Free Republic

The surreal scene shows a Kremlin meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Viktor Zolotov, 68, who is director of the Russian National Guard and has lost thousands of his men in the war. A grimacing Vladimir Putin was seen tightly gripping his desk as his most trusted general reported to him that invaded Ukrainians are showing their “support” for occupying Russian soldiers. The surreal scene shows a Kremlin meeting between Russian President Putin and Viktor Zolotov, 68, who is director of the Russian National Guard and has lost thousands of his men in the war. It is not the...

People’s militia officers in the Donetsk People’s Republic killed a US national, Alan Joshua, who had been fighting for Ukraine, in combat on August 23, the DPR’s ombudsperson Darya Morozova said on Telegram on Saturday. The DPR has notified US officials and the head of the UN monitoring mission in Ukraine, Matilda Bogner, of his death, she added. "In combat near Yegorovka on August 23, DPR people’s militia officers killed another foreign mercenary who had been fighting for Ukraine. Fleeing Ukrainian militants left his body on the battlefield. Documents identifying the killed person as US national Alan Joshua, born in...

In a solemn ceremony held at the RF Northern Fleet submarine base in Gadzhievo, Murmansk region, two portable iconostases were consecrated and handed over to crews of two nuclear submarine strategic missile cruisers: Knyaz Oleg and Novosibirsk, the fleet's press service reported. An iconostasis is a wall of icons, used to divide the Altar from the rest of the church space. Portable iconostases for sailing warships are made of wood, but for submarines, they use fabric. Such icons do not take up much space in the very limited space. On church feast days, canvases with icons are unpacked and mounted...

Disclaimer: The Kyiv Independent is publishing this investigation to shed light on the alleged abuse of power in the leadership of one wing of the International Legion – a legion created for foreign fighters dedicated to defending Ukraine. The members of the Legion’s unit say that they reported their commanders’ misconduct to Ukrainian law enforcement, the parliament, and President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Office, but saw no proper reaction and thus turned to journalists as a last resort. Soldiers who pointed at the problems within this unit of the Legion claim they received threats for speaking up. For their safety, we do...

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a major buildup of his country’s military forces Thursday in an apparent effort to replenish troops that have suffered heavy losses in six months of bloody warfare and prepare for a long, grinding fight ahead in Ukraine. The move to increase the number of troops by 137,000, or 13%, to 1.15 million by the end of the year came amid chilling developments on the ground in Ukraine. (snip) Putin’s decree did not specify whether the expansion would be accomplished by widening the draft, recruiting more volunteers, or both. But some Russian military analysts predicted heavier...