Free Republic

Faced with a deepening personnel crisis within its military, Russia is scrambling to find fighters for its war in Ukraine and recruiting heavily from its North Caucasus region to form new units along ethnic lines who are then deployed with minimal training. Regional officials from Daghestan, Ingushetia, and Kalmykia have announced plans to form rifle companies that are each made up of soldiers from a particular Russian republic. According to reporting by Caucasus.Realities, a regional news outlet of RFE/RL’s North Caucasus Service, these national units are formed primarily of contract soldiers who have previous military training and have been targeted...

Russia’s energy giant Gazprom on Thursday lost more than a quarter of its market value after the state-owned company decided not to pay out dividends. “The shareholders have resolved that in the current situation it is not opportune to pay out dividends based on the results of 2021,” Famil Sadygov, deputy chairman of Gazprom, said in a statement. “At the moment, Gazprom prioritizes the implementation of its investment program, including gas infrastructure expansion in the regions of the Russian Federation, and the preparations for the coming winter period. In addition, we undoubtedly must be ready to meet our obligations to...

The Ukrainian Navy announced Thursday it recaptured Snake Island, a critical Black Sea outpost taken by Russia early in the war, which has since galvanized Ukrainian resistance as a symbol of fortified defiance. Russia confirmed its withdrawal Thursday morning, but called the move a “goodwill gesture”... Natalia Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military’s southern command, told the New York Times on Tuesday that it destroyed three anti-aircraft missile systems that Russian had stationed on the island, as well as Russia’s radar station.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a deeply flawed military operation, from Moscow’s assumptions about an easy victory, to a lack of preparation, poor planning, and force employment. Less attention has been paid, however, to Russian force structure and manpower issues as a critical element now shaping outcomes in this war. Plans rarely survive first contact with an opponent and militaries invariably must adapt, but strategic force structure choices can prove decisive. Force structure reveals a great deal about a military and its assumptions of what wars it plans to fight and how it plans to fight them.

-snip- In recent weeks, Russia has focused its drive on Donbas after pulling back from a failed advance on Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions. "Yes, people are being killed," Lavrov said. "But the operation is taking so much time primarily because Russian soldiers taking part are under strict orders categorically to avoid attacks and strikes on civilian infrastructure." -snip- Lavrov also denied speculation that President Vladimir Putin was ill, saying there were no signs pointing to any ailment. Putin's health and private life are taboo subjects in Russia, and are almost never discussed in public. Answering a question, Russia's top...