Free Republic

As its Black Sea fleet flagship, the Moskva, reached the depths of the seabed in mid-April 2022, Russia insisted Ukraine had nothing to do with the sinking of the 510-crew guided missile cruiser. Russian state media provided various explanations for the sinking of the prominent flagship—none of which included a deliberate Ukrainian strike. Russia's Defense Ministry said a "fire" followed by a "munitions blast" had inflicted "serious damage" on the cruiser, prompting a crew evacuation. "The explosions of ammunition have been stopped," the ministry then said, according to state media, which claimed the ship was still afloat and being taken...

Traditional military parades set to take place next month have been called off in Crimea due to security concerns, according to Sergey Aksyonov, the Russian politician acting as head of the Russia-annexed Crimea since 2014. In a statement on his Telegram channel on Wednesday, Aksyonov said authorities in both Crimea and Sevastopol have decided not to hold parades or marches to mark Victory Day on May 9. Marches to mark Labor Day on May 1 have also been scrapped in the region, he said. The move comes as Ukraine has signaled it intends to recapture Crimea as part of its...

An appalling video emerged Tuesday showing what appears to be a Russian soldier savagely beheading a Ukrainian prisoner of war with a knife, leading Kyiv to compare Vladimir Putin’s regime to ISIS. The footage, which has been circulating on pro-Russian Telegram channels, shows an apparent Russian serviceman slicing into the neck of a captive wearing a yellow armband associated with Ukrainian forces. The unidentified victim is still alive at the start of the decapitation and is heard begging: “It hurts, stop.” The executioner’s comrades cheer him on in the background, urging him to “f—ing cut it, break the spine! What,...

Vladimir Putin appears to be clamping down on Russian men trying to dodge his invasion of Ukraine by creating a new digital conscription system which would leave them unable to flee abroad. -snip- Under the new plan, Russian men will start receiving draft papers by registered post and via their personal account on the 'Gosuslugi' online public services portal - the same site used to book doctor appointments or manage state pensions. The old system of delivering papers in person will also remain in place. The new rules will apply both to conscripts and to men who are targeted in...

Russia is ready to introduce electronic military draft papers for the first time in its history in an effort to make it harder for men to avoid being drafted after the lower house of parliament gave its backing to the move. The State Duma, the lower chamber, gave its backing to the necessary legislation in two separate votes. Some lawmakers complained the changes were being rushed through without giving them enough time to scrutinise the changes. -snip- NO SECOND MOBILISATION Peskov dismissed suggestions that the digitalisation plans might spark a further wave of panic and emigration among young male Russians...

Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, for the most part, listened to the recommendations of the attending physicians and rested almost all day. In the evening, Putin held a meeting with representatives of the leadership of the power and military blocs in video communication mode, but if the image of the meeting participants was present on the president's monitor, then on the monitors of the meeting participants themselves, the image of the president was absent, only a voice was heard. This format of communication happens in cases of poor health of the president. During the meeting, the president was informed about...

Classified documents from a Pentagon intelligence report have appeared on messaging app Discord since February with top Russian officials reportedly wanting to sabotage Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin plans to "throw" Vladimir Putin's Ukraine war while he's allegedly receiving chemotherapy, leaked Pentagon documents claim. -snip- According to the leaked documents, which have since been removed from the platforms, Russian National Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev and Russian Chief of the General Staff Valeriy Gerasimov want to "throw" the president's war while he's getting treatment for cancer. The memo says: "[The source] on 22 February indicated that Gerasimov reportedly planned to continue...

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that, all the preparations are in full swing for the May 9 Victory Day Parade on Moscow’s Red Square. The governors of the concerned regions would make their decisions on regional events proceeding from security considerations. Due to the decision taken by the authorities of the Kursk Region against holding the event this year, Dmitry Peskov was asked whether the May 9 Victory Day Parade is cancelled in the Red Square also. Dmitry Peskov clarified that, “This is the prerogative of the heads of regions. Naturally, they make corresponding decisions proceeding from...

A Ukrainian fintech founder and drone developer is offering about $540,000 in prize money to the winner of a race to land a drone on Moscow's Red Square. Volodymyr Yatsenko, the co-founder of Monobank, a Ukrainian online banking service, announced the competition in a Facebook post last week. The competition is open to any Ukrainian drone developers and will take place on May 9, according to the Ukrainian Military Center, a Ukrainian news outlet covering defense. May 9 in Russia is Victory Day, a time when the country celebrates the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. Yatsenko himself is the developer...

