Free Republic

For the second year in a row, a lone Soviet-era tank rolled across Moscow's Red Square during Russia's Victory Day parade, prompting social media users to mock President Vladimir Putin's military's procession on a day which is traditionally used to display the country's might. A single T-34 tank participated in the parade in Moscow to mark May 9, or Victory Day, which is the annual commemoration of Nazi Germany's defeat during World War II. Like last year, this year's procession was notably muted in contrast to previous events amid Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, during which both sides have suffered...

Ukraine's air force has previously said Russia has used the Tu-22M3 aircraft to fire Kh-22 cruise missiles at Ukrainian territory. The HUR said the bomber that was downed "carried out a missile attack against Ukraine on the night of April 19." The aircraft was shot down "as a result of a [HUR] special operation in cooperation with the Air Force," it said, adding that it was struck at a distance of about 300 kilometers from Ukraine. The HUR added: "It should be noted that this is the first successful destruction of a strategic bomber in the air during a combat...

Russia is having to use electronic parts meant for its air defense systems to manufacture its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) due to shortages caused by sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine, according to a local report. -snip- "Sources of VChK-OGPU say that today the Krasnoyarsk Machine-Building Plant is experiencing a serious shortage of electronic components...for the production of strategic missiles," the channel said. "The electronics of the new RS-28 (Sarmat) missile system are largely of foreign origin and, due to sanctions, are experiencing a serious shortage. Now all efforts are being made to somehow correct the situation with...

President Vladimir Putin is facing trouble in his ongoing war in Ukraine, days before the country's election, which is expected to result in the Russian leader remaining in power until at least 2030. This week has so far been tumultuous for the Russian president. On Tuesday night, the country was attacked by more than 60 Ukrainian drones, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, with targets including a Federal Security Service building in the southern Belgorod region and an oil refinery—both of which sustained damage. Multiple incursions by Russian defectors were also launched on Russian soil. The militia groups Freedom of...

Ukrainian forces destroyed the Russian Black Sea Fleet's newest patrol ship, the Sergey Kotov, using naval drones in an overnight attack, Kyiv has said. According to the Unian news agency, Russia's newest Project 22160 patrol ship cost around $65 million to build and had a crew of 80, though it is currently unclear how many people were on board. "As a result of the attack by Magura V5 naval drones, the Russian ship of project 22160 'Sergey Kotov' suffered damage to the stern, right and left sides," Ukraine's military intelligence said in a post on Telegram. Ukraine has used Magura...

Vladimir Putin's military is unlikely to use its prized T-14 Armata tank in combat in Ukraine because it is "too valuable," an ally of the Russian president said. The comments were made by Sergey Chemezov, the CEO of Rostec, the country's state-owned defense conglomerate, in an interview with Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti, published Sunday. Moscow is reported to have briefly deployed several of the main battle tanks for combat operations in July 2023, before they were withdrawn from the front line. The tank was once labeled by a senior British army official as "the most revolutionary tank in...

Deliveries of all-new Russian aircraft have been delayed by two years due to safety concerns ... The publication said that, for example, the weight of the new MS-21 passenger aircraft has increased by 5.75 tons, compared to the previous version, which used foreign components and Western engines. This means its flight range and altitude have been significantly reduced. One of Kommersant's sources said that, if Russia is unable to reduce the weight of the aircraft, it will be impossible for authorities to make the plane achieve the desired performance characteristics. "It's impossible to increase engine thrust by 20 percent," the...

Russia has approved a temporary ban on the export of gasoline, a representative for the country's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told local media on Tuesday. Beginning May 1, Russia will impose a six-month ban on gasoline exports to allow the country to "offset the booming demand for petroleum products," the official told Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in an internal letter in January, publication RBC reported. Fuel shortages have been reported nationwide in Russia, which is one of the world's biggest producers of oil and gas. Wholesale fuel prices have soared across the country, and Ukraine has ramped up...

Ivan Sechin, the son of Russian state-owned oil giant Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, died on February 5 at the age of 35, it has been reported. -snip- The VChK-OGPU outlet, which purports to have inside information from Russian security forces, also reported on Sechin's death. Citing an unnamed source, it said that at approximately 4.30 a.m. on February 5, Sechin "complained that he felt bad and was suffocating." "The man fell on the bed and lost consciousness. Those around him carried Ivan to the floor and tried to provide primary resuscitation measures," the Telegram channel said, adding that an ambulance...

Ukraine's armed forces have shot down six Russian fighter jets in just three days, according to the country's Ministry of Defense. The ministry said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that Ukraine on Monday destroyed two Russian jets—an Su-34 fighter-bomber and an Su-35S fighter jet. "Russian planes continue to fall! This morning, defenders of the sky shot down two russian planes in the eastern direction—a Su-34 fighter-bomber and a Su-35 fighter," it said. "In 3 days, Ukraine destroyed 6 russian jets." The news comes after the Commander of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General...

Russians have been told to grow their own bananas as a shortage looms, days after President Vladimir Putin issued a ban on imports from Ecuador, its largest supplier of the fruit, seemingly over an arms shipment spat. Oleg Knyazkov, the head of the industry expertise center at Rosselkhoznadzor, the Russian consumer watchdog, told local news outlet Gazeta that he predicts there will be a nationwide shortage of bananas in a month. He advised Russians to start growing them domestically. His comments come after Putin suspended banana imports from five Ecuadorian companies on February 2, saying the decision was made due...

Russian authorities denied an emergency in Russia's Udmurt Republic, as videos show a huge fireball over a weapons plant that produces nuclear weapons components and ballistic missiles. Massive explosion was reported on Wednesday on the grounds of the Votkinsk weapons factory, which produces weapons including the RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) & strategic ballistic missiles for the Topol-M and Iskander systems. The factory is located some 30 miles from the capital of the Udmurt Republic, Izhevsk. Videos filmed by residents showed a huge fireball over the area and a massive glow in the sky. Locals reported hearing explosions before...

The Kremlin confirmed on Wednesday that former Fox News host Tucker Carlson interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow, but disputed a claim he made that Western journalists hadn't attempted to interview the leader throughout the war. -snip- Peskov said Carlson is "wrong" by suggesting that Western journalists haven't attempted to interview Putin—an assertion the former Fox News host made in a lengthy video announcing his interview with the Russian leader. "He, in fact, cannot know this. We receive many requests for interviews with the president," Peskov said. -snip- Many Western journalists have interviewed Ukrainian President Volodymyr...

A top Russian air force general was killed in strikes on annexed Crimea on Wednesday, according to local reports. Multiple Russian Telegram channels, including Crimean Wind, reported that Russian Air Force Lieutenant General Alexander Tatarenko was killed during a Ukrainian strike on the Belbek military airfield in Crimea. Telegram channel Public Reserve Stugna, which has more than 73,000 subscribers, said 10 Russian military personnel were "liquidated" in the attack, including Tatarenko, the commander of the aviation unit at the Belbek air base.

A video circulating on social media shows a huge fire that engulfed a large Rosneft-owned oil refinery in the southern Russian town of Tuapse on the Black Sea coast in the early hours of Thursday morning. The refinery's vacuum unit caught fire, said Sergei Boiko, the head of Tuapse district, adding in a post on his Telegram channel that there were no casualties. He warned local residents not to post videos from the scene "to avoid adverse consequences." Boiko didn't identify the cause of the fire, but numerous Telegram channels said it was the result of a drone strike. Russian...

Russians have blamed their own air defenses for the reported loss of an A-50 surveillance aircraft over the Sea of Azov. Pro-war Telegram channel Fighterbomber, which is believed to be affiliated with the Russian Air Force, published a lengthy post after Ukraine claimed to have downed an A-50 and damaged an Il-22M airborne command post on Sunday. The Rybar Telegram channel, which has links to Russia's Defense Ministry, also said the aircraft could have been struck by "friendly fire." -snip- The A-50 is a Soviet-era reconnaissance aircraft used to prepare strikes and prevent enemy attacks; the loss of such an...

Former American intelligence officer Scott Ritter has visited the Russian republic of Chechnya, offering its leader Ramzan Kadyrov and his fighters "friendship" with the United States. Ritter, a former United Nations Special Commission weapons inspector, U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer, and a convicted sex offender, made the remarks in an address during his visit to Chechnya's capital, Grozny.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's threats to let Europe "freeze" over winter have come back to bite his country as power outages spread nationwide. Tens of thousands of Russians are reported to have no heating in their homes in the Moscow region alone after a heating main burst at the Klimovsk Specialized Ammunition Plant in the town of Podolsk, which is around 30 miles south of central Moscow, on January 4. Residents in multiple regions including Rostov, St. Petersburg, Volgograd, and Voronezh have also been affected by lengthy power outages, and some have resorted to filming video appeals as they grapple...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the nationalization of an ammunition plant in Moscow after a mechanical failure caused tens of thousands of Muscovites to lose heat and water amid freezing temperatures beginning last week. On January 4, a heating main burst at the Klimovsk Specialized Ammunition Plant in the town of Podolsk, which is around 30 miles south of central Moscow. Since then, tens of thousands of Russians are reported to have no heating in their homes in the Moscow region amid subzero temperatures. Affected areas include the cities of Khimki, Balashikha, Lobnya, Lyubertsy, Podolsk, Chekhov, Naro-Fominsk, and Podolsk,...

Zoya Konovalova, the head of one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's state TV channels, has been found dead after a suspected poisoning incident, officials said. Konovalova, 48, editor-in-chief of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company Kuban, was found alongside the body of her ex-husband, 52, at a home in the Krasnodar region on January 5. It is the latest in a series of mysterious deaths involving prominent Russian figures since Putin's forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022.