Free Republic

A Ukrainian engineer who spoke with 19FortyFive explained, “This is a radar that is less capable even than the versions of the MiG-29’s N019 radar that have been upgraded by our industry. So, it is hard to do much with these aircraft considering what the Russians are putting up against us.” Making matters worse, he continued, is “all of the aircraft sent to Ukraine thus far have had their Link 16 hardware removed. Without this, the effective ranges at which we are able to engage Russian aircraft is about one-third of the range at which their fighter aircraft can fire...

There are four reasons why the coming year could be the year the Ukraine war ends—and plenty of reasons why it might continue for the foreseeable future. Principal among these is the huge gap between Putin and Zelensky on potential terms. The factors favoring an end to the war appear to be gaining. What are these factors? First, there is Ukraine’s brilliant and bold military move into Russia in the Kursk region.

Ukrainian tank crews are struggling with their M1A1 Abrams tanks, the M1 Abrams variant Kyiv is now using against Russia. They believe that the Abrams is not suited for modern warfare in the Donbas region. The tanks are reportedly challenging to maintain, spare parts are hard to acquire, and the tank must be kept in the rear for fear it will be destroyed. M1 Abrams Tank: What’s the Problem in Ukraine? Ukrainians also believe that condensation from the humid, foggy, and rainy weather obscures instruments onboard. They have complained that the M1 Abrams gun is not effective against buildings and...

Norwegian chief of defense claims Putin 'knows very well' NATO is not a threat to Russia Norway said Russian forces have pulled back from its border in the Arctic, claiming the number of soldiers Moscow has there now is "20% or less" compared to the start of the Ukraine war

A Russian military convoy that was outside of Ivankiv, Ukraine, on Sunday has since made it to the outskirts of Kyiv, satellite images show.On Sunday, the convoy was roughly 40 miles northwest of the Ukrainian capital, according to images provided by Maxar Technologies.Maxar said that roughly 17 miles of roadway is chocked full of the convoy, which consists of armored vehicles, tanks, towed artillery and other logistical vehicles. The private US company said the convoy was located on the T-1011 highway at Antonov air base around 11:11 a.m local time.Antonov is roughly 17 miles from the center of the Ukrainian...

University student Olesya Krivtsova has been missing a lot of classes. That's because 20-year-old Olesya is under house arrest. She has an electronic tag on her leg. Police can monitor her every move. Her alleged crime? Olesya was arrested for anti-war posts on social media. One of them concerned last October's explosion on the bridge linking Russia to annexed Crimea. "I posted an Instagram story about the bridge," Olesya tells the BBC, "reflecting on how Ukrainians were happy with what had happened." She had also shared a friend's post about the war. Then the drama began.

The mood among Russia’s special forces and the FSB began to change dramatically in the fall, when Russian troops abandoned Kherson, suffering the latest of many humiliations for the Russian army. ''' We’ve known most of our contacts in Russia’s special forces and the FSB for years, and none was particularly religious before the war. Now a wave of mysticism has descended on them; the apparent trigger being a growing understanding that the war is not going to end anytime soon. '''

It’s the holiday season in Moscow, where the city has put up symbols of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine outside the entrance to Gorky Park: the Latin letters Z, V and O in throbbing neon, looming over slogans urging Russians to think of “victory” and their “valiant” soldiers as they head off to the park’s ice rink. We’re almost a year into the war, and the Kremlin still has yet to explain what exactly the letters — first seen spray-painted on Russian tanks — are meant to signify. But set alongside the snow-capped firs and kitschy grottoes, their meaninglessness is...

Russian soldiers called up to fight in Ukraine will be able to store their frozen sperm in a cryobank for free, according to a leading Russian lawyer. Russian Union of Lawyers head Igor Trunov told state news agency Tass the health ministry had responded to his appeal for a free cryobank, and changes to compulsory medical insurance. Russia mobilised 300,000 reservists after a string of setbacks in Ukraine.

