Free Republic

Russia's Black Sea fleet based in annexed Crimea has installed a new commander, RIA news agency cited sources as saying on Wednesday, after Russian military bases on the peninsula were rocked by explosions in the past nine days. If confirmed, the removal of the previous commander Igor Osipov would mark the most prominent sacking of a military official in the nearly six months since Russia launched its war on Ukraine. State-owned RIA said the new chief, Viktor Sokolov, was introduced to members of the fleet's military council in the port of Sevastopol.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the Kremlin inadvertently put its military forces in an unsustainable position, ordering them to take on more operations than they could bear. It had nearly all its soldiers surge simultaneously and rapidly into Ukraine to fight along multiple fronts. It did so without taking necessary protective measures, such as clearing routes of explosives. It had its forces advance at an unsustainable pace. As a result, Russian troops were vulnerable to ambushes, counterattacks, and severe logistical problems that cost the military enormous numbers of soldiers and equipment. That initial error was caused by the Kremlin’s...

Ukrainian forces have struck a strategically important bridge in the southern part of the country, using what a Russia-appointed official said were rocket systems supplied by the United States. The Antonivskyi Bridge crossing the Dnieper River was closed Wednesday following the Ukrainian strike. Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russia-appointed administration for the Kherson region, said the bridge was still standing after the late Tuesday strike, but that the road deck was full of holes. Stremousov said Ukrainian forces used the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) to carry out the strike. The bridge is a key link allowing Russia...

The Russian army is suffering high casualties in the war against Ukraine and Vladimir Putin badly needs fresh troops. He wants to avoid a general mobilization, so the military is relying on other methods. -snip- The hidden mobilization has been particularly intense in Buryatia. The army has been using the messenger service Viber to send attractive offers, which include generous salaries, social benefits and a healthy pension – the complete package. "They have called everyone I know: Don’t you want to participate in the special operation?" reports one woman from the region who asked to remain anonymous. "As if it...

Russia is scrambling to recruit men to fight in Ukraine after major losses in the early months of the war left the army stretched thin and some soldiers disenchanted. The Kremlin has so far declined to order a general mobilization of draft-age soldiers, because this could signal that the war is not proceeding as well as depicted in the Russian media and threaten to stir grass-roots resistance to the military campaign.

Vladimir Putin was today hit by the death of Russia’s 11th general in his bloody war with Ukraine. Major-General Roman Kutuzov was the chief of staff of the 29th Combined Arms Army, according to reports. His vehicle was ambushed by Ukrainians and he died in a fight in Donbas, say sources. His death is the 11th general, but the first such high ranking army officer in more than a month. In addition, at least 49 colonels have been killed in the war with Ukraine. The latest was Lt-Col Zaur Dimayev, deputy commander of the 4th battalion of the Akhmat Kadyrov...

An intercepted conversation between two Russian FSB officers, published by Ukrainian military intelligence, reveals another senior military officer has been killed. Russian forces in Kharkiv have accidentally taken out their own secure communications systems by destroying the 3G towers they depend on, it has been reported. Ukraine's military has shared an intercepted call captured as a result, reporting the death of Major General Vitaly Gerasimov to someone identified as a senior Russian intelligence officer by Bellingcat's Christo Grozev. The incident is the latest evidence of the technological and equipment challenges facing Russia's invasion force, as indicated by photographs of civilian...

Former President Donald Trump said if he were still in the White House, the U.S. would be taking more drastic measures against Russian President Vladimir Putin, going so far as to send nuclear submarines to the country's coast to pressure Russia to back out of Ukraine. "You should say, 'If you mention that word [nuclear] one more time, we're gonna send [nuclear submarines and planes] over and we'll be coasting back and forth, up and down your coast," Trump told Fox Business on Monday. "You can't let this tragedy continue. You can't let these, these thousands of people die." The...