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Ukrainian Troops Headed to Oklahoma for Training on Patriot Missile Defense System

Ukrainian troops will arrive this month at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, in order to learn how to use the Patriot missile defense system, officials told Soldier of Fortune. About 100 Ukrainian troops — enough to sustain a Patriot battery — will train to use the system, officials said. The process …

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Putin ‘Frenemy’ Kadyrov Sends 300 Chechen Special Purpose Forces to Fight in Ukraine

Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, who has both mocked and praised the Russian war effort against Ukraine, says he has sent fighters to bolster the front line forces there. About 300 fighters of the Special Purpose Mobile Unit (OMON) from Chechnya have been deployed to “the zone of the special military …

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Putin’s Christmas Truce: A 36-Hour Nod to Faith, Or a Cynical Trap for Ukraine?

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered a 36-hour cease-fire in his war against Ukraine over the Orthodox Christmas holiday. He ordered Russian troops to stop attacks for a day and a half on its neighboring country starting at noon on Friday, the Kremlin said. Many Orthodox Christians, including those …

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Azov Battalion in Ukraine: Who They Are, and What They Do

The Azov Battalion became widely known for resisting Russian forces in Mariupol in Ukraine. Formed by volunteers to protect the Donbas from Russian invaders, it has evolved into an elite unit, with specialists drawn from Ukraine’s special forces. Here’s a look into who its members are and what they do. …

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Wagner Mercs Cuss Out Putin’s Military Brass, Demand More Ammo

by Reid Standish and Aleksei Aleksandrov / Current Time As the frontline Donbas city of Bakhmut has turned into the site of some of the fiercest fighting under way in Ukraine, tensions between the notorious Russian mercenary company, the Vagner Group, and the Russian military have spilled out into the open. …

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Russian Soldiers Are Thrown Into Battle Like Meat, Ukrainian Paratroopers Say

by Mike Eckel and Borys Sachalko / RFE-RL KREMINNA, Ukraine — For the paratroopers of a Ukrainian airborne brigade, there’s only one way to describe the waves of Russian infantry who are relentlessly pressing the Ukrainian lines in and around this Donbas city: Meat. “First, they throw in the mobilized …

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‘The Best in Hell’: How the Wagner Group Recruits Mercenaries From Siberian Prisons

by Mike Eckel, RFE/RL A man wearing military fatigues, a balaclava, and a special forces insignia showed up at Correctional Colony No. 29 in the Russian coal-mining region of Kemerovo on October 3. During that evening’s inspection, with several hundred inmates lined up in one of the prison’s outdoor yards, …

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The Patriot Missile System is Headed to Ukraine – Here’s What It Can Do

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last week that the Patriot missile system is “the strongest element” of the new $1.8 billion U.S. military aid package headed to Kyiv. What can the missile do, and how can it help Ukraine fend off continued attacks from Russia? The Patriot missile system was …

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Fighters From ‘Georgia Legion’ Take Up Arms in Ukraine Against Common Enemy Russia

Georgian Vadim Chkhetiani lies in a hospital bed in Ukraine, recovering from a serious wound suffered there in September while fighting with his countrymen, other foreigners, and Ukrainians against invading Russian forces. “There is this village called Yampil…. We were attacked by the occupiers. A shell exploded and shrapnel hit …

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A Self-Made Partisan Rises Up Against Russians in Ukraine: ‘I Never Thought I Would Do This’

by Aleksander Palikot / RFE-RL KHERSON, Ukraine — For Vladyslav Nedostup, the eight-month occupation of his native city has receded swiftly into the past since the last Russian soldier escaped Kherson on a speedboat in early November, and already seems distant and unreal. But that chunk of time has left him …

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