First, from early last night, a few lines linking to a column provided by Consortium News. Then, links to reports from National Public Radio, the Associated Press and Reuters and to a photograph from Agence France-Presse. — MCM
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A war of rhetoric & reality, by Patrick Lawrence | Consortium News There are numerous indications that Russia is preparing to launch a major offensive in coming weeks or months. The Biden administration and the Democrat-controlled Congress have drastically, recklessly increased their investment in the Ukrainian president’s regime — a good-money-after-bad judgment if ever there was one. In this war between rhetoric and reality, the former, one waged with immense volumes of Western weaponry in defense of ideological bombast, is far more dangerous than the latter, a war waged on the ground with clearly . . . READ MORE . . .
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A Russian missile stops a Ukrainian city from returning drinkable water to residents. Reported by Joanna Kakissis | NPR Mykolaiv, Ukraine, was poised to start piping drinkable water to its residents for the first time in months, but a Russian missile struck a major pump station in a recently liberated area. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Minister: Ukraine aims to develop air-to-air combat drones, by Hanna Arhirova | AP KYIV — Ukraine has bought some 1,400 drones, mostly for reconnaissance, and plans to develop combat models that can attack the exploding drones Russia has used during its invasion of the country, according to the Ukrainian government minister in charge of technology. In a recent interview . . . READ MORE . . .
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Ship insurers to cancel war cover for Russia, Ukraine from Jan 1, by Carolyn Cohn, Jonathan Sau and Muralikumar Anantharaman | Reuters LONDON — Ship insurers said they are cancelling war risk cover across Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, following an exit from the region by reinsurers in the face of steep losses. Reinsurers, who insure the insurers, typically . . . READ MORE . . .
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Photo: A medic works at a hospital maternity unit in Kherson. By Dimitar Dilkoff | AFP Click HERE to see. (NOTE: In line with the news service’s practice of changing the featured photograph on its main English-language page roughly every 24 hours, the image of a worker routinely going about her work in a Ukrainian hospital corridor is no longer available.)
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2022 was a very bad year for Russia and its president. Reported by Charles Maynes | NPR Russia is isolated, sanctioned and struggling militarily in Ukraine. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Ukrainian refugees in France find work at factories that produce luxury handbags. Reported by Eleanor Beardsley | NPR The war in Ukraine is transforming Europe in more ways than one. Ukrainian refugees in France are helping to fill jobs in places where there aren’t enough French workers. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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A flood of Russians arrive in Uzbekistan to avoid being drafted and sent to Ukraine. Reported by Philip Reeves | NPR While there are many people in Uzbekistan welcoming Russians fleeing conscription to the war in Ukraine, others are irritated by their presence. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.