The United Kingdom will send Ukraine a squadron of tanks whose platform is undefeated in battle, the British military says. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak agreed to send 14 Challenger 2 tanks to help the country fight back against Russia’s invasion. The tanks are among other big ticket packages, such as …
Read More »The Battle of Kohima, 1944: ‘Sieges Have Been Longer, but Few More Intense’
by Christopher L. Kolakowski Lord Louis Mountbatten visited the battlefield of Kohima after the fighting had ended in 1944. Considering the ground and the course of the battle, he commented, “The Battle of Kohima will probably go down as one of the greatest battles in history.” Field Marshal Sir William …
Read More »A ‘Dynamic Fight’ Rages as Russia, Ukraine Claim to Prevail in Battle for Soledar
Both Russia and Ukraine have claimed to prevail in the fierce battle for Soledar, in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said Thursday that fighting was intense in Soledar, but that Ukraine’s forces were holding on. Yevgeny Prigozhin, who runs the Russian mercenary group Wagner, said his forces …
Read More »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 …
Read More »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 …
Read More »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 …
Read More »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. …
Read More »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. …
Read More »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 …
Read More »‘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, …
Read More »