Free Republic

Russian nationalists called angrily on Sunday for President Vladimir Putin to make immediate changes to ensure ultimate victory in the Ukraine war, a day after Moscow was forced to abandon its main bastion in northeastern Ukraine. The swift fall of Izium in Kharkiv province was Russia's worst military defeat since its troops were forced back from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in March. (snip)Moscow's almost total silence on the defeat - or any explanation for what had taken place in northeastern Ukraine - provoked significant anger among some pro-war commentators and Russian nationalists on social media. Neither Putin, who is Russia's...

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is the bookmakers' favorite to become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom, but the Kremlin is unlikely to be betting on a different British approach to relations with Moscow, or the war in Ukraine, should she take over from incumbent Boris Johnson. Although enjoying less support among fellow Conservative Party MPs, Truss's greater popularity among grassroots Tories than Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the final run-off has seen Betfair put her odds-on 4/6 to win. If successful, she will be the face of the British response to the war in Ukraine during which she...

A former U.S. general has forecast the surrender of Russian forces in Kherson, a strategic city in Ukraine. The Kherson region has been almost entirely controlled by Russian troops since March, when it became the first major city to fall during Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian forces have launched a counteroffensive to take back the critical port city. Retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling commented Monday on a Ukrainian soldier's video from the frontlines showing destroyed Russian positions in Kherson. According to Hertling's analysis on Twitter, the footage indicated "extremely poor soldier discipline" and "horrible fieldcraft/training"...

Vladimir Putin has approved a 31-page "humanitarian policy" which says Russia should "protect, safeguard and advance the traditions and ideals of the Russian World". The foreign policy concept of a "Russian World" is a notion that hardliners have used to justify intervening abroad to support Russian speakers, such as in parts of Ukraine. It means that the idea is now enshrined in official policy, though it was presented as a soft power strategy. The new policy stated that Moscow should further deepen its ties with the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic - two breakaway entities in...

The Russians on the "Southern Front" received large reinforcements for half a day via the Crimean bridge The elite Ukrainian units that attempted the "Kherson counter-offensive" for the past six days did not achieve anything, and they paid for that with huge casualties and losses. They briefly took over Blagodatnoe and another smaller settlement and wedged themselves into Russian positions southeast of Suho Stavok, 3-4 kilometers away, but the counterattack was so powerful that they had to return to their starting lines with two captured positions. In the last 24 hours, the Ukris had 230 casualties, and they also lost...

Vladimir Putin's shaky legs have made another appearance as he appeared ill at ease while giving a rambling speech in front of young Russians today. The leader, 69, has been at the centre of multiple health rumours in recent months and has regularly appeared twitching and unsteady while in public. Today, he flew across nine time zones towards Kamchatka, a glaciers-and-volcanoes peninsula in the Pacific, in the east of Russia. He repeatedly tapped both of his feet on the floor and held on to his armrest for support as he told the children: 'You have to live for something to...

Uncertainty hangs over the planned visit to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant by a team from the UN nuclear watchdog, as inspectors arrived in Ukrainian-controlled Zaporizhzhia city on Wednesday, where they are likely to spend the night before crossing the frontline. The International Atomic Energy Agency mission into Russian-controlled territory, which comprises representatives from countries deemed neutral by both sides, was reportedly intended to last four days. But on Wednesday, the Russian-occupying authorities said the IAEA would be given access for one day. They also said the mission would be expected to join the queue of civilians who cross back and...

According to Yanushevich, Ukrainian strikes have completely decommissioned almost all the major bridges in the region - Antonivskyi (road and railway), as well as the Nova Kakhovka Dam Bridge. “As a result of these actions, the Russian army was cut off from the supply of weapons and personnel from the territory of Crimea and the left-bank part of Kherson Oblast,” Yanushevich explained. He also confirmed that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have launched an offensive in all directions in southern Ukraine, but added that the authorities can only provide official information from the military. “We must remain calm and not...

