Free Republic

The Russian military clearly assesses that Ukrainian forces could cross the Dnipro River and conduct counter-offensive operations in eastern Kherson Oblast, possibly threatening all of the critical ground lines of communications (GLOCs) from Crimea to the mainland. Russian forces have been digging trench lines and concentration areas in eastern Kherson since early October 2022 in obvious preparation for the withdrawal from the west bank of the Dnipro River and Kherson City. Russian troops are preparing either to defend in depth or to conduct operational or strategic delay operations. Russian forces clearly do not expect to be able to prevent Ukrainian...

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...

Earlier today the Russian military shut down the Ukrainian electricity network. Previous attacks had limited the distribution capacity to some 50% of demand. Controlled blackouts over several hours per day allowed to give electricity for a few hours to most parts of the country. The attack today created a much larger problem. Not only were distribution networks attacked but also the elements that connect Ukraine's electricity production facilities to the distribution network. All four nuclear power stations of Ukraine with their 15 reactors are now in shutdown mode. Kiev along with most other cities of Ukraine no longer has electricity....

41% of Ukrainian territory is now under Russian control, and with massive electricity and internet outages across the rest of the country. But don’t worry, Ukraine President and former comedian Vladimir Zelensky is filming a Netflix programme with US talk show host David Letterman.Letterman is the latest A-List celebrity to have booked a space in the Ukrainian President’s diary, which appears to have a lot of available space in it for photo-ops considering the country is on the brink of total destruction, according to all independent military experts. Letterman was in Kiev for the filming of the episode for his...

Ukraine has touted large numbers of Russian losses throughout the eight-month conflict, though Russia has not publicly confirmed the claims. "This morning, the [Ukrainian] Air Force successfully shot down 44 Russian cruise missiles," the ministry tweeted. "All this before their first cup of coffee." Russia allegedly launched 50 missiles toward "critical infrastructure facilities" in Ukraine at about 7 a.m. local time, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine wrote in a Facebook post. The attack included Kh-101 and Kh-555 missiles, which were launched from aircraft north of the Caspian Sea from the Rostov region. Only six of the...

Vladimir Putin's conscripts have been filmed drunkenly battering each other in an alcohol-fuelled brawl at a training barracks ahead of their deployment to the battlefields of Ukraine. An extraordinary leaked video shows the 'drunk' soldiers punching each other, with some ending up unconscious on the floor during the fight at the barracks in Yurga, Siberia. The video shows Putin's army intelligence and military police dragging the unconscious troops, who are from the 74th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, along the street and away from the bloody brawl. The footage tallies with reports of low morale and drunkenness among Russian recruits and...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia had not lost anything as a result of its military campaign in Ukraine. Speaking at an economic forum in the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, he said all Russia's actions were designed to strengthen the country's sovereignty and were aimed at "helping people" living in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. "We have not lost anything and will not lose anything," Putin said. "In terms of what we have gained, I can say that the main gain has been the strengthening of our sovereignty." Putin conceded, however, that Moscow's decision...

In 1999, nobody could have told me that the US government would ever come up with a project that was more vile, wretched, stupid, and evil than Kosovo, but the present conflict in Ukraine qualifies for that.US support for Zelensky and the Kiev regime is the Mac-Daddy of all stupid and evil policies.