Free Republic

THIS is the dramatic moment a Ukrainian drone destroys Russia's "indestructible" turtle tank in the latest blow to Putin's failing forces. Footage shows the sturdy military vehicle suddenly blowing up in flames after its crew left the hatch wide open in a fatal mistake. The drone is seen in the daylight mission smoothly descending until it enters Mad Vlad's tanker, hitting it with pinpoint accuracy. Bright orange flames engulf the turtle tank, reducing it to debris and melted metal. The precise attack was recorded by the Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade. Ukraine's Ministry of Defense confirmed the blow on X, writing:...

Against the backdrop of continuing Russian advances, some Western leaders have started to advocate missile strikes inside Russian territory, from NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg up to chief warmonger, former British Premier Boris Johnson: Now, some European neighboring countries have started preparing to introduce their troops into Ukraine in case of strategic Russian advances in Eastern Ukraine. The Baltic states and Poland have warned Germany that they could send troops to Ukraine if the situation gets noticeably worse for Kiev due to its allies being reluctant to supply it with weapons.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Wednesday appeared to back allowing Ukraine to use American-provided weapons to strike Russia or Russian-controlled territory. One reporter asked Johnson about a House Intelligence Committee letter calling on the Biden administration to allow Ukraine to strike Russia with American-supplied weapons. The letter stipulates that this would allow Ukraine to strike “Russian-controlled territory” as well as Russian territory and represents a significant escalation in America’s seemingly endless proxy war against Russia.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukrainian units locked in street battles with the Kremlin´s forces in a key northeastern Ukraine town have halted the Russian advance, military officials in Kyiv claimed Thursday, though a senior Moscow official said the frontline push had enough resources to keep going. Russian attempts to establish a foothold in the town of Vovchansk, which is among the largest towns in Ukraine´s northeastern Kharkiv region with a prewar population of 17,000, “have been foiled,” Ukraine´s general staff said in a midday report. It was not possible to independently verify the claim.

A bus veered off a bridge and plunged into a river on Friday in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, killing seven people, officials said. The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top criminal investigations body, reported the death toll. It did not state how many others were injured, but the emergencies ministry earlier said that six people removed from the bus were in critical or serious condition. Russian news reports said there were 15 people on the city bus when it broke through a barrier and plunged into the Moika River in central St. Petersburg. Six of those who were onboard climbed out...

From 10 to 20 thousand men of conscript age, who are currently convicted and in prison, as well as men with criminal records, could be mobilized to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), Minister of Justice Denys Maliuska said in an interview with BBC Ukraine. Commenting on the law which allows mobilization of convicts, Maliuska said, “I think ten thousand possibly would be involved [and sent into the armed forces – ed.], maybe a little bit more.” Maliuska said that if current prisoners were counted together with men who had prior criminal records, the number would rise to 20,000. “Yes,...

The current House Speaker is cut from the same cloth as Mike Pence: a tergiversating weakling who always fails to stand for America First when push comes to shove. Mike Johnson is at a crossroads: continue to appease the RINOs and Democrats in the House, thus maybe preserving his House seat through the November election, at which point it seems increasingly likely, regardless of the lower chamber’s composition, that he will be replaced with someone else. Or he can stand with the American people and Donald Trump by denying Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan an endless stream of blank checks and...