Free Republic

Drunk recruits. Insubordinate soldiers. Convicts. They're among hundreds of military and civilian offenders who've been pressed into Russian penal units known as "Storm-Z" squads and sent to the frontlines in Ukraine this year, according to 13 people with knowledge of the matter, including five fighters in the units. Few live to tell their tale, the people said. (snip) "Storm fighters, they're just meat," said one regular soldier from army unit no. 40318 who was deployed near the fiercely contested city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine in May and June. (snip) Russian state-controlled media has reported that Storm-Z squads exist, that...

Update from Ukraine | Wagners are getting closer to Bakhmut | Biden asks for the counterstrike https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UZhs0vSXcg Follow on Instagram up to date uploads. https://www.instagram.com/denys_pilot/ ****SUMMARY Military MAPS & COMMENTS here: NEW- https://militaryland.net/news/invasion-day-360-summary/

Britain’s defence minister has warned that Ukraine must learn to fight while using weapons and ammunition more sparingly, or face the possibility of running out. Ben Wallace, the UK’s Secretary of Defence, has warned that Ukraine must learn to fight like a “Western” nation, saying that the country risks running out of weapons and ammunition in its fight against Russia if it continues to fail to use its resources sparingly. The Conservative Party official’s warning comes as Ukraine’s war efforts begin to run the country’s own supply of munitions dry, but also those of a number of European nations keen...

Update from Ukraine | Putler is losing his soldiers in Bakhmut and already lost half of the Tanks https://www.youtube.com/live/mOdTymBAem8 Follow on Instagram up to date uploads. https://www.instagram.com/denys_pilot/ ****SUMMARY Military MAPS & COMMENTS here: NEW- https://militaryland.net/news/invasion-day-358-summary/

The head of Russia's mercenary outfit Wagner said it could take months to capture the embattled Ukraine city of Bakhmut and slammed Moscow's "monstrous bureaucracy" for slowing military gains. Russia has been trying to encircle the battered industrial city and wrest it ahead of Feb. 24, the first anniversary of what it terms its "special military operation" in Ukraine. "I think it's (going to be in) March or in April," Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin said in one of several messages posted online overnight. "To take Bakhmut you have to cut all supply routes. It's a significant task," he said, adding:...

I am fascinated by guys like Wes O’Donnell, who publish delusional nonsense without offering one piece of credible evidence. O’Donnell, who claims to have served in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force, put up a piece at Medium last week with the catchy title, Putin’s Death Cult Prepares for Huge Casualties in the Coming Days. Here are some salient points from his article: The Russian army just suffered the deadliest 24 hours since the start of the war. According to Ukraine, 1,030 Russians were killed yesterday as Moscow continues to throw thousands of freshly mobilized soldiers into the...