Free Republic

The future U.S. President Donald Trump’s special representative for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, has issued a direct response to Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev, who dismissed Trump’s proposed peace plan for Ukraine, suggesting President Vladimir Putin would “tell it to go to hell.” In an interview aired on Fox News, Kellogg was adamant in his rebuttal to Malofeyev’s remarks, stating, “Better get back in your box and better understand President Trump, because clearly you don’t and you clearly do not understand the United States of America.”

In a coordinated operation, Russian authorities conducted raids on three of Moscow’s largest and most popular nightclubs on Friday night, detaining hundreds of men and taking them to military conscription offices. The raids, which took place at the Simachev, Mutabor/ARMA, and Mono nightclubs, began around 2 a.m. and continued for several hours, sending shockwaves through the city’s nightlife scene. According to witnesses, dozens of police vehicles, including paddy wagons, lined up outside the nightclubs as enforcement personnel, accompanied by police K9 units, systematically entered the establishments. Clubgoers described the scene as chaotic, with people being escorted out in groups. The...

The head of the Russian defense conglomerate Rostec, Sergey Chemezov, confirmed that the state-of-the-art Russian tank, the T-14 “Armata,” is not being deployed in the war in Ukraine, which the Kremlin has labeled a “special military operation.” Chemezov attributed this decision to the tank’s exorbitant cost, indicating that the military is opting for the more economical T-90 tanks instead. He underscored the prohibitive expense of the Armata as a deterrent to its immediate deployment, stressing the need for funds to develop newer and more cost-effective tank models. “In terms of its functionality, it certainly surpasses existing tanks, but it’s too...

U.S. Africa Command says that at least two MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jets, possibly piloted by shadowy Russian mercenaries, have crashed in Libya. Jared Szuba, the Pentagon correspondent for AI-Monitor, Tweeted out that one of the jets was apparently lost on June 28, while the other went down on September 7, 2020. This information had come in a statement from Rear Admiral Heidi Berg, U.S. Africa Command's (AFRICOM) director of intelligence. Another tweet indicates that Berg believes that "Russian fighter aircraft," presumably MiG-29s too, but potentially also Su-24 Fencer strike aircraft, have conducted airstrikes in Libya. AI-Monitor's Szuba follows that up...