Free Republic

As the battle with drones continues, motorcycles have become a rising star in Ukraine's war. The Ukrainian military's 425th separate assault regiment, nicknamed "Skala," announced on Tuesday that it had officially formed the country's first motorcycle attack company. "As a result, we now have a modern 'cavalry' whose main task is to rapidly break through to enemy positions, conduct assault operations, and quickly shift the direction of attack," it said on its Telegram channel. The use of motorcycles to carry troops into battle is well-documented in Ukraine. Since early last year, Russian troops have been increasingly seen riding on light...

Russian state media reported that the 17-year-old was named curator of Chechnya's internal affairs ministry on Monday, meaning he'll oversee police and local security forces. The ministry also handles counterterrorism and riot control. A state broadcast showed the teen receiving the appointment at a ceremonial meeting as uniformed officers applauded. Soon after, he was filmed performing his duties by naming a new head of Chechnya's operational search division and handing out medals to police officers. The 17-year-old was already appointed overseer of Chechnya's Russian Special Forces University last April. The university says it teaches civilians and soldiers skills such as...

A top Iranian general has accused Russia of lying to Tehran by saying its jets were attacking Syrian rebels while they were instead bombing the open desert. In a rare break from Iran's diplomatic line on Syria, Brig. Gen. Behrouz Esbati partially blamed Moscow for the fall of Bashar Assad's government during a speech at a mosque in Tehran. An audio recording of the speech was published on Tuesday by Abdullah Abdi, a journalist in Geneva who reports on Iran. "We were defeated, and defeated very badly. We took a very big blow, and it's been very difficult," Esbati said...

-- Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group, said the Kremlin has completely stopped talking to him. -- Prigozhin claims he was cut off after revealing that his troops in Ukraine are running out of ammunition. -- The Wagner boss said he's been desperately trying to get more supplies but has been ignored. The head of Russia's infamous Wagner Group mercenary organization claims that the Kremlin has cut off contact with him. Yevgeny Prigozhin, known for years to be a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in a Thursday message on his Telegram channel that all of his...

Following Tuesday's mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, Arizona GOP congressman Paul Gosar spread a false and transphobic claim that the suspected shooter was a "transsexual leftist illegal alien." Gosar tweeted the claim even though authorities had already identified the suspect as an 18-year-old male resident of Uvalde, where the shooting occurred. As of Tuesday evening, the GOP representative has not commented on his tweet, which was deleted about two hours after being published. This false claim has been proliferating on social media with photos of a transgender person unrelated to the attack. The images appear to have been...