Free Republic

Drone attacks have been carried out on the Afipsky oil refineries in Russia's Krasnodar Territory and the Kuibyshev oil refineries in the Samara region, APA reports, citing Russian media. Large fires broke out at the oil refineries after the drone attacks. According to the governor of the Samara region, Dmitry Azarov, the airport and mobile internet use in the city of Samara have been temporarily restricted due to the threat.

Russia unleashed a sweeping aerial assault across Ukraine late Wednesday, pounding Kyiv with ballistic missiles and swarms of drones — killing at least 14 people, including 3 children and injuring over 20. “Many people are under the rubble, [including] children,” Andriy Yermak, top advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, told The Post. The barrage began around 9:30 p.m., setting off air raid sirens and prompting urgent shelter notification warnings in nearly every region nationwide. Missiles, drones, and bombs were spotted throughout the country, particularly in Kyiv, but also in western regions of the country where attacks have been rarer. At...

Moscow's decision will likely be seen as inconsequential given growing condemnation of widespread human rights abuses committed in Ukraine. Russia plans to formally withdraw from Europe's convention against torture and inhuman treatment, according to a decree published this week. The resolution by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin calls upon President Vladimir Putin to submit the withdrawal from the treaty to Russia's lower house of parliament. Moscow's move is likely to be seen as moot given widespread criticism of its worsening human rights record since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In 2024, UN-backed experts presented evidence that Russia...