Free Republic

The deputy governor of a Russian region bordering Ukraine has been detained as part of a criminal case involving the embezzlement of 1 billion roubles (S$15.8 million) earmarked for defensive fortifications, the Tass state news agency reported. The office of Deputy Kursk Governor Vladimir Bazarov, who previously worked as deputy governor in the neighbouring Belgorod region, was being searched, Tass reported. The detention of Bazarov was confirmed by Kursk Governor Alexander Khinshtein, who said the case related to his work in the Belgorod region. He gave no further comment. Reuters was unable to contact Bazarov or his lawyer. Since Ukrainian...

On Aug 11, Russian soldiers breached Ukraine’s front-line defences and penetrated at least six miles behind enemy lines. Battlefield maps, kept studiously up to date by open-source intelligence groups, showed a red tendril reaching north into Ukraine’s territory through several villages in the contested eastern Donetsk region coveted by Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. The advance set off alarm bells among Kyiv’s supporters, who feared it marked the start of an offensive aimed at the stronghold city of Kostiantynivka or the logistical hub of Pokrovsk, both of which could provide Russia with a foothold in Ukraine’s fortress belt. What Russian...

Two people in Poland say they have found a Nazi German train cloaked in mystery since it was rumoured to have gone missing near the end of World War Two while carrying away gems and guns ahead of advancing Soviet Red Army forces. Local authorities in Poland’s southwestern district of Walbrzych said they had been contacted by a law firm representing a Pole and a German who said they had located the train and were seeking 10 percent of the value of the findings. “Lawyers, the army, the police and the fire brigade are dealing with this,” Marika Tokarska, an...