Free Republic

Russian forces have made a breakthrough south of the Ukrainian-held town of Sudzha, potentially threatening to cut off some of the Ukrainian positions in Russia's Kursk Oblast, Agentstvo and Ukrainska Pravda reported on March 7. An undisclosed military source deployed in Kursk Oblast told the Ukrainska Pravda outlet that Russian forces have broken through Ukrainian defenses south of Sudzha and that the defenders are trying to stabilize the situation. Ukrainian forces are trying to contain the Russian advance to prevent a partial or complete encirclement, the source claimed.

Russia has ramped up its air war in Syria—big time. And it’s starting to show. Relentless and indiscriminate, Moscow’s bombing runs have devastated military and civilian strongholds and cleared a path for Syrian regime forces to counterattack against ISIS militants and rebels. Five months after the first Russian warplanes slipped into Syria to reinforce the embattled regime of President Bashar al-Assad, the Kremlin’s air wing near Latakia—on Syria’s Mediterranean coast in the heart of regime territory—has found its rhythm, launching roughly one air strike every 20 minutes targeting Islamic State militants, U.S.-backed rebels and civilians in rebel-controlled areas.