sanctions and weapons deliveries. "The Russians are exhausted," Hodges said. "They don't have much else they can do right now." He added that much of Putin's military is already committed to the war,...

Lt.Gen. Ben Hodges, the former commanding general of the US Army in Europe, told Insider that Russia lacks the resources and capabilities to make significant advancements in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region — where the 20-week-long war has turned into a grinding campaign. ... Russia's arsenal of artillery and rockets is the "only advantage" that President Vladimir Putin's forces have right now and said this is reflected in attacks on Ukrainian defense positions and civilian areas, which cause lots of casualties. A key to Ukrainian success will be to neutralize these weapons, he said. Without them, Russian victories will be hard...

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with fellow heads of state on Wednesday at a massive table in Turkmenistan that dwarfed a comically long table at the Kremlin that previously captured global attention. Meeting with the leaders of Turkmenistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan, Putin sat far from other leaders at a massive rectangular table as they discussed cooperation in the Caspian Sea region, the Kremlin said. According to the Turkmenistan government, the 6th Caspian Summit was held at the "luxurious Arkadag Hotel."