Free Republic

Nearly five months into its senseless war against Ukraine, Russia has concocted a wild new explanation for why the Kremlin’s plans for a quick takeover fell apart so spectacularly—because Ukrainian troops were turned into superhuman killing machines during “secret experiments” in American-run biolabs, of course. Never mind the myriad reports of Russian troops refusing to fight by the thousands, sabotaging their own shoddy equipment and even deliberately wounding themselves to abandon the war, Russian lawmakers claim the real setback for Moscow was “drugged up” Ukrainian soldiers. That claim was made Monday by two Russian lawmakers heading up a commission to...

The U.S. Defense Department believes that as many as 80,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine less than six months ago, a top Pentagon official told reporters today... The United States has now provided nearly $10 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion, nearly twice Kyiv’s military budget in 2021... The Pentagon initially estimated that Russia deployed about 120 battalion tactical groups, the Kremlin’s go-to combined arms unit, for the war—numbering around 100,000 troops. Experts said the new casualty estimate is likely to include Russian paramilitary and volunteer forces,...

A shocking video of a Russian mercenary playing with the skull of a Ukrainian fighter while declaring the objective of killing as many Ukrainian soldiers as needed to "de-Ukrainize Ukraine" was published by Ukrainian journalist and writer Denis Kazansky on Sunday. The fighter, identified as Moscow native Igor Mangushev by Kazansky, gave a speech in what appeared to be a club, holding the skull in the fashion that William Shakespeare's Hamlet held the skull of Yorick. "We're alive, and this guy's already dead," Mangushev reportedly said. "Let him burn in hell. He wasn't lucky. We'll make a goblet out of...

The armed forces have destroyed a militant who previously killed people in Syria and Libya and wrote the book "#theyarenotthere". As Censor.NET reports about it with reference to the "Myrotvorets" center. According to the Center, the pro-Kremlin mercenary is the author of the autobiographical book "#theyrenotthere", which tells about his participation in hostilities in Ukraine, Syria, and Libya. "Orlov was so eager for fame that until the last day he posted photos and videos of his participation in the fighting in Ukraine, while merging the dispositions of orcs in the Donbas. Using even these data, the Ukraine Armed Forces...

PARIS — Marat Gabidullin's face is lined from years of exposure to the elements, and his hair is thinning. But at 56, he has the trim physique and muscular arms of a man 30 years younger. He wears a chunky ring bearing the image of a skull.The skull is the symbol of the Wagner Group — a private Russian mercenary force believed to be financed by an oligarch with close ties to President Vladimir Putin. The group is fighting alongside the Russian army in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. And it's widely believed that at least some of the "little green...

In four weeks of combat, Russia may have lost 25 percent of its initial attacking force. These casualties are not on the scale of World War II but are large compared with the relatively small size of the Russian military today. Although reinforcements and replacements can offset some of these casualties, the loss of trained troops will impair military operations and eventually have a political effect. Russian losses to date are high. NATO estimates that Russia has lost between 7,000 and 15,000 soldiers. Wounded who cannot rapidly return to duty generally number about twice the number of dead. That would...

Russia has cut a deal with Sudan to deliver a dozen advanced MiG-29 Fulcrum jet fighters to the war-torn country. The deal, announced Christmas Day in Moscow, also includes 14 MiG-29 jets for Yemen. The transfer of fourth-generation MiG-29 Fulcrums to Sudan has raised concerns inside the Pentagon and is certain to alter any possible U.S. plans for air strikes at known terrorist bases inside the African nation. Sudan was cited as one of a limited number of nations with direct links to the Al-Qaeda terrorist network. The U.S. State Department also listed Sudan as one of a few hostile ...

Putin has reportedly deployed a large number of fighters from the Wagner group in the war in Ukraine. Unlike Syria and Libya, Russia’s reliance on the Wagner and other PMCs is believed to have significantly increased. Mounting losses in the ongoing war have forced the Kremlin to turn to the infamous Wagner mercenaries. However, experts warn these “lawless freebooters” can be as much a threat to the regime they serve as they are to the target they hunt. Experts say PMCs like the Wagner group may become extremely disruptive for Putin if their power continues to expand. 0:00 - Introduction...

