Free Republic

Ukraine began evacuating its soldiers on Wednesday from the embattled city of Severodonetsk, the strategic eastern city that Russia has been battling to take over in a bid to control the Donbas region, local officials said. Ukrainian forces retreated after suffering big losses in the city that’s now about 80% controlled by Russian forces, Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai said Wednesday. “This is not a betrayal,” Haidai wrote in a post on Telegram. The governor said the retreat across the river to Severodonetsk’s twin city, Lysychansk, was part of their strategy

The European Union has reached a deal to ban the import of Russian oil , EU council president Charles Michel said late on Tuesday. In a tweet, he said it would immediately covers more than two thirds of oil imports from Russia, “cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine”.A proposed exception for oil delivered by pipeline earlier edged the EU towards finalising the deal to sanction Russia and squeeze its financial ability to wage war in Ukraine.

@marklevinshow Ukraine’s in trouble! Russia must be beaten back!

<p>In his nightly address on Friday, Zelensky said that Russian forces had concentrated their artillery and reserves in the region and that there have been "missile strikes and aircraft attacks—everything."</p><p>"We are protecting our land in the way that our current defense resources allow," he said according to a transcript on the presidential website. "We are doing everything to increase them. And we will increase them."</p>