Free Republic

The only city captured intact by Putin’s forces remains a hotbed of resistance and partisan activity. It was the news many in Kherson had waited six months to hear. The Ukrainian counter-offensive launched this week to recapture the southern city was cheered by those who have suffered under Russian rule since Moscow’s forces took over in March. Residents in Kherson, strategically located on the Dnipro river that cuts across the country, reported hearing missile strikes and explosions around the city, which had made the Russian patrol increasingly jumpy. “The pro-Ukrainian activity of people who remain in Kherson is very high,”...

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Small arms, ATGMs, MANPADS, loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles, trailers and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When the...

Six months after President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the war has upended basic assumptions about Russia’s military and economy. ... Ukraine is half a year into the war and what it will mean as it marks continued independence is as uncertain as the outcome of the conflict. What is clear is that rather than reasserting Moscow as a global military power as Putin had hoped, his decision to invade Ukraine has triggered a deep rethinking of Russia’s conventional capabilities. It also prompted further expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, with hitherto neutral Finland and Sweden deciding to join...