Free Republic

According to The Times, a US marine surveillance P-8 Poseidon aircraft, was tracking Moskva in the hours before it was attacked before supplying its location to the Ukrainian military. The Boeing-made aircraft is based upon the Boeing 737-800 jet - which is widely used by airlines such as Ryanair. However, instead of passengers, the Poseidon is packed with state-of-the-art surveillance equipment which can track surface vessels and submarines at ranges of more than 100 miles. .. the P-8 left US Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily on April 13, hours before the attack. Before reaching the Black Sea coastline, the...

Some 2,000 pro-Russian supporters marched through Frankfurt this afternoon amid demonstrations in several German cities backing President Vladimir Putin. A 350-car motorcade set off from Hannover to be greeted by 700 counter-demonstrators pledging their support for Ukraine. The motorcade, flying Russian and also a few German flags, is protesting against discrimination in Germany towards Russians following the Ukraine invasion.

Russia has been accused of interfering with the global GPS navigation system during a major Nordic war game in Finland. European aviation authorities have said signals, heavily used by commercial aircraft, have been affected from Finland, through the Mediterranean and even as far as Iraq. Disruptions to Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), which include GPS, are caused by the 'jamming' or 'spoofing' of satellite signals. Since the war erupted on February 24, 'jamming and/or possible spoofing has intensified in geographical areas surrounding the conflict zone and other areas,' the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said in an online bulletin Thursday.

A university student who won a national award for designing a chair that stops men from manspreading has faced vile rape threats. Laila Laurel, 23, studying at the University of Brighton, created the piece of furniture to stop men from widening their legs and encroaching on other people's personal space. In her design, two bits of wood are positioned on the seat to physically stop whoever is sitting down from moving their legs apart. She received the award last week but says that she has been sent 'unpleasant backlash' since, with men sending explicit photos and rape threats to her...