First and second, an Associated Press analysis of the war and a Reuters update. Third, James Brooke, a visiting fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, draws from knowledge of Ukraine and Russia, in part from his years as a news correspondent in both countries. Fourth, Moon of Alabama examines destruction at a theater and a maternity hospital, both in Mariupol. Fifth, Vijay Prashad of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Reseach, provides a Marxist perspective on the war. — MCM
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Denied easy victory, Russia presses reduced goals in Ukraine, by Ellen Knickmeyer | The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The signs are abundant of how Ukraine frustrated Vladimir Putin’s hopes for a swift victory, and how Russia’s military proved far from ready for the fight. . . .Despite