Free Republic

YIV, Apr 24 (AFP): Last month Pavlo Petrychenko, a junior sergeant in the Ukrainian army, issued a stark warning to President Volodymyr Zelensky about a dangerous vice sweeping the military. A surge in online gambling among serving soldiers has seen many lose their entire salaries, he said, pushing them and their families into debt. Some were even selling off army drones and thermal imaging cameras to feed addictions, compromising their own safety for a long-shot chance to strike it rich. Exhausted by more than two years of war, campaigners say online gambling is rife in the Ukrainian armed forces, a...

Islam Khalilov, 15, and Artyom Donskoy, 14, were working as cloakroom attendants when the attack began. Together with other employees, they reportedly directed people fleeing away from dead ends and towards the exits. On Monday, the boys were awarded medals for bravery in a ceremony by Russia's commissioner for children's rights. "They modestly say they did what they had to do," Maria Lvova-Belova said. ...Islam, whose family are immigrants to Russia from the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan, had been working at Crocus City Hall for about a year. He told local reporters that when the attack began, he thought...

A Ukrainian soldier fighting near the country's northern front line has described the menace of Russia's bombardment, telling the Times of London that they are "losing so many people, there are so many bodies we can't even bring them all back." A major factor in the current Russian offensive is glide bombs, which Russia has stepped up the use of in the last three months. These are Soviet-era bombs tricked out with guidance systems and wings enabling long-distance strikes. As of last month, Russia was using them intensely around three flashpoints of the war: Kupiansk, the eastern city of Bakhmut,...

As Russia appears to enjoy a run of success targeting some of Ukraine's most prized equipment, Moscow is reaping the rewards of both evolving tactics among its soldiers and the bite of military aid shortages in Kyiv. Within approximately the last two weeks, Russia has said its forces have destroyed a handful of Ukrainian-operated Abrams tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and U.S.-donated HIMARS, or High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems. Russia has claimed throughout the war to have destroyed HIMARS, which arrived in Ukraine in the summer of 2022. Footage circulated online earlier this month appears to confirm the loss...

MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/. French neo-Nazi leader Cesar Aujard, who fought on the side of the Ukrainian military, has been liquidated near Avdeyevka, sources have told TASS. "A ringleader of French neo-Nazis, Cesar Augharome, who was taking part in hostilities on the side of the Ukrainian army, has been liquidated near Avdeyevka," the sources said. There is confirmed evidence of his connections with French secret services. Earlier, the head of the Main Operational Directorate, first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Sergey Rudskoy, said that NATO military personnel, disguised as mercenaries, were operating air defense...