Free Republic

North Korea has confirmed that dictator Kim Jong Un “gave the order” to bail out Vladimir Putin by sending North Korean troops to fight in Putin’s “holy war” against Ukraine. The troop deal was confirmed at a meeting between North Korean foreign minister Choe Son Hui and the Kremlin’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov in Moscow. More than 10,000 North Korean troops are reported to be deployed to Russia, with some already in the area of operations. The Pyongyang envoy said: “From the very beginning of the special military operation, respected comrade Chairman of State Affairs Kim Jong Un gave the...

The Russian proxy leader in Sevastopol in occupied Crimea, Mikhail Razvozhayev, claimed on the evening of March 23 that "10 missiles were shot down" over the city during an ongoing attack. The announcement came amid claims on Telegram channels about explosions and rising smoke in Sevastopol. The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims. Ukrainian officials usually do not comment on alleged attacks in occupied Crimea. -snip- The Crimean Wind Telegram channel published multiple videos and photos capturing projectiles, explosions, and smoke rising above the city. According to Crimean Wind, explosions were heard also in the Balaklava district, and a...

🔴 STREAMING VIDEO - 3-5-2024 Russian Warship destroyed. Kerch bridge out The Enforcer 3-5-2024 10:00 p.m https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMudFOT6sG0 European Leaders Warn That War Has Returned & Prepare For War; Major Escalations Welcome Back To Day 741 Of The News!

Ukraine said Tuesday it had sunk a Russian patrol ship off the coast of occupied Crimea, claiming another victory over the Kremlin's forces in the hotly contested waters of the Black Sea. Moscow did not confirm the claim, which would represent the latest blow to its naval power as Kyiv strikes targets deep behind the war's front lines, even as its army suffers setbacks on the battlefield. Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said that it had used high-tech sea drones in an overnight attack on the large patrol ship Sergey Kotov near the Kerch Strait, which separates the annexed peninsula’s eastern...

It’s reckless, if not insane, to deploy an open-top, unarmored all-terrain vehicle—in essence, a heavy-duty golf cart—in combat just a quarter mile from the front line. But two years into Russia’s wider war on Ukraine, Russian commanders are at least reckless if not not insane. Apparently this weekend, a Russian unit—possibly the 488th Motor Rifle Regiment—attacked positions held by the Ukrainian 60th Mechanized Brigade in Yampolivka, in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast. A Russian column including what appeared to be MT-LB armored tractors and at least one T-90 tank motored west toward Yampolivka. That itself wasn’t unusual. What was unusual was...

Ukrainian forces destroyed the Russian Black Sea Fleet's newest patrol ship, the Sergey Kotov, using naval drones in an overnight attack, Kyiv has said. According to the Unian news agency, Russia's newest Project 22160 patrol ship cost around $65 million to build and had a crew of 80, though it is currently unclear how many people were on board. "As a result of the attack by Magura V5 naval drones, the Russian ship of project 22160 'Sergey Kotov' suffered damage to the stern, right and left sides," Ukraine's military intelligence said in a post on Telegram. Ukraine has used Magura...

DRAMATIC footage shows the moment another Russian warship is blown to pieces in a massive explosion. Footage shows Putin's £35million Sergey Kotov corvette being struck by a kamikaze sea drone near Feodosia, in occupied Crimea. Ukrainian intelligence confirmed the strike and said the ship was entirely destroyed. One of Vladimir Putin’s most modern warships, the 308ft long patrol vessel Sergey Kotov came into service during the war in 2022. The vessel normally has a crew of 80 - and the fate of those on board remains unclear. The strike is a major blow to Putin's crumbling Black Sea fleet as...

The head of the Russian defense conglomerate Rostec, Sergey Chemezov, confirmed that the state-of-the-art Russian tank, the T-14 “Armata,” is not being deployed in the war in Ukraine, which the Kremlin has labeled a “special military operation.” Chemezov attributed this decision to the tank’s exorbitant cost, indicating that the military is opting for the more economical T-90 tanks instead. He underscored the prohibitive expense of the Armata as a deterrent to its immediate deployment, stressing the need for funds to develop newer and more cost-effective tank models. “In terms of its functionality, it certainly surpasses existing tanks, but it’s too...

Vladimir Putin's military is unlikely to use its prized T-14 Armata tank in combat in Ukraine because it is "too valuable," an ally of the Russian president said. The comments were made by Sergey Chemezov, the CEO of Rostec, the country's state-owned defense conglomerate, in an interview with Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti, published Sunday. Moscow is reported to have briefly deployed several of the main battle tanks for combat operations in July 2023, before they were withdrawn from the front line. The tank was once labeled by a senior British army official as "the most revolutionary tank in...

