Free Republic

Ukraine says it has destroyed a sophisticated Russian air defence system in occupied Crimea. Kyiv's security service (SBU) and navy carried out the attack on a Russian facility near Yevpatoriya using cruise missiles and drones, a Ukrainian intelligence source told the BBC. Video footage on social media showed a fire and smoke near the city, in the west of the Russian-occupied peninsula. Moscow has yet to directly comment on the claim. (snip) According to the BBC's intelligence source, the Ukrainian operation used drones to take out radar equipment, then cruise missiles to hit air defence missile launchers. "After disabling the...

A powerful explosion rocked a building just 150 feet from a military situation room frequently used by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Rostov-on-Don Thursday. The blast, which the Kremlin said was from shooting down an airstrike, tore apart facades, smashed windows in three buildings and damaged several parked cars next to the headquarters of the Russian Southern Military District, according to the Independent, citing the state-owned RIA news agency. One person was injured, according to regional Governor Vasily Golubev. Video footage of the early morning attack showed a massive fireball rising into the sky in a developed area of the...

He really is dead. Today Yevgeny Prigozhin was buried in his hometown of St. Petersburg. There were conflicting reports leading up to the ceremony about where and when it would take place. It seems pretty clear that the Kremlin wanted this to be a very low-key affair with few people allowed so that no images or video showing long lines of mourners would wind up in the media. (snip) Even after his murder, Putin is obviously worried about his remaining supporters. To be clear, I think Prigozhin was a ghoul rounding up desperate criminals and sending them to die at...