Free Republic

A senior official in the Russian-installed administration of Ukraine’s occupied Kherson region was killed in an apparent assassination on Friday, the deputy head of the administration told Reuters. Dmitry Savluchenko, head of the families, youth, and sports department of the Kherson Military-Civilian Administration, was killed in a bomb blast. Russia's TASS news agency said there were two burnt-out cars in a courtyard of Kherson, the regional capital where the blast took place, and that the windows of one four-storey house had been shattered. An adviser to the Ukrainian governor of Kherson told Ukraine's public news network Suspilne that the assassination...

The Russian army is suffering high casualties in the war against Ukraine and Vladimir Putin badly needs fresh troops. He wants to avoid a general mobilization, so the military is relying on other methods. -snip- The hidden mobilization has been particularly intense in Buryatia. The army has been using the messenger service Viber to send attractive offers, which include generous salaries, social benefits and a healthy pension – the complete package. "They have called everyone I know: Don’t you want to participate in the special operation?" reports one woman from the region who asked to remain anonymous. "As if it...

VLADIMIR Putin has purged his top general over a mass loss of troops in Ukraine as Russia's losses are now said to be as high as 50,000. Colonel-General Andrey Serdyukov, 60, was ditched for the devastating “mass casualties” among Putin's elite paratroopers, it has been alleged. The speculation comes as a Russian source is said to have suggested the country’s overall losses in Ukraine are close to 50,000 - significantly higher than most other estimates.

Chechnya’s strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov issued a warning to those spreading “rumours” about Putin’s health, telling them it is “better to shut your mouths”. Kadyrov also rubbished claims Putin is in a coma, saying he had spoken the Russian despot recently and he was “cheerful”. In a recording posted to his Telegram channel, he said he had “read that our president had fallen into a coma" and that "they are looking for a replacement right now". He added of seeing Putin recently: “He has a very cheerful voice, a commanding voice, and he is ready to complete the special operation...

Hackers on Friday delayed the start of President Vladimir Putin's speech to Russia's flagship economic forum, shorn of strong Western participation as Russia adjusts to the "new reality" of life under Western sanctions. -snip- But the Western investors and investment bankers who had turned up in previous years were conspicuously absent. -snip- Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said a denial of service attack, which works by flooding servers with bogus traffic, had struck the forum's accreditation and admission systems. -snip- Internet connectivity and speeds suffered at the forum, and Putin's speech, in which he accused the West of trying to crush...

VLADIMIR Putin was spotted visibly shaking as he stood next to one of the recipients of the State Prize of the Russian Federation he awarded at the Kremlin on Sunday. Speculation about Vladimir Putin's health has been rife since before he was catapulted into the daily news bulletins because of his invasion of Ukraine in February. The Russian leader has sparked questions about his status as reports began to emerge about him suffering from cancer. Putin appeared quite shaky on his legs as he listened to Russian filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov accept a prize rewarding his work in the arts. Footage...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to Serbia has been cancelled after countries around Serbia closed their airspace to his aircraft, a senior foreign ministry source told the Interfax news agency on Sunday. The source confirmed a Serbian media report that said Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro had closed their airspace to the plane that would have carried Moscow's top diplomat to Belgrade on Monday. "Our diplomacy has yet to master teleportation," the source said.

Vladimir Putin was today hit by the death of Russia’s 11th general in his bloody war with Ukraine. Major-General Roman Kutuzov was the chief of staff of the 29th Combined Arms Army, according to reports. His vehicle was ambushed by Ukrainians and he died in a fight in Donbas, say sources. His death is the 11th general, but the first such high ranking army officer in more than a month. In addition, at least 49 colonels have been killed in the war with Ukraine. The latest was Lt-Col Zaur Dimayev, deputy commander of the 4th battalion of the Akhmat Kadyrov...