Links to Associated Press and Reuters stories related to the war in Ukraine, both linked to others, are followed by links to several stories from NPR’s “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered” programs. Then, courtesy of Consortium News, the beginning of a pre-Easter reflection by Patrick Lawrence on what he sees as Americans’ active embrace of wars and other interventions for empire. — MCM
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Russia ratchets up battle for control of eastern Ukraine, by Adam Schreck | The Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine — Russia ratcheted up its battle for control of Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland today, assaulting cities and towns along a boomerang-shaped front hundreds of miles long in what both sides described as a new phase of the war. After a Russian push to overrun the capital failed, the Kremlin declared that its main goal was the capture of the mostly Russian-speaking eastern Donbas region, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for eight years. If successful, that offensive would give President Vladimir Putin a vital piece of Ukraine and a badly needed victory in the now 7-week-old war that he could . . . READ MORE . . .
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Ukrainian volunteers recount three weeks in Russian captivity, allege beatings, by Alessandra Prentice and Sergiy Karazyy | Reuters DYMER, Ukraine — Volodymyr Khropun and Yulia Ivannikova-Katsemon say they were helping people flee villages on the front line in northern Ukraine when they were detained by Russian soldiers over two days in March. Both said they were then held with around 40 other captives on the concrete floor of a nearby factory, their hands bound. Nearly a week later they were transferred in a military truck to Belarus, and on to detention centres in Russia, they said. Khropun, an electrical engineer, and Ivannikova-Katsemon, an emergency services dispatcher, were freed with 24 others in a prisoner exchange on April 9. Standing . . .READ MORE . . .
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What are the ripple effects of sanctioning Russia’s richest and most powerful? NPR’s Leila Fadel talks to Alex Finley, a former CIA officer and novelist who’s tracking super-yachts used by oligarchs, about what sanctions against Russia mean for the country’s super-rich. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.
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A Ukrainian family finds solace in America but cannot escape heartbreak. Reported by Olivia Hampton | NPR WASHINGTON — Two days after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Koliubaiev family joined a small caravan with friends and drove more than 500 miles to the Hungarian border. Steps from the checkpoint, Artem Koliubaiev said goodbye to his wife and children, not sure when or if the family would reunite. Eka Koliubaieva and their two daughters are in the U.S. now, where they have found . . . Click HERE to listen and read today.
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Ukraine crisis raises question: Does food aid go equally to ‘Black and white lives’? Reported by Nurith Aizeniman | NPR The head of the World Health Organization has a stark message for the world. On the one hand, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press conference last week, the focus on the victims of Russia’s war on Ukraine is entirely justified and necessary. But on the other hand, he added, the international community is failing to give even “a fraction” of that attention to people in countries far beyond Ukraine who are grappling with ripple effects of the war that are just as devastating. Specifically, millions . . . Click HERE to listen and read today.
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As Russia launches a new offensive, what did it learn from the first one? Reported by Greg Myre | NPR WASHINGTON — When Russian leader Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, almost nothing went as planned. Ukrainian resistance was far tougher than expected. The ill-prepared Russian troops suffered heavy losses and ultimately had to retreat when. . . Click HERE to listen and read today.
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The Great Acquiescence — Glory to Ukraine. Commentary by Patrick Lawrence | Consortium News. The other day I ventured forth from my remote village to a lively market town called Great Barrington to shop for Easter lunch — spring lamb, a decent bottle of Bourgogne. Easter is much marked in my household, one of the few feasts we allow ourselves, and it is a reminder this year of a truth that could scarcely be more pertinent to our shared circumstances: After all our small and large crucifixions, there is new life to come. Great Barrington lies in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, a fashionable little burg dense — as you can tell simply by walking around in it — with righteous liberals. No place, you remind yourself, is perfect. And there along the streets and avenues . . . READ MORE. . .
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TO BE CONTINUED