Free Republic

Russian Orthodox Priests are facing persecution by their church for calling for peace in Ukraine while Moscow’s war rages on. At least 30 Orthodox priests have faced pressure by religious or state authorities for speaking out against the war, said Natallia Vasilevich, the coordinator for the human rights group Christians Against War. There may be even more cases, according to Vasilevich, who said some priests are afraid to discuss repercussions for fear of further retaliation. One of those priests, Rev. Ioann Koval, was defrocked after he prayed for peace in Ukraine following orders from Moscow Patriarch Kirill, the leader of...

While Germany’s Olaf Scholz was dragging his feet over tanks for Ukraine, the Baltic states and Poland gained moral ground ...reports from Berlin indicate that, far from being apologetic about his dithering, Scholz believes that he has acquitted himself well. He kept his Social Democratic party united on a profoundly controversial question. He also persuaded the Americans to supply their tanks alongside Germany’s. Sadly, much of this positive narrative is wishful thinking, for it ignores both the abrupt collapse of Germany’s influence in Europe and the continent’s profound strategic transformation because of the Ukraine war. The decision to supply Ukraine...