Free Republic

Anti-Russia activists and former Russian politicians have reportedly been meeting in Poland to discuss options for removing President Vladimir Putin from power — including by “physically eliminating” him. The group of Putin foes has mulled various regime change scenarios, among them unleashing a civil war in Russia, taking up arms and killing Putin, the European media network Euractiv reported. “The main goal is to physically eliminate Putin,” opposition activist Viacheslav Maltsev said. Maltsev, who fled Russia in 2017 after being labeled an extremist by the state, noted that a civil war in Russia would not be “as bloody as the...

Small, kayak-shaped boats fitted with cameras, tracking devices and jet-ski motors were employed to attack Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in the annexed Crimean port of Sevastopol over the weekend. It led to Moscow’s withdrawal from a landmark grain shipment deal, followed by a humiliating re-entry in a dramatic display of low-tech ingenuity, scuttling Russian naval might. The mother of all metaphorical storms hit Russia’s operations in the Black Sea over the past few days, with giant waves thrashing Moscow’s military and economic interests, smashing its bargaining chips, and undermining its diplomatic standing on the world stage. Much of the latest...

Vladimir Putin has been accused of using 'deeply irresponsible' nuclear rhetoric Though Chief of the Defence Staff Tony Radakin said 'it is a sign of weakness' Russian president Vladimir Putin has been criticised for 'deeply irresponsible' nuclear rhetoric, as fears grow that he may make a show of force using a nuke over the Black Sea. Last month Putin said he was ready to use nuclear weapons if necessary to defend Russia's 'territorial integrity' and yesterday Russia said seized Ukrainian lands are under its nuclear protection. The threatening statements are believed to have increased in frequency due to Putin having...

Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine is now being led by a ruthless commander known by his troops as “General Armageddon.” The Kremlin appointed Gen. Sergey Surovikin, 56, as overall commander of Russia’s joint group of forces in its so-called “special military operation” on Saturday. Just two days later, more than 80 long-range missiles rained down across Ukraine — including one just feet from a kids’ playground — in the most dramatic escalation since the invasion nearly eight months ago. “I am not surprised to see what happened … Surovikin is absolutely ruthless, with little regard for human life,” a former...

The hail of indiscriminate missile fire across Ukraine this morning was Russia's brutal payback for the attack on the Crimean bridge. Russian President Vladimir Putin called it the response to an "act of terrorism" which he blamed on Ukraine. But it was also Mr Putin's response to hawks in his own camp who have been growing increasingly restless with Russian losses in the war and increasingly loud with their calls for tougher action. Those pro-Kremlin officials and TV hosts who were depressed and dejected just days ago are now cheering this assault on their neighbour, gloating and even dancing in...

The United States has determined that Russia is suffering "severe manpower shortages" in its six-month-old war with Ukraine and has become more desperate in its efforts to find new troops to send to the front lines, according to a new American intelligence finding disclosed Wednesday. Russia is looking to address the shortage of troops in part by compelling soldiers wounded earlier in the war to return to combat, recruiting personnel from private security companies and even recruiting from prisons, according to a U.S. official who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss the downgraded intelligence finding....

European natural gas inventories rose by +87 BCF over past 7 days. EU nat gas storage 81% full. Current inventories at 3084 BCF. 21.2% higher than 1 year ago. EU goal is at least 80% full by Nov 1st for winter. Current projection is for EU to reach 91% by Nov 1st.

More than six months of war in Ukraine have led to huge losses of manpower and military equipment of the terrorist state of Russia. By the end of this year, the Russian Federation will run out of shells for artillery and armored vehicles, there are also very few guided missiles, and the state of military aviation does not allow for a full-scale air campaign. According to the Insider, due to Western sanctions, Russia cannot continue full-fledged industrial production of weapons and replenish supplies that are rapidly being depleted. It is noted that the Arsenal left in the Russian Federation since...

A hail of shrapnel from kamikaze drones ripped through the tent where off-duty Ukrainian border guards were sleeping near a crossing with Belarus, three hours north of Ukraine’s capital. Viktor Derevyanko woke to scalding pain, his body burning. Blood spilled from his hand as he tried to wipe his face. A piece of metal had traveled through his arm and stomach and into the muscle around his heart. “I couldn’t get my bearings,” said Derevyanko, the deputy head of the unit. “Only on the third explosion did I manage to fall out of bed and try to find at least...

From these 2 intercepted phone calls you’ll find out a few important things about the state of the Russian army on the frontline and also about Russian commanders and how they treat their soldiers.

A moment of crisis strikes the title character of George Leef’s new novel, The Awakening of Jennifer Van Arsdale (Bombardier Books, 2022). How will Jen handle it? Does she suppress the feeling and practice what George Orwell called Doublethink: “The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them?” Or does her mind reject the contradiction and actively seek out the truth? In his story, Leef offers what his subtitle calls “A Political Fable For Our Time.” Jen is a progressive political journalist for the Washington Post, highly skilled at crafting what real-life practitioners...

Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning to force the West to end its sanctions by causing a widespread famine, Yale historian Timothy Snyder argues. Snyder, a Levin professor of history at Yale University, pointed to Russia's ongoing blockade of Ukrainian grain, which shows no signs of stopping. Ukraine is a major global producer of grain, supplying mainly Middle Eastern and Asian countries. Snyder argues that Putin's plan is not only to destabilize Ukraine by cutting off exports but also destabilize the European Union by generating "refugees from North Africa and the Middle East, areas usually fed by Ukraine." "When the...

Ten weeks into Russia’s wider war on Ukraine, Kyiv’s tiny, aging air force is in much better shape than anyone should have expected prior to the invasion. Videos that have circulated on social media in the last week depict each of the Ukrainian air force’s manned fighter and attack types, at least some of them while in action near the front line in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region. The videos underscore what U.S. defense department officials said in mid-April: that an influx of spare parts from Ukraine’s allies helped the air force to repair around 20 grounded jets. As a...

<p>VLADIMIR Putin is facing a catastrophic collapse in army morale, after reports emerged of Russian soldiers turning their guns on their Chechen comrades.</p><p>Furthermore, Russian officers are alleged to have gone on strike and are refusing to carry out orders in protest at their conditions and the war. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov is a close ally of the Russian despot and has been a strong supporter of Putin's war in Ukraine. He has sent his militias, known as the "Kadyrovtsy", to help bolster Russian forces in their invasion.</p>

Vladimir Putin set to vanish for cancer surgery, mystery Russian Telegram account says Vladimir Putin has secretly nominated Nikolai Patrushev, a former KGB counterintelligence officer who once headed the FSB, to take “control” of Russia while he is incapacitated. Vladimir Putin may soon vanish for a period as he is due to undergo surgery linked to cancer, according to a new claim. He has allegedly secretly nominated his hardline security council security secretary Nikolai Patrushev - a former KGB counterintelligence officer - to take “control” of Russia while he is incapacitated. Shadowy Patrushev, 70, is seen as a key architect...

VLADIMIR PUTIN's war effort was dealt one of its biggest blows to date yesterday when a surprise Ukrainian ambush attack killed dozens of Russian reinforcement troops and reportedly forced one of the Kremlin's top military commanders to flee the country. The devastating attack is a huge blow to the Kremlin after President Putin had personally sent General Gerasimov to rescue the stalled war ahead of the May 9 Victory Day parade. General Gerasimov, who is the chief of staff of the Russian army, had been sent to the region to take personal control of the all-out assault on the Donbas...

New York (Knewz) — Vladimir Putin’s cancer surgery will force him to hand over power in the Ukraine war “for days,” a “Kremlin insider” told the Daily Mail. Putin will reportedly put hardline Security Council head and ex-FSB chief Nikolai Patrushev in power while he is dealing with surgery. Patrushev, 70, has played a big role in the Ukraine war thus far and convinced Putin that Kyiv is overrun by neo-Nazis, the Daily Mail reports. A year and a half ago, General SVR reported that Putin is suffering from abdominal cancer and Parkinson’s. The Daily Mail reports that Putin has...

Putin’s machismo leads him to underestimate his adversaries and show off for domestic and international consumption. Unsurprisingly, his favorite tactic is unprovoked aggression—in other words, the bluff. He got away with it in Georgia in 2008, Syria from 2012 onward, in annexing Crimea in 2014 ...Yet last month, he was caught completely off guard when the West finally called his biggest raise ever. As boxer Mike Tyson said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.” The West’s reactive jab of sanctions and aggressive arming of the Ukrainians appear to have completely stalled—and now reversed—Russia’s advance on...

Ukraine’s military successes against Russia have transformed calculations in Washington and other Western capitals, leading to a sharp increase in military help for Kyiv as a war that started with Western efforts at damage control has become one that offers a strategic opportunity to constrain Russia’s expansionist ambitions. The U.S. and its allies are now shipping large volumes of heavy weaponry to Ukraine, including more advanced Western systems to supplement the light weapons and Soviet-era arms that were funneled into Ukraine since before the invasion started. Those shipments are aimed at supporting Kyiv in the next decisive phase of the...

In the two months since Russia invaded Ukraine, the silence — and even acquiescence — of the Russian elite has started to fray. Even as opinion polls report overwhelming public support for the military campaign, amid pervasive state propaganda and new laws outlawing criticism of the war, cracks are starting to show. The dividing lines among factions of the Russian economic elite are becoming more marked, and some of the tycoons — especially those who made their fortunes before President Vladimir Putin came to power — have begun, tentatively, to speak. For many, the most immediate focus has been their...