Today we'll be discussing some of the biggest stories, including President Macron's reshuffle and the Copenhagen shooting, but first Ukraine gives up Luhansk.

The Ukrainian army has today retreated from Lysychansk, the last major city that they controlled in the Luhansk oblast. In effect, the Ukrainian army said that the decision was made to preserve the lives of the defenders of Ukraine on the back of Russian superiority in the region. A Ukrainian commander claimed that Russia's superiority came from having more weapons, ammunition, and personnel. This is why the Ukrainian army feared that they would lose a lot of troops if they remained in Lysychansk. Following this withdrawal, President Zelenskiy stated that there is a risk that Russian troops will soon occupy the entire Luhansk region. The defense minister made a similar claim, declaring that Russia had achieved the liberation of the Luhansk region. Zelenskiy went on to say that he expects his troops to re-enter the region at a later date.

Yesterday, a deadly attack took place in a mall in Copenhagen. Police have claimed that gunfire started at 5:35 pm local time and 30 minutes later, the 22-year-old shooter was apprehended. While police say that the shooter was known to the mental health services, it's currently believed that the shooter acted on their own and that it's too early to suggest what the motive may have been. So far, three people are believed to have died: two seventeen-year-olds and a 47-year-old man. Prime minister Metta Fredrickson said, "We have all been brutally ripped out of the bright summer that we have just started. This is beyond comprehension, heartbreaking, meaningless." The police have requested that any witnesses come forward.

China has warned the UK that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China after Britain held one-to-one trade talks with a top Taiwanese official. According to politico, Taiwanese trade envoy John Deng held talks with UK government economic and trade officials on topics including trade relations and Taiwan's desire to join the CPTT trade bloc. The meeting was not publicized by the UK's trade department, and whilst the department confirmed the meeting, it did not elaborate on the details of the discussions. The UK submitted an application to join the CPTPP trade bloc more than a year ago, with both China and Taiwan applying in September last year too. China resolutely opposes Taiwan's potential membership of the bloc and warns against any country with relations with China signing any official agreement with Taiwan.

French President Emmanuel Macron has reshuffled his cabinet following last month's legislative elections, which saw him lose a parliamentary majority and some key ministers. Perhaps the most notable change is that Damian Ahmad, minister for solidarity for just over a month, will leave the government following rape and attempted rape allegations against multiple women, which he denies. He is currently being investigated by French authorities. His post will be filled by the current head of the French Red Cross. Macron will appoint his ex-health minister, Olivier Veron, who led the health ministry through the COVID pandemic, as the new government spokesperson. His top team has remained largely unchanged, with the finance, foreign defense, justice, education, and labor ministers all remaining in their positions. The government's first challenge comes this week, with a draft cost of living bill heading to parliament and a big policy speech by prime minister Elizabeth Boren.

Over the weekend, the British army's Twitter and YouTube accounts were breached. The army's twitter name was changed to bapesclan and their profile picture was replaced by the ape-like cartoon figure. The account then started to retweet posts related to non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. The army's YouTube account was also compromised, with the account renamed arkinvest. The account then began promoting an interview with Tesla's Elon Musk about cryptocurrency. The ministry of defense confirmed late on Sunday night that it was aware of a breach of the accounts and that an investigation was underway. They further stressed that the army takes information security extremely seriously and would not be commenting further until the investigation was completed. The accounts are back to normal. There's no indication whatsoever that the actors behind the breach accessed any aspect of the army's internal systems.