Free Republic

Ukrainian forces in Severodonetsk have been ordered to withdraw, according to the top regional official.The city is the focus of Russia's invasion as it tries to take control of large parts of eastern Ukraine."Remaining in positions that have been relentlessly shelled for months just doesn't make sense," Luhansk regional head Serhiy Haidai said.Russian forces have nearly encircled Severodonetsk in recent days, and are now targeting its twin city Lysychansk."They have received orders to retreat to new positions... and from there continue their operations," Mr Haidai told Ukrainian television on Friday morning.

Germany took emergency measures on June 19, 2022 to secure its energy supply in the face of recent drops in Russian gas deliveries, including a “bitter” use of the most polluting energy, coal. BERLIN—Germany will restart coal-fired power plants and offer incentives for companies to curb natural gas consumption, marking a new step in the economic war between Europe and Russia. Berlin unveiled the measures Sunday after Russia cut gas supplies to Europe last week as it punched back against European sanctions and military support for Ukraine. The steps, part of a broader strategy initiated after the invasion of Ukraine,...

Game-changing news has emerged out of Iceland. As of this week, Iceland is the first country in the world to completely drop ALL Covid measures. There will be no lockdowns or social restrictions. There will be no mandatory Covid testing and if you happen to catch Covid you do not have to isolate. There will be no vaccine passports and no vaccine mandates. Anyone regardless of their vaccination status can travel to the country with no test required. The unvaccinated will not face any form of discrimination or exclusion from society. Iceland is returning to going back to life as...

Russia has agreed to “fundamentally cut back” military activity around Kyiv and Chernihiv in order to “increase mutual trust” in a step towards a peace deal with Ukraine. Russia’s deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin says Russia will "radically reduce" military activity outside the two cities, reports have claimed. Mr Fomin said Moscow has decided to “fundamentally cut back military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv” in order to “increase mutual trust for future negotiations to agree and sign a peace deal with Ukraine”, according to Russian news agency Tass.