Free Republic

VLADIMIR Putin's brutal war machine was dealt another blow today as Moscow confirmed the death of another top Russian military chief. Russian authorities have confirmed the death of Colonel Sergei Ilyin, commander of Russia's notorious 155th Marine Brigade. Telegram news channel Astra reported the Colonel's death on Friday, citing a now-deleted post from officials, the Moscow Times has reported. Ilyin had died "during the special military operation" according to a post attributed to the Urmarsky district administration. "Special military operation" is the euphemism used by Kremlin authorities when referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It follows speculation that the...

On Feb. 25, a flurry of accurate Russian drone strikes knocked out dozens of Ukrainian vehicles along the main road to Sudzha, the town that is—or was—the main base for the 10,000-strong Ukrainian force occupying a significant, but quickly shrinking, salient in Kursk Oblast in western Russia. That was “the day you started worrying about Kursk,” wrote independent analyst Andrew Perpetua. Two weeks later, it seems the bulk of the Ukrainian force—Ukrainian army’s heaviest brigades—has evacuated Kursk and repositioned on the Ukrainian side of the border. “My friends managed to leave Kursk, avoiding encirclement,” one Ukrainian source claimed Monday. “It’s...

Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Alexander Khinshtein acting governor of southern Kursk region on Thursday, saying "crisis management" was needed in the area, which has been partly occupied by Ukrainian forces since August. Putin was shown in a clip posted on the Kremlin website offering the post to Khinshtein, a journalist and veteran member of the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament. "I would like to offer you the position of acting governor of Kursk region, as at this time crisis management is needed there, in view of the situation occurring there," Putin told Khinstein.

On the sixth day of Ukraine's advance into Kursk Oblast in southern Russia, there's growing evidence the Ukrainian invasion corps - some or all of up to five 2,000-person brigades plus at least one 400person independent battalion--plans to stay.