Russian forces suffered an average of 983 casualties per day in Ukraine in February, the highest since the war began, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in an intelligence update on Sunday. The UK department said the increase in casualties, which included both killed and wounded soldiers, was likely due to "Russia's commitment to mass and attritional warfare." In February, Russia finally captured the embattled Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, which sits just north of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. War analysts have noted that Russia's tactics to take Avdiivka often involved "human wave" assaults, attempting to overwhelm Ukrainian positions with...

Synopsis: Ukrainian forces used drones to directly attack targets in St. Petersburg, Russia. Two apartment buildings were heavily damaged with debris being blown hundreds of meters away. An article from The Independent (link immediately below) offers more details while the video from Kanal 13 shows the actual damage. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/drone-strike-st-petersburg-russia-ukraine-b2505844.html

The Russian air force lost another Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bomber on Thursday, the Ukrainian air force claimed. If confirmed, the Thursday shoot-down would extend an unprecedented hot streak for Ukrainian air-defenses. The Ukrainian claim they’ve shot down 11 Russian planes in 11 days: eight Su-34s, two Sukhoi Su-35 fighters and a rare Beriev A-50 radar plane. But those 11 claimed losses are worse than they might seem for the increasingly stressed Russian air force. In theory, the air arm has plenty more planes. In practice, the service is dangerously close to collapse. Exactly how the Ukrainians are shooting down so many...

Deliveries of all-new Russian aircraft have been delayed by two years due to safety concerns ... The publication said that, for example, the weight of the new MS-21 passenger aircraft has increased by 5.75 tons, compared to the previous version, which used foreign components and Western engines. This means its flight range and altitude have been significantly reduced. One of Kommersant's sources said that, if Russia is unable to reduce the weight of the aircraft, it will be impossible for authorities to make the plane achieve the desired performance characteristics. "It's impossible to increase engine thrust by 20 percent," the...

Tucker Carlson bashed Russian President Vladimir Putin's justification for invading Ukraine, claiming that the "denazification" of the country was "one of the dumbest things I'd ever heard." -snip- Carlson also described his first impression of Putin as someone who "seemed nervous," telling Fridman that the Russian president "went into [the interview] like an over-prepared student." Fridman specifically asked Carlson for his opinion on Putin's justification for continuing the war in Ukraine, which in part is to achieve the "denazification" of the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, has repeatedly dismissed the Kremlin's claims that Kyiv's government is openly...

Ukraine’s military has destroyed a Russian A-50 surveillance aircraft, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said on Friday. “The A-50 with the call sign ‘Bayan’ has flown its last!” Oleshchuk wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Developing

The Ukrainian air force claimed it has shot down 10 Russian warplanes in 10 days: nine of the Russian air force’s best Sukhoi Su-34 and Sukhoi Su-35 fighter-bombers and also a rare Beriev A-50 radar plane. -snip- The Ukrainian defense ministry announced this month’s ninth and tenth shoot-downs—both involving Su-34s—on Tuesday. “Oops, we did it again!” the ministry quipped. “And now it's 10 destroyed Russian planes in 10 days!” How the Ukrainians are shooting down so many jets is unclear. It’s possible the Ukrainian air force has assigned some of its American-made Patriot missile launchers to mobile air-defense groups that...

Russia has approved a temporary ban on the export of gasoline, a representative for the country's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told local media on Tuesday. Beginning May 1, Russia will impose a six-month ban on gasoline exports to allow the country to "offset the booming demand for petroleum products," the official told Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in an internal letter in January, publication RBC reported. Fuel shortages have been reported nationwide in Russia, which is one of the world's biggest producers of oil and gas. Wholesale fuel prices have soared across the country, and Ukraine has ramped up...

Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Fatah, and the Palestine Liberation Organization, were all invited to the meeting in Russia. Russia has extended invitations to various Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Fatah, for discussions on the Israel-Hamas conflict and broader issues in the Middle East. Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov announced the initiative on Friday, highlighting Moscow's desire to engage with all major players in the region amid heightened tensions. The invitation included a dozen Palestinian groups and is slated for "inter-Palestinian" talks scheduled to commence on February 29. Bogdanov, serving as President Vladimir Putin's special envoy for the Middle East,...

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When a vehicle is captured and then...