Free Republic

ideos have emerged on social media that appeared to show infighting among Russia's elite, with mobilized Russians allegedly complaining about accommodation conditions before being sent to fight in Ukraine. On Wednesday, the pro-Russian Telegram channel Rybar published a video that appeared to show Russian soldiers standing in front of a passenger train. The clip has been geolocated to Russia's Belgorod region near the Ukraine border. "We are now in the Belgorod region. There are about 500 of us. Material support, monetary allowance...Absolutely nothing!" the cameraman states, panning the video to his fellow soldiers. The majority have their face covered with...

The United States’ fight to maintain its global hegemony has reached its third stage.After the expansion of Nato to the East in violation of Western commitments not to station US weapons in Central Europe, Russia, which cannot defend its huge borders, is under direct threat.In violation of its World War II commitments, Washington has put “hardcore nationalists” (“Nazis” in Kremlin terminology) in power in Kiev. They banned their Russian-speaking compatriots from speaking their native language, deprived them of public services, and ultimately bombed those in the Donbass. Russia had no choice but to intervene militarily to put an end to...

Ukrainian forces have counted more gains on the battlefield, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailing more “good news from the front lines” in his nightly address Tuesday. Rapid and significant gains have been counted in Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the south in particular, with advances in the Kherson region. Now, dozens of settlements have been liberated this week across four regions that Russia “annexed” last week, Zelenskyy said. Moscow’s hold on “annexed” territories (Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk) looks increasingly tenuous, with none of the regions fully occupied by Russian forces, and as Ukraine’s counteroffensives in the east and south maintain their...

Expert argues THIS is how the war could end Putin has spent the last week ramping up his war in Ukraine, from 300,000 conscripts to nuclear threats But his bluster is aimed at hiding the fact that Russia is losing the war, as Ukraine recaptures territory Alp Sevimlisoy, of Atlantic Council think-tank == about what Russian defeat could look like Putin would not survive the defeat, he argues, while Russia itself could break up leaving the West competing with China over the spoils and NATO in a face-off with Beijing Land grabs, hundreds of thousand of conscripts thrown on to...

SVIATOHIRSK/KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces have broken through Russia’s defences in the south of the country while expanding their rapid offensive in the east, seizing back more territory in areas annexed by Moscow and threatening supply lines for Russian troops. Making their biggest breakthrough in the south since the war began, Ukrainian forces recaptured several villages in an advance along the strategic Dnipro River on Monday, Ukrainian officials and a Russian-installed leader in the area said. The southern breakthrough mirrors recent Ukrainian advances in the east, even as Moscow has tried to raise the stakes by annexing land, ordering mobilisation,...

Massive Offensive Across the Entire Eastern Front "Something surprising has happened" - DPA It looks like a direct frontal attack right into where the Russians have been trying to advance, and supposedly where they are strongest. The Ukrainians keep surprising all of us. The sourcing is all from Russian Telegram sources apparently. No word yet from the Ukrainian side.

CHECHEN leader Ramzan Kadyrov has immediately taken to Telegram to blame Russian commander Alexander Lapin for Russia’s retreat in Lyman, Ukraine. Ramzan Kadyrov blamed Colonel General Oleksandr Lapin, who commanded the defence of this section of the front, for the loss of Lyman. “I have always said: there is nothing better than the truth, however bitter and hurtful, but the truth,” he said. “It is the only way to move forward. That is why I cannot keep quiet about what happened in Krasny Lyman.” He added: “The commander of the Central Military District Colonel-General Alexander Lapin was in charge of...

You will NEVER see this in America.

Vladimir Putin is determined to shape the future to look like his version of the past. Russia’s president invaded Ukraine not because he felt threatened by NATO expansion or by Western “provocations.” He ordered his “special military operation” because he believes that it is Russia’s divine right to rule Ukraine, to wipe out the country’s national identity, and to integrate its people into a Greater Russia.He laid out this mission in a 5,000-word treatise, published in July 2021, entitled, “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians.” In it, Putin insisted that Belarusians, Russians, and Ukrainians are all descendants of...

CHISNAU, Sept. 18 (Reuters)-At least 5,000 people rallied in Moldova's capital on Sunday, demanding the resignation of the government and pro-Western President Maia Sandu...

