Free Republic

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu today gave the order to dramatically increase so-called shock and awe attacks on Ukraine. He claimed Kremlin forces must 'exclude the possibility of the Kyiv regime inflicting massive rocket and artillery strikes on civilian infrastructure and residents of the Donbas and other regions,' according to reports in Moscow. It followed an on-the-ground inspection by Putin's trusty defence minister - and a National Security Council meeting led by Vladimir Putin. Shoigu 'gave instructions to further increase the actions of [military] groups in all operational areas', local reports stated.

American High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems being used in Ukraine are making an impact on the conflict there between Ukrainians fighting to preserve their national sovereignty and Russian forces who have illegally invaded that country. The M142 HIMARS system allows for the launching of multiple, precision-guided rockets. Already, the U.S. had provided eight of the systems to Ukraine and last week promised to send an additional four, for a total of 12 of the systems. During a background briefing today at the Pentagon, a senior military official said the Defense Department believes the HIMARS are having an indirect, but significant...

- Ukraine said on Thursday it had received U.S. supplies of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), a powerful long-range weapon system that Kyiv hopes can help turn the tide on Russia's invasion. "Thank you to my U.S. colleague and friend Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for these powerful tools! Summer will be hot for Russian occupiers. And the last one for some of them," Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov tweeted of the HIMARS delivery. He did not say how say many of the systems had arrived. Ukraine says it needs the HIMARS systems to better match the range of Russian...