Free Republic

Here are a couple of big picture maps showing the current position of Russian and Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut and the surrounding area. As you can see the Russians (i.e., the Wagner Group) are making rapid advances after months of slow progress and appear to be on the verge of a tactical encirclement of the Ukrainian units. It is important to understand the terrain of the Bakhmut area. The photos below show a landscape that reminds me of the state I grew up in — Missouri. Rolling hills, farmland and light forest that surround small cities. The first photo is...

In a statement, the SVR said U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers, air defence systems and artillery ammunition had been delivered to the Rivne nuclear power station in the northwest of Ukraine."The Ukrainian armed forces are storing weapons and ammunition provided by the West on the territory of nuclear power plants," it said, adding that an arms shipment to the Rivne power station had taken place in the last week of December.

Russia’s “nuclear war” rhetoric appears every few months, on a kind of cycle. Whenever the West and Ukraine appear to be winning and Ukraine is being strengthened, then Russia will roll out this talk. It will also mobilize other voices to make it seem that Ukraine isn’t interested in “peace” and that Ukraine is “escalating.” This terminology is misplaced because it is Russia that escalated and invaded Ukraine. However, Moscow wants to shift focus to what the West is doing...

The bill bans hate speech and incitement based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Link with details at https://flipboard.com/article/ukraine-passes-bill-banning-lgbtq-hate-speech-in-media/f-7732075dcf%2Flgbtqnation.com

Belarusian troops are highly likely to join the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2023, the chief editor of the Belarusian independent news media Charter-97 Natalya Radina said in her interview with UNIAN, referring to the insider information within the Armed Forces of Belarus. There are several scenarios under which Belarusian troops may be deployed to Ukraine, Radina claimed, referring to an anonymous source in the Belarusian army. First of all, the army of Belarus may take part in the Russian invasion of Ukraine to distract Ukrainian forces from other areas, where Russia plans to launch offensive operations. Secondly, Belarusian...

Belarusia's army stepped up its military exercises amid growing fears that a new invasion of Ukraine from the north is imminent. Belarusian and Russian troops have been taking part in joint military exercises for a number of weeks. Last Sunday the Belarusian Defence Ministry announced it was extending its training drills with Putin's army.

ussia has appointed Colonel-General Alexander Lapin as chief of staff of the country's ground forces, state-owned news agency TASS reported on Tuesday, despite fierce criticism from leading hawks over his performance in Ukraine. Lapin, previously commander of Russia's central military district, was blasted last October by hawkish allies of President Vladimir Putin after Russian forces were driven out of the city of Lyman in eastern Ukraine, a key logistics hub. His promotion - widely reported across Russian media but neither confirmed nor denied by the Kremlin - drew mixed reactions from the influential Russian war bloggers who provide often critical...

Russia continues to humiliate itself. After a deadly rocket attack by Ukraine carried out in the first moments of New Year’s Day killed as many as 400 Russian troops, Russia claimed only 63 had been killed. Russia soon updated that tally to 89 killed but also publicly blamed the troops for their own deaths by claiming the Ukrainian strike was the result of the recently mobilized troops using cell phones. Even some pro-Russian military bloggers said Russia was downplaying the number of deaths and also suggested that leadership was to blame for putting a bunch of inexperienced recruits together in...

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Vadym Skibitskyi said that around January 15 conscription would begin and that it would take Russian forces around two months to organize its formations. The Kremlin will mobilize up to 500,000 Russians for a spring offensive, Ukrainian Defense Ministry representatives predicted on Friday. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Vadym Skibitskyi told The Guardian that it was expected that around January 15 conscription would begin and that it would take Russian forces around two months to organize its formations. While Skibitskyi said the mobilization could include 300,000 on the lower end, both he and Ukrainian intelligence representative Andriy...

Zelensky is just an actor and he has been playing the entire world into handing him money without any accountability. He claims he is fighting for freedom and democracy when he refuses to comply with the Minsk Agreement which falsely was to allow those in the Donbas to vote on their own future. Now he has empowered his government to shut down all dissent. Upon his return from meeting the Biden Administration, he took back some needed advice – restrict ALL media, block ALL websites that expose the truth, and order Big Tech to censor all negative comments about him...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Russia that “no one will ever forgive you” for spreading terror following a series of missile attacks on New Year’s Eve. Zelensky said in an address on Saturday that the missile attacks will not mark the end of the year but the outcome of Russia’s fate in that it will not be forgiven. He mentioned that Russia launched missile attacks during the war at other holidays such as Easter and Christmas. “They call themselves Christians. They are very proud of their orthodoxy. But they are following the devil. They support him and are together with...