Over the roughly two decades that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been in power, he's dedicated a lot of time and money to building up and modernizing Russia's military. In the process, Putin garnered a reputation as a force to be reckoned with and was widely viewed as one of the most powerful leaders in the world. But the war in Ukraine has decimated the Russian military that Putin spent years building, while raising questions about his grip on power, Russia experts and military analysts told Insider. "Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been a strategic defeat. So far the Kremlin...

A transport hub, an arms factory and a gas field: Ukraine recaptured vitial areas east of Kharkiv from Russia in a matter of days. The figures still amaze people in Ukraine — since September 6, the Ukrainian army has liberated more than 6,000 square kilometers (2,378 square miles) and more than 300 towns with a total population of about 150,000 people in the Kharkiv region, according to Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar. Reportedly, most of the territory in the north and east of Kharkiv Oblast has been recaptured, an area Russia had quickly occupied and held at the start...

Russian nationalists called angrily on Sunday for President Vladimir Putin to make immediate changes to ensure ultimate victory in the Ukraine war, a day after Moscow was forced to abandon its main bastion in northeastern Ukraine. The swift fall of Izium in Kharkiv province was Russia's worst military defeat since its troops were forced back from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in March. (snip)Moscow's almost total silence on the defeat - or any explanation for what had taken place in northeastern Ukraine - provoked significant anger among some pro-war commentators and Russian nationalists on social media. Neither Putin, who is Russia's...

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Small arms, ATGMs, MANPADS, loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles, trailers and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When the...

The Russian-installed chief administrator of Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region recommended on Saturday that all its inhabitants evacuate to Russia “to save lives,” according to the Russian state-run TASS news agency. Vitaly Ganchev said official representatives were ready to provide the refugees with food, heat and medical care, according to TASS. The Russian Defence Ministry said it was pulling troops out of Izium and Balakliia – crucial military supply hubs in the Kharkiv region – as Ukraine claimed rapid advances. Ganchev had said on Friday that civilians were being evacuated from several towns that had come under heavy pressure...

EU and U.S. imports of Russia's main base metal products aluminium and nickel during March-June increased by as much as 70%, official trade data compiled by Reuters from the United Nations Comtrade database show. The total value of EU and U.S. imports of the two metals from March to June were $1.98 billion... Analysts said the United States and Europe have learned lessons after huge disruption on construction, auto and power sectors caused by sanctions imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump on Russian aluminium 2018. Russia's Rusal is the world's largest aluminium producer outside China and accounts for about...

As the war in Ukraine rages on and the people living there suffer as their leaders stubbornly resist any rational diplomatic settlement to end the crisis, it is important to take a closer look at the idea of Ukrainian territorial integrity. As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky intransigently stated when discussing possible negotiations to end the conflict, “Our priorities in the negotiations are known. Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are beyond doubt.” President Biden and other American political leaders have vociferously declared “the commitment of the United States to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” But if we are supporting a war...

Yesterday, Medvedev posted a rant on his messaging app (for some reason) in which he accused the United States and NATO of plotting to “break up” the Russian Federation. But he warned that even if the alleged plot succeeded, the result would be “doomsday,” and any country attempting it would be engaged in a “chess game with Death.” And I think we all know what that means. (Associated Press)

Vladimir Putin has approved a 31-page "humanitarian policy" which says Russia should "protect, safeguard and advance the traditions and ideals of the Russian World". The foreign policy concept of a "Russian World" is a notion that hardliners have used to justify intervening abroad to support Russian speakers, such as in parts of Ukraine. It means that the idea is now enshrined in official policy, though it was presented as a soft power strategy. The new policy stated that Moscow should further deepen its ties with the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic - two breakaway entities in...

A former U.S. general has forecast the surrender of Russian forces in Kherson, a strategic city in Ukraine. The Kherson region has been almost entirely controlled by Russian troops since March, when it became the first major city to fall during Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian forces have launched a counteroffensive to take back the critical port city. Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling commented Monday on a Ukrainian soldier's video from the frontlines showing destroyed Russian positions in Kherson. According to Hertling's analysis on Twitter, the footage indicated "extremely poor soldier discipline" and "horrible fieldcraft/training"...