Free Republic

Russian forces are planning to begin public executions in an effort to break the morale of Ukrainians resisting their invasion, according to a European intelligence official who spoke with multiple U.S. news publications. The unnamed official, who spoke to Bloomberg, said the Russian government has devised plans to erode the morale of the Ukrainian people, who for a week now have held out against a full-scale Russian invasion force. The plan reportedly includes cracking down on protests, detaining opponents of Russia, and even carrying out public executions. Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin also tweeted that a European official...

In a video circulating on social media on Thursday, a Russian soldier appeared to claim he and other soldiers deployed in Ukraine were being ordered by their superiors to sign papers retroactively firing them in what may be a move to deny their involvement in the invasion. The Moscow-based Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), which has conducted open-source reporting on Russian involvement in conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, tweeted, “This rare video was filmed by a (non-captured) Russian soldier complaining about losses and harsh conditions. What caught our attention is a claim that they are forced to ‘sign papers’ to be...

"Who'll rid the world of this ranting madman?" asks the Daily Mail. The paper says a "menacing TV address" given by President Putin "bore little relation to reality", including claims Russian forces were fighting to liberate Ukraine from "neo-Nazis".