The Biden administration announced that Ukraine would receive $3 billion in military assistance — the largest amount it has sent since Russia began its invasion in February. The Department of Defense said that it was meeting both Ukraine’s “immediate and longer-term security assistance needs.” Among the 245,000 rounds of artillery ammunition and the laser-guided rocket systems listed in the Pentagon’s security assistance for Ukraine under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) were the VAMPIRE Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems. VAMPIRE is an acronym for “Vehicle-Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment.” In short, the system transforms pickup trucks and other vehicles into mobile...

Warthog Defense members are sharing stories, insider tips, news from the front lines, and unique slices of military life including the tough stuff of war.

Total collapse of US/EU/NATO policy both military and economic, damage to European society may be irreparable

The war currently underway in Ukraine, which pits Ukraine as a proxy for the collective West against Russia, is primarily an ideological or religious one, with Russia representing what is left of Christian Europe, and “the West” representing a totalitarian ideology that abhors religion in general and Christianity in particular. This statement may sound strange, given the fact that some Westerners – though fewer every day – still see “the West,” (basically Europe and North America) as Christian, and Russia as Communist, or crypto-Communist.

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Small arms, ATGMs, MANPADS, loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles, trailers and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When the...

Disclaimer: The Kyiv Independent is publishing this investigation to shed light on the alleged abuse of power in the leadership of one wing of the International Legion – a legion created for foreign fighters dedicated to defending Ukraine. The members of the Legion’s unit say that they reported their commanders’ misconduct to Ukrainian law enforcement, the parliament, and President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Office, but saw no proper reaction and thus turned to journalists as a last resort. Soldiers who pointed at the problems within this unit of the Legion claim they received threats for speaking up. For their safety, we do...

Mercouris explains the reason for the slow and deliberae pace of the Russian rescue operationAside from everything else, this conflict is going to kill the basic business model for the US MIC. Nobody is going to want to buy US weapons after this.

KYIV, Ukraine — Mykhail Podolyak barely flinched as air raid sirens wailed in Kyiv, signaling incoming Russian missiles. Sitting in his office at the heavily fortified presidential administration building in Ukraine’s capital, the adviser to the head of the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the sirens have become a normal part of life six months into the war with Russia. “We’re getting used to this new lifestyle — we are used to the wailing sirens now and to the bombardments, because the Russian Federation is mostly aiming at the civilian population and civilian infrastructure,” he said in an...

Vladimir Putin is determined to shape the future to look like his version of the past. Russia’s president invaded Ukraine not because he felt threatened by NATO expansion or by Western “provocations.” He ordered his “special military operation” because he believes that it is Russia’s divine right to rule Ukraine, to wipe out the country’s national identity, and to integrate its people into a Greater Russia. He laid out this mission in a 5,000-word treatise, published in July 2021, entitled, “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians.” In it, Putin insisted that Belarusians, Russians, and Ukrainians are all descendants...

"A valuable present for Ukraine on the occasion of its Independence Day! U.S. President Joe Biden announced the allocation of nearly $3 billion in military aid to our state. The package includes air defense systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, artillery systems, and radars," Ukrainian media outlets quoted Shmyhal as saying on social media. In addition, the Ukrainian state budget on Wednesday received another $3 billion as a non-refundable grant from the U.S. via the World Bank mechanism, the prime minister said. "This is the first tranche from the additional $4.5 billion of direct budget aid," he said.

Russia is preparing to hold "sham" referendums in occupied Ukrainian territories within a matter of days or weeks, the US warned on Wednesday. Moscow has instructed officials to begin preparations in areas that have fallen under its control during its war on Ukraine, including Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhia, parts of Donetsk and Luhansk, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. The first referenda could be announced as soon as this week's end, he added, noting the US and international community will not view any such elections as legitimate. "We expect Russia to try to manipulate the results of these referenda...