Free Republic

Putin's troops moaned that they have been issued with plastic paintball masks, children's gloves and rubber boots to fight in Ukraine. Footage taken in Stavropol region in southern Russia reveals a man complaining about the pitiful resources he has for fighting, showing his paintball mask. The man said: 'Thank you for these warm gifts for mobilised fighters. The clips are more examples of the chaos that has ensued amid the scramble to mobilise Russian men after Putin's conscription order on September 21. Scores of men have headed to the frontline in the last few weeks hugely under-equipped and under-prepared. It...

Humiliation for Putin's troops is continuing as they begin to abandon the major city of Melitopol in the face of Kyiv's lightning counter-offensive. The city's pre-occupation mayor said that Russian troops were pulling out of the area in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region. Mayor Ivan Fedorov wrote on Telegram that Russian troops were heading towards Moscow-annexed Crimea. He said columns of military equipment were reported at a checkpoint in Chonhar, a village marking the boundary between the Crimean peninsula and the Ukrainian mainland.