Free Republic

Russian tank academy building caught on fire on Thursday, March 7th, according to the Defense Ministry's statement and videos circulating online. One video posted by Astra, a Telegram news outlet, was captioned: "A tank academy barracks is on fire in Kazan." The barracks of the Kazan Higher Tank Command School, located in Kazan, Central Russia, which trains soldiers deployed to tank units in Ukraine, was seen engulfed in smoke as fire raged

"The military writes that the occupiers have Starlink with licensed accounts," Andriy Tsaplienko, a Ukrainian journalist, said on his Telegram channel ... "They began to deliver Starlink en masse, via Dubai, accounts are activated, they work in the occupied territories" ... "SpaceX does not do business of any kind with the Russian Government or its military," the statement said. "Starlink is not active in Russia, meaning service will not work in that country. SpaceX has never sold or marketed Starlink in Russia, nor has it shipped equipment to locations in Russia. If Russian stores are claiming to sell Starlink for...

Russia's egg shortage is being exacerbated by bird flu-riddled imports from Turkey, one of the country's biggest trading partners and a NATO member, according to a recent report citing a Russian government official. More than one-fifth of the eggs imported from Turkey were found to be infected with the highly contagious H5N1 avian influenza, as well as other dangerous ailments including salmonella and botulism, Russian authorities warned. -snip- Russia's attempt to pivot to Turkey for emergency egg supplies in January now appears to have backfired, as the delivery of the first batch of Turkish eggs was promptly followed by reports...

There have been a vast number of cases in recent months of Russian domestic passenger planes making emergency landings due to technical issues, driven by a lack of spare parts... Data compiled by Newsweek shows that from September 2023 to December 8, 2023, Russia saw a total of 60 commercial aviation incidents that involved emergency landings, engine fires and malfunctions, along with other technical issues forcing the planes to abandon their intended routes... Earlier, Novaya Gazeta Europe found that from January to August 2023, more than 120 air accidents were recorded in Russia involving civil aircraft used by Russian airlines....

The Claim While making his closing statement, Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger produced the weapon that Rittenhouse used during the shooting incident on August 25, 2020. Binger then raised and pointed the weapon in the courtroom. The moment was captured by the court's cameras and multiple photographers in the room. The video and images of the episode have since been widely shared online, accompanied by questions around Binger's handling of the firearm—including his appearing to put his finger on the trigger—and claims that he aimed the rifle at the jury..... While it is accurate to say that the prosecutor raises...