Governors of two Russian regions have cited security concerns in scrapping military parades next month, although one theory suggested the cancelation was due to a lack of military equipment caused by the war in Ukraine. Victory Day parades on May 9 are held throughout Russia and parts of the former Soviet Union to commemorate the defeat of the Nazis in World War II, which is widely known as the Great Patriotic War. The most prominent event takes place in Moscow's Red Square in which a march past of troops and military equipment provides a colorful display of Russian military might,...

Ukraine’s challenges in massing troops, ammunition and equipment could cause its military to fall “well short” of Kyiv’s original goals for an anticipated counteroffensive aimed at retaking Russian-occupied areas this spring, according to U.S. intelligence assessments contained in a growing leak of classified documents revealing Washington’s misgivings about the state of the war. -snip- The document forecasting only modest success in Ukraine’s forthcoming counteroffensive indicates that Kyiv’s strategy revolves around reclaiming contested areas in the east while pushing south in a bid to sever Russia’s land bridge to Crimea, the peninsula Moscow illegally annexed in 2014 and now uses as...

This morning, immediately after sleep, Russian President Vladimir Putin complained to doctors about visual impairment, numbness of the tongue, partial loss of sensitivity of the right arm and leg, and severe headache. Additional doctors involved in the president's treatment were called. Putin was provided with first aid, now he is undergoing a medical examination.

A trove of leaked Pentagon documents reveals how deeply Russia’s security and intelligence services have been penetrated by the United States, demonstrating Washington’s ability to warn Ukraine about planned strikes and providing an assessment of the strength of Moscow’s war machine. The documents paint a portrait of a depleted Russian military that is struggling in its war in Ukraine and of a military apparatus that is deeply compromised. They contain daily real-time warnings to U.S. intelligence agencies on the timing of Moscow’s strikes and even its specific targets. Such intelligence has allowed the United States to pass on to Ukraine...

Ukraine has launched a competition for drone developers to land an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on Red Square in Moscow during the May 9 parade for a cash prize. The competition was announced by the co-founder of Monobank and developer of the Dovbush drone Volodymyr Yatsenko. Writing on Facebook, he said, "I am officially awarding a prize to a Ukrainian UAV manufacturer, whose aircraft, with the help of the military, of course, will fly and land on Red Square in Moscow on May 9". The public is invited to add to the prize fund, which currently stands at 20 million...

A trove of leaked documents has revealed the depth of America's spying apparatus around the world, detailing how the US continues to infiltrate allied nations amid heightening global tensions. The documents, which provided the clearest picture yet of the Kremlin's depleted military capacity, were telling as to the extent to which US espionage tactics have effectively penetrated Vladimir Putin's war machine. However, the intelligence breach, which included reports from late February to early March but have only been leaked online in recent days, also unearthed probes in a variety of nations, including South Korea, Iran and the UK, per the...

Major Russian media now reporting Bakhmut in Russian handsBakhmut was the basic lynchpin of the entire ukie defensive system in the East.

Top Secret documents detailing the state of readiness of Ukraine’s forces as well as detailed planning information around equipment inflow, weather, ammunition expenditure, training and much more have been circulating on Telegram and Twitter. The documents titled "Russia / Ukraine | Status of the Conflict as of 1 Mar" appears to be a daily briefing document with a classification higher than top secret, giving clues to the sources of the information within it, and a caveat of "NOFORN," which means No Foreign Dissemination, so for US eyes only. Some of the pages have lesser classifications and are designed for release...

The Russian ruble tumbled on Friday to the lowest levels against the dollar and euro since April 2022 in the face of a foreign currency crunch in Moscow and the sale of Western businesses in Russia. -snip- The rouble is the third-worst performer among global currencies so far this year, behind only the Egyptian pound and the Argentine peso, Reuters calculations show.

Ukraine has been urged to give up Crimea by the Brazilian President. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva suggested on Thursday that Ukraine cede the Black Sea peninsula to Russia to end the war, adding his Ukrainian counterpart "cannot want everything". -snip- Though vague, Brazil's Lula has put forward a proposal to mediate the conflict with a group of countries. He is due to present his proposal to Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week. In March, China also presented its own peace plan, which was flatly rejected by Ukraine and the West. Lula's international affairs adviser Celso Amorim met...

The head of Russia's private Wagner militia said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces were not abandoning the city of Bakhmut but that, even if they did, he would need more support from the regular military before trying to advance further. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had on Wednesday raised the prospect of a withdrawal from the city, saying Kyiv would take the "corresponding" decisions if its forces risked being encircled by Russian troops. Wagner forces are leading the battle for the city, which has become the bloodiest of the 13-month war, and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said its capture would open...