BREAKING: Explosions reported in Kursk, Belgorod, Voronezh and Rostov moments ago. The picture is from Rostov. Happy New Year’s Eve to Russia from Ukraine.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping vowed Friday to deepen their bilateral cooperation against the backdrop of Moscow’s 10-month war in Ukraine, which weathered another night of drone and rocket attacks following a large-scale missile bombardment. Putin and Xi made no direct mention of Ukraine in their opening remarks by videoconference, which were broadcast publicly, before going into private talks. But they hailed strengthening ties between Moscow and Beijing amid what they called “geopolitical tensions” and a “difficult international situation,” with Putin expressing his wish to extend military collaboration. “In the face of...

Russia and Ukraine are at a stalemate in the 10-month-old war, a Ukrainian defense official told the BBC. Major General Kyrylo Budanov, chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, said that the war is "deadlocked" until either side can gain an advantage, such as from more weapons or troops. In the fall, Ukraine initiated a counteroffensive that pummeled Russian troops in certain regions, leading to a withdrawal of Russian troops from Kherson in November. Ukraine reclaimed several key territories, but then the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut began bearing the brunt of Russian attacks. Russia adopted a...

Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin today abandoned a visit to Pskov, which is close to the border with NATO states Estonia and Latvia, claiming there were "unfavourable flying conditions" despite skies being clear. Vladimir Putin for the second time in a week cancelled at the last minute a trip inside Russia. He today abandoned a visit to Pskov close to his border with NATO states Estonia and Latvia. The move is likely to increase speculation about his health, or concerns over his security. Officially the reason was “unfavourable flying conditions” for the 180 mile routing from St Petersburg. Yet both airports...

... Washington’s formulation calls for balancing interest and justice. While in terms of justice, we should offer Ukraine as much support as we can afford, that support is necessarily limited by our own interests. One such interest is to avoid being drawn into an unnecessary war. Another is to be able to fight a war if it should come. Regarding the first, as I recently wrote in GoLocalProv, “The desire to aid Ukraine in repelling Russian aggression is understandable, but our policymakers have to ask themselves if we, like the European leaders of 1914, are sleepwalking into a war, the...

Moscow's proposals for settlement in Ukraine are well known to Kyiv and either Ukraine fulfils them for their own good or the Russian army will decide the issue, TASS agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying. "Our proposals for the demilitarization and denazification of the territories controlled by the regime, the elimination of threats to Russia's security emanating from there, including our new lands, are well known to the enemy," the state news agency quoted Lavrov as saying late on Monday. "The point is simple: Fulfil them for your own good. Otherwise, the issue will be decided by...

(Reuters) -Moscow's proposals for settlement in Ukraine are well known to Kyiv and either Ukraine fulfils them for their own good or the Russian army will decide the issue, TASS agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying. "Our proposals for the demilitarization and denazification of the territories controlled by the regime, the elimination of threats to Russia's security emanating from there, including our new lands, are well known to the enemy," the state news agency quoted Lavrov as saying late on Monday. "The point is simple: Fulfil them for your own good. Otherwise, the issue will be decided...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday he was “100 percent” confident that his forces would destroy the Pentagon’s most advanced air defence system that US President Joe Biden has promised to send to Ukraine. “Of course we will destroy it, 100 percent!” Putin said, referring to the Patriot missile battery in extracts of an interview aired on Russian television.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Ukrainians to have “patience and faith” in a defiant Christmas address after a deadly wave of Russian strikes pounded the southern city of Kherson. Ten months into Russia’s war on Ukraine, Zelensky spoke of endurance and pushing through to the end, while acknowledging that “freedom comes at a high price.” He urged the nation to stand firm in the face of a grim winter of energy blackouts, the absence of loved ones and the ever-present threat of Russian attacks. Zelensky’s message came after Ukrainian officials said Russia had launched deadly rocket strikes into downtown Kherson...