In the Chelyabinsk region, a drunken mobilized man beat a commander to death. By decision of the Magnitogorsk garrison military court, he was taken into custody for two months. This was announced on Wednesday, December 28, in the press service of the court.

Russia says it will deploy musicians to the front lines of its war in Ukraine in a bid to boost morale. The defence ministry announced the formation of the "front-line creative brigade" this week, saying it would include both vocalists and musicians. ... But they questioned whether the new brigade would actually distract troops, who have been primarily concerned about "very high casualty rates, poor leadership, pay problems, lack of equipment and ammunition, and lack of clarity about the war's objectives". ... The new unit will be tasked with maintaining "a high moral, political and psychological state [among] the participants...

KYIV, Ukraine — War and winter have brought new misery to Kyiv after a long summer lull. Russia’s missile campaign to destroy Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has revived fears that had abated after Ukrainian forces drove Russian troops away from the capital in the spring. The first snowfall of the season has brought subzero temperatures to a city plunged into darkness and cold by the attacks. But if Russian President Vladimir Putin’s goal is to demoralize the population to the point of accepting compromises with Russia, he isn’t succeeding. The danger and discomfort appear only to be hardening attitudes, deepening the...

In southern Ukraine, the city of Kherson has been liberated, but in the east, close to the Russian border, fighting still rages and casualties mount. In a trauma centre under daily Russian shelling, a dedicated team of medics - many of whom volunteered for service at the start of the war - are saving lives. The BBC spent almost a week with them.

The past couple of years have revealed severe stress fracture deficiencies in the American system. Idiotic responses to covid and the destruction of the legitimacy of our political system through vote fraud and the J6 committee have compounded already systematic problems stemming from economic slowdown and skyrocketing inflation. Yet, if there’s one thing that many, many Americans have always thought they could fall back onto, it was the fundamental goodness and rightness of “the American mission” all across the world. Having convinced ourselves that we were always the force for justice and righteousness in the world, we thought that there...

As the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) say they hope their offensive reaches the city of Kherson by this winter, Russia continues preparation for a massive counterattack which could begin as early as next month. The results of that battle are likely to be bloody and destructive, but unlikely to settle the war one way or the other.

Rumors circulated this week that the White House was considering giving Ukraine the long-range missile systems it has asked for since the early days of the Russian invasion, but it became clear on Thursday that President Joe Biden ultimately decided against the idea. Sources close to the White House reportedly told CNN this week that the Biden Administration is unlikely to “significantly change” its approach to helping Ukraine, even as Russia retreats and the war looks to be winnable for Ukraine. Those rumors, however, appear to have scared the Kremlin, prompting a response this week that the supply of longer-range...

A documentary about Benjamin Hall, a Fox News reporter who was severely injured while covering the war in Ukraine, is in the works. The film’s production was announced by Fox News Media Suzanne Scott during her quarterly address to employees this week, which Hall joined via livestream.

Could Russia still fight NATO? The war in Ukraine has proved catastrophic for the Russian military thus far. In almost seven months of war, the Russian forces have suffered one humiliating defeat after another, losing tens of thousands of troops in the process and thousands of pieces of equipment. As a result, the capabilities of the Russian military have been seriously degraded, and Moscow’s ability to fight the U.S. and NATO has been dramatically degraded.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the eastern part of the country has been very successful so far. They have retaken about 3,000 square kilometers of territory from Russian forces. The operation, so far excellent and aided by U.S. intelligence, bears all the hallmarks of a U.S. Special Operations Command deception operation, according to a former U.S. official.

Ukraine has made some impressive progress on the battlefield, but let us hold the applause for a moment: It’s too soon to tell whether Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive heralds a Ukrainian victory in the war with Russia, but the remarkably rapid Ukrainian advance on the one hand and the equally remarkable rapid retreat by the Russians on the other do testify to Ukrainian military prowess and, perhaps more critical, Russian military incompetence. It should be amply clear by now that, expert expectations to the contrary, Russia cannot win the war. In fact, the irony is that Russian troops have responded to...