Russia has lost yet another command post to a Ukrainian rocket strike after a headquarters in Donbas was blown up Thursday, officials have claimed. Video from the occupied city of Lysychansk uploaded to Telegram and taken by Chechen special forces appeared to capture the moment the rockets struck on Wednesday afternoon, sending plumes of smoke into the air. More footage then documented the aftermath, with a Russian flag shown fluttering limply over a courtyard strewn with rubble as men in military fatigues milled about. Serhiy Haidai, the regional governor, said Ukraine had struck the base - which had been set...

The photo that condemned Putin's Wagner thugs: Ukraine 'blows up Russian mercenary HQ in Donbas using HIMARS' after propagandist gave away its location with picture of a street sign Sergei Sreda, a so-called 'war reporter', visited Wagner HQ in Ukraine last week He shook hands with man who appeared to be Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigozhin Experts used images to locate the base, and on Sunday it was confirmed to be hit It is not clear whether Prigozhin was still at the base at the time it was struck Ukraine has destroyed the headquarters of Russia's shadowy Wagner mercenary group in...

A Russian mercenary who gained notoriety for butchering prisoners of war and civilians in the Donbas has been killed fighting in Ukraine. Vladimir Andonov, 44, a sabotage and reconnaissance specialist in the ranks of the shadowy Wagner Group, was shot by a sniper near Kharkiv during a night-time mission on June 5, Russian media says. Andonov was known to Russians as 'Vakha' or 'the volunteer from Buryatia' after the region he was from, but to Ukrainians he was 'the executioner' due to massacres he helped carry out during Russia's first invasion of the country in 2014.

Nearly 8,000 mercenaries from the notorious Wagner Group have been deployed by Russia in Ukraine to boost Vladimir Putin's flagging invasion, but have suffered heavy casualties, British MPs have been told. Giving evidence to the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Christo Grozev, executive director of the Bellingcat investigative website, said 3,000 members of the private military company (PMC) were thought to have been killed on the battlefield. The shadowy group - which has been linked to a string of killings, rapes and war crimes around the world - is known as Putin's private army which carries out his dirty work at...

Russia is deploying between 10,000 and 20,000 mercenaries in Ukraine, a European official said. Some are Syrian and Libyan fighters, though the exact breakdown of the force is still unclear.

PROOF Putin's soldiers and Wagner mercenaries carried out Bucha atrocities: German intelligence 'intercepts Russian troop messages discussing murders as part of strategy to sow terror' German intelligence agency BND has intercepted audio messages from Russian soldiers discussing killings Messages indicate the massacre was part of everyday Kremlin tactics and the Wagner Group was involved Spy chiefs believe there are similar scenes in other Ukrainian cities after further recordings were heard The barbaric atrocities at Bucha were part of a deliberate Kremlin strategy carried out in part by the feared Wagner Group of mercenaries, intercepted Russian radio transmissions have revealed. Germany's...

More mercenaries connected to the Russian Wagner private military company arrived in Ukraine on Sunday with the objective of assassinating top Ukrainian military and political leadership, Ukraine's Intelligence Directorate claimed on Sunday. The directorate asserted that the main targets of the mercenaries included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Presidential Chief of Staff Andrii Yermak and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Russian President Vladimir Putin "personally ordered another attack by one of his proxies," said the Directorate. "All previous attempts ended in the failure and elimination of terrorists. Zelensky was allegedly nearly assassinated three times in the week of March 4, according to...

The 400-strong squad of bloodthirsty mercenaries flown in from Africa with orders to kill Volodymyr Zelenskyy are part of a notorious private militia linked to a string of rapes, robberies, murders, and alleged war crimes. The Wagner Group - which is believed to have a hit list of 23 key figures including the Klitschko brothers - is considered by military experts to be at the beck and call of Vladimir Putin, although the Kremlin has repeatedly denied this. The force has already been heavily involved in supplying weapons, experienced special operations personnel, and military training to pro-Russian militias in eastern...