Free Republic

An imprisoned Russian general who oversaw the building of Vladimir Putin's £1bn Black Sea palace has died in custody, shortly after becoming eligible for parole. It is not clear exactly how 69-year-old Gennady Lopyrev died, but authorities have said he became ill on Monday before dying in the early hours of Tuesday. The general was jailed in 2017 by a military court over charges of bribe-taking and illegal possession of ammunition – which he always denied. (snip) General Gennady Zhidko, who briefly commanded the Kremlin's troops in Ukraine before being ousted for "failures" on the battlefield, is another of Putin's...

A Ukrainian official tweeted a video of troops holding a flag in the settlement, located about halfway between Mariupol and Zaporizhzhia in the country's southeast. "The 35th brigade and the 'Ariy' territorial defence unit have fulfilled their task and liberated the village of Staromaiorske. Glory to Ukraine!" said a soldier in the video. Staromaiorske lies to the south of a number of small settlements that Ukraine has recaptured during its counteroffensive, which began in June. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy had hinted at a significant win on the frontline last night. "By the way, today our boys had very good results...

Ukrainian forces reportedly launched a massive push against Russia's front-lines in the country's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, threatening Russian positions that had been overseen by a general who was recently fired. The surge marks a dramatic change in pace for Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive. For nearly two months, Kyiv's troops were forced to make slow and steady advances to liberate occupied territory as they faced Russia's formidable defensive lines, which include deadly networks of trenches, barbed wire, anti-armor obstacles, and minefields. Clearing the Russian fortifications — particularly the minefields — has been a painstaking process for Ukraine, which managed to preserve lots...

Ukrainian missiles struck the Chonhar road bridge connecting Crimea with Russian-held parts of the southern Kherson region overnight, forcing traffic to be diverted to a different route, Russian-appointed officials said on Thursday. The so-called "gate to Crimea", known by Russians with a different spelling as the Chongar Bridge, is one of a handful of links between Crimea - which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014 - and mainland Ukraine. It is on a route used by the Russian military to move between Crimea and other parts of Ukraine under its control. Kyiv says it wants to retake Crimea and drive...

Russia told the West on Friday that it would view as an attack on itself any actions that threatened Russian peacekeepers in Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region, one day after Moscow accused Ukraine of planning an invasion. In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejected Moscow's assertion that Ukraine wanted to take over the region, while Moldova reiterated there was no truth to the allegations. The warning comes amid increased concerns in Moldova, a small ex-Soviet republic bordering Ukraine, of a possible Russian threat. Its pro-European President Maia Sandu this month accused Moscow of plotting a coup. On Thursday, Russia accused Kyiv of...