Free Republic

Ukraine's forces struck a bridge of strategic importance to Russia shortly after President Vladimir Putin's military managed to restore it. Serhiy Khlan wrote Ukraine's armed forces created "fireworks" at the bridge in the city of Kakhovkaridge in the city of Kakhovka. "It looks like there won't be a grand opening," wrote Khlan, who is a deputy chairman of the Kherson Regional Council. In a subsequent post, Khlan said that Ukraine's Operational Command South had also confirmed that Ukrainian forces "destroyed the plans of the occupiers to repair and use" the bridge. The defense ministries of Russia and Ukraine were contacted...

kraine is talking about using Western weapons to target Russia's Black Sea fleet amid the ongoing war, according to the country's deputy defense minister. Volodymyr Havrylov told The Times on Monday that attacking the fleet could help Ukraine take back Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. "Russia will have to leave Crimea if they wish to exist as a country," the British newspaper quoted Havrylov as saying. "We have a permanent threat from the Russian Black Sea fleet. Given the new technologies and capabilities we receive, we have to address this threat," he continued. "We are ready to target them...

Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader and top ally of Vladimir Putin, said Sunday that he is waiting on an order from the Russian president to blast Western countries to "smithereens." Kadyrov made the declaration in a Telegram post that announced the completion of a new Chechen regiment called "North-Akhmat," which was one of four that the Chechen leader announced was being formed last month to help replenish Russia's troops during its ongoing war with Ukraine. He wrote that Russia is the only country in the world to "speak out against the infernal abomination that the West spreads," and that he...

A Russian senator attempted to justify what he described as the Russian military's "difficulty" in Ukraine by saying that his country is fighting against one of the "strongest and best-trained armies." Frants Klintsevich, who made the remarks recently during an appearance on Russian state TV, said Ukraine has an elite military made up of "Russian soldiers and officers with exactly the same mentality as ours," according to a translation provided by a journalist with the BBC. Recent reports from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and remarks from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have indicated that Russia is losing...