Free Republic

Vladimir Putin moved his $100m (£75m) superyacht from a German shipyard to Russia just weeks before he ordered the invasion of Ukraine, according to secret documents released in a new investigation. A Russian anti-corruption organisation set up by the jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny claims emails show that the Russian president ordered the urgent moving of the 82-metre superyacht, called Graceful, from a shipyard in Hamburg, where it was undergoing a $32m refit, by 1 February 2022. Photos show the ship being towed out of Hamburg on 7 February en route to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, after the...

Referendum participants reported being forced to “vote” at gunpoint by armed “election officials” who could see exactly which boxes were being ticked off on ballots. Human Rights Watch reported that local Ukrainians were fearful that voting against annexation would lead to reprisals, such as having one’s house demolished. This isn’t the first time Russia has used voter intimidation to fabricate a “correct” referendum result... Polish journalist Pieniazek corroborated international allegations of widespread voter intimidation and fraud, recounting them in detail in his book, Greetings from Novorossiya. The EU and NATO condemned Russia’s annexation, as have other major powers such as...