Free Republic

Russian airlines have stopped selling tickets to Russian men aged 18 to 65 unless they can provide evidence of approval to travel from the Ministry of Defense. All flights from Russia to available foreign destinations were sold out Wednesday after President Vladimir Putin declared a “partial” mobilization of the country’s 25 million reservists. Flights from Moscow to the capitals of Georgia, Turkey and Armenia — which do not require visas for Russians — for Sept. 21 were unavailable within minutes of Putin’s announcement, according to Russia’s top travel planning website aviasales.ru. By noon Moscow time, direct flights from Moscow to...

Ukrainian forces in Severodonetsk have been ordered to withdraw, according to the top regional official.The city is the focus of Russia's invasion as it tries to take control of large parts of eastern Ukraine."Remaining in positions that have been relentlessly shelled for months just doesn't make sense," Luhansk regional head Serhiy Haidai said.Russian forces have nearly encircled Severodonetsk in recent days, and are now targeting its twin city Lysychansk."They have received orders to retreat to new positions... and from there continue their operations," Mr Haidai told Ukrainian television on Friday morning.

Russia has "strategically lost" the war in Ukraine and is a "more diminished power", the head of the UK's armed forces has said. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said Vladimir Putin had lost 25% of Russia's land power for only "tiny" gains. And while Russia may achieve "tactical successes" in the coming weeks, he said any notion the war had been a success was "nonsense". Admiral Radakin, who is the UK's chief of defence staff, said Russia was running out of troops and advanced missiles and would never be able to take over all of Ukraine. -snip- Admiral Radakin said: "This...

Much as the Western press has been promoting the idea that Ukraine is winning the war against Russia, it’s becoming clear that there will be no clear military conclusion to the conflict, and even the New York Times is beginning to admit that a diplomatic solution is in the offing, and the only real question is how much territory Ukraine will have to cede and how much of the sanctions currently imposed on Russia will have to be removed. Jimmy and his panel of The Dive’s Jackson Hinkle and American comedian Kurt Metzger discuss the prosecution of the war and...

After insisting their forces would "fight to the death," Ukraine has ceded control of the major city to Russia.

The US has few ways to track the substantial supply of anti-tank, anti-aircraft and other weaponry it has sent across the border into Ukraine, sources tell CNN. In the long term, some of those weapons may wind up in the hands of other militaries and militias that the US did not intend to arm. In making the decision to send billions of dollars of weapons and equipment into Ukraine, the Biden administration factored in the risk that some of the shipments may ultimately end up in unexpected places, a defense official said. Privately, officials recognize that Ukraine has an incentive...