Free Republic

Vladimir Putin has pulled back the curtain on what has been described as the ‘largest and most secret’ drone factory ahead of a joint naval drill with Iran. Footage – a blend of Cold War secrecy and TikTok-era propaganda – offers a rare glimpse of the Yelabuga production facility in the Russian republic of Tatarstan. Recorded by Zvezda, the Russian defence ministry’s TV channel, it shows the star of Putin’s war in Ukraine – the ‘Geran-2’ drones. This is the Kremlin’s locally branded version of Iranian-designed Shahed 136. -snip- Above the entrance to the factory, a giant screen read, ‘Kurchatov,...

President Trump said Wednesday the United States may provide Ukraine with additional defensive missiles to intercept Russian air attacks. The president, speaking at a press conference in the Netherlands where he was attending a NATO summit, said Ukraine is seeking more Patriot missiles as the war with Russia drags on into a fourth year. “They do want to have the anti-missile missiles, as they call them, the Patriots. And we’re going to see if we can make some available,” Mr. Trump said. “You know, they’re very hard to get.” Mr. Trump said the U.S. is supplying Patriot missiles to Israel,...