Free Republic

Vladimir Putin has pulled back the curtain on what has been described as the ‘largest and most secret’ drone factory ahead of a joint naval drill with Iran. Footage – a blend of Cold War secrecy and TikTok-era propaganda – offers a rare glimpse of the Yelabuga production facility in the Russian republic of Tatarstan. Recorded by Zvezda, the Russian defence ministry’s TV channel, it shows the star of Putin’s war in Ukraine – the ‘Geran-2’ drones. This is the Kremlin’s locally branded version of Iranian-designed Shahed 136. -snip- Above the entrance to the factory, a giant screen read, ‘Kurchatov,...

Vladimir Putin has allegedly unleashed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) on Ukraine – for the first time during the more than 1,000 days of his war – in a message to the West. This morning’s attack from Russia’s southern Astrakhan region comes 24 hours after Ukraine deployed US and British missiles on targets inside Russia. Footage circulating on Telegram channels shows the strike on the central-eastern city of Dnipro, starting at around 5am local time. If confirmed, the hit would serve as a chilling reminder of Russia’s nuclear capability. It was also just two days ago that Putin signed a revised...

Vladimir Putin has awoken to one of the largest bombardments on Moscow and other parts of Russia after 30 months of bloodshed. Ukraine unleashed 144 drones, targeting three airports in the capital and lighting up residential buildings in the region of Moscow, during what the Kremlin called a ‘terrorist attack supported by the UK and US’. Debris from aircraft damaged at least two high-rise buildings in the Ramenskoye district in the early hours of Tuesday, setting several flats on fire. A 46-year-old woman was killed and three people were injured, governor Andrei Vorobyov said on Telegram. He added that 43...

Ukraine has claimed a major victory that could turn the tide of the war with Russia. Fighters loyal to the infamous Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov have been captured by Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region during a stunning incursion on Vladimir Putin’s territory. Footage shows dozens of men blindfolded, with their hands tied, sitting in lines. Some appear bloodied, with bandages around their wounds. Two of them can be heard telling a Ukrainian soldier they are from Grozny, the capital of Chechnya. The video was released by the I Want to Live (Hochu Zhit) project run by Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence...

A new wave of Russian missiles plunged into the Caspian Sea after ‘technical malfunctioning’, it's been reported. Launched from a Tu-95MS – one of Vladimir Putin’s Soviet nuclear bombers – the three rockets were aimed at Ukraine. The alleged blunder could have seen them hit Russian residential buildings, said Crimean Wind Telegram channel, citing a Moscow military source A new wave of Russian missiles plunged into the Caspian Sea after ‘technical malfunctioning’, it has been reported. Launched from a Tu-95MS – one of Vladimir Putin’s Soviet nuclear bombers – the three rockets were aimed at Ukraine. The alleged blunder could...