Free Republic

Things are disappearing in the Ukrainian city of Kherson at a rapid rate. Some are physical objects. Russian troops are taking away ambulances, tractors and stolen private cars. Cultural things are going too: archives, and paintings and sculptures from the art and local lore museums. Even the bones of Catherine the Great’s friend and lover, Grigory Potemkin, have been grubbed up from a crypt in St Catherine’s cathedral and spirited away. Russian soldiers are ferrying this loot across the Dnieper river, to the left bank of the Kherson region. They have also been deporting local citizens under the guise of...

The latest rebellion in Kazan highlights how disgruntled draftees are bravely challenging the authorities amid fears they face being sent to the front as cannon fodder. Mutinies against Vladimir Putin’s war are spreading as up to 2,500 mobilised Russian men faced down a "drunk" general in a protest over their training camp conditions and rusty weapons. Disgruntled draftees are bravely challenging the authorities by staging the rallies in Kazan, Ulyanovsk and the annexed Luhansk region. In a new video shared online last night, riot police arrive at a demonstration in Kazan, where the approximate 2,500 soldiers had gathered to confront...