Free Republic

Russia's navy has been forced to cancel its annual flagship event in St Petersburg, in a humiliating blow for Vladimir Putin. Navy Day is a major national holiday and is held on the last Sunday of July, celebrated by the public and military alike. The event is used by the Kremlin to show off its latests ships and technology, as it attempts to project its naval power to the watching world. As the maritime capital of Russia, St Petersburg holds a Main Naval Parade along the River Neva, which is normally attended by the Russian president. Usually ships from the...

The Russian navy plays a crucial role in Moscow's conflict, but it has suffered significant losses since the war began in February 2022, with approximately half of the Black Sea Fleet damaged or destroyed by Ukrainian maritime drones and long-range anti-ship missiles. Russian President Vladimir Putin's prized Black Sea Fleet was nowhere to be seen to thwart heavy bombing by Ukrainian drones Wednesday night amid Moscow's largest naval games this year, which comes as a warning to the West. Putin ordered the 'July Storm' drills, which involve more than 150 combat ships, 120 aircraft, and 15,000-plus military personnel. Footage shows...

A Soviet-era plane that crashed in Russia’s Far East was nearly 50 years old and had recently had its lifespan extended by another decade, highlighting the country’s continued use of ageing passenger jets. The smoldering wreckage of the Angara Airlines An-24 airplane was found on Thursday in the remote Amur region, which borders China. Estimates of the number of people on board vary, but around 49 people, including crew members, are believed to have died. Officials, who have begun a criminal investigation into the circumstances of the disaster, said there were no survivors. The incident has laid bare Russia’s dependency...

In a bold and meticulously coordinated drone operation, Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) targeted key locations near the Russian Black Sea resort cities of Sochi and Adler early Thursday morning, dealing a blow to strategic infrastructure and spreading fear deep into Russian-occupied Georgian region Abkhazia. One of the main targets was an oil facility in the village of Sirius, just outside Sochi. Russian officials confirmed the strike and urged civilians to stay away from the area due to ongoing safety concerns, as emergency crews responded to fires at the site. In Adler district, drone debris killed one woman and seriously...

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov revealed on Wednesday that there are currently no plans to organize a phone call between Russian and United States presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. At the same time, he noted that the call could be organized "very quickly." Trump and Putin last spoke on July 3, with the latter leader telling the US president that Moscow will not abandon its goals in Ukraine. The relationship took a turn for the worse in the aftermath of the conversation, with Trump expressing disappointment with his Russian colleague. The US leader subsequently decided to resume weapons supplies to...