Below please find five items, an analysis of the war in Ukraine by Joe Lauria of Consortium News, filed yesterday; a Reuters report from Ukraine filed early this morning; a later Associated Press report filed at about 10:30 this morning; and an article from Global Research on a May 2019 report from the Rand Corporation titled ‘Overextending and Unbalancing Russia’; and finally, a commentary by Edward Curtin on the frightening prospects for nuclear war. Click on the titles or READ MORE . . . for the full reports, usually in a more readable format. A variety of reports are usually available every day at the AP, Reuters, Consortium News, Centre for Global Research sites and others. For example, HERE is a recent example of a AP “live update.” — MCM
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On a Knife’s Edge in Ukraine, by Joe Lauria | Consortium News The choice is stark for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: accept that his defeat is inevitable and accept Russian terms for surrender or continue to seek a way for NATO to become perilously involved in his fight against Moscow. Russia is making three demands of Kiev to end the war on its terms: recognize Crimea as part of Russia; grant independence to Lugansk and Donetsk in the Donbass and enshrine Ukraine as a neutral state in its constitution, meaning it will never join NATO. A 90-minute meeting in Turkey on Thursday between the Russian and Ukrainian foreign ministers resulted in no progress at all towards a solution, as this phase of the war enters its third week. Zelensky veers from one position to another from day to day and sometimes within the same media interview. In his . . . READ MORE . . .
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Fighting rages outside Kyiv, Ukraine says evacuations threatened again, by Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets | Reuters LVIV, Ukraine, March 12 — Conflict raged near Kyiv on Saturday and Ukrainian officials said heavy shelling and threats of Russian air attacks were endangering attempted evacuations of desperate civilians from encircled towns and cities elsewhere. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia was sending in new troops after Ukrainian forces had put 31 of its battalion tactical groups out of action in what he called Russia’s largest army losses in decades. He gave no details and it was not possible to verify either statement. Zelenskiy also said he had spoken to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron about pressuring Russia to release the mayor of the city of Melitopol, who Ukraine says was kidnapped on Friday by Russian forces. READ MORE . . .
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Russia strikes near Ukraine’s capital; mosque reported hit, by Yuras Karmanau | The Associated Press MARIUPOL, Ukraine — Russian forces pounding the port city of Mariupol shelled a mosque sheltering more than 80 people, including children, the Ukrainian government said Saturday. Fighting also raged on the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, as Russia’s expanding invasion bombarded other resisting cities into rubble. There was no immediate word of casualties from the shelling of Mariupol’s elegant, city-center mosque. The encircled city of 446,000 people has suffered some of the greatest misery from Russia’s war in Ukraine, with unceasing barrages thwarting repeated attempts to bring in food and water, evacuate trapped civilians and to bury all of the dead. An Associated Press journalist witnessed tanks firing on a 9-story apartment building in the city and was with a group of hospital workers who came under sniper fire on Friday. A worker shot in the hip survived, but conditions in the hospital were deteriorating: electricity was reserved for operating tables, and people with nowhere else to go lined the hallways. READ MORE . . .
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How to Destroy Russia. 2019 Rand Corporation Report: ‘Overextending and Unbalancing Russia’, by Manlio Dinucci | Global Research Force the adversary to expand recklessly in order to unbalance him, and then destroy him. This is not the description of a judo hold, but a plan against Russia elaborated by the Rand Corporation, the most influential think tank in the USA. With a staff of thousands of experts, Rand presents itself as the world’s most reliable source for Intelligence and political analysis for the leaders of the United States and their allies. The Rand Corp prides itself on having contributed to the elaboration of the long-term strategy which enabled the United States to win the Cold War, by forcing the Soviet Union to consume its own economic resources in the strategic confrontation. It is this model which was the inspiration for the new plan, Overextending and Unbalancing Russia, published by Rand. READ MORE . . .
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On the Edge of a Nuclear Abyss, by Edward Curtin | Behind the CurtainI believe that today we are in the greatest danger of a nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, something I vividly remember as a teenager. The same feelings return. Dread. Anxiety. Breathlessness. I do not think these feelings are misplaced nor they are simply an emotional response. I try to continue writing on other projects that I have started but feel stymied. The possibility of nuclear war, whether intentional or accidental, obsesses me. In order to grasp this stomach-churning possibility within the context of Ukraine, we need to put aside all talk of morality, rights, international law, and think in terms of great power politics . . . READ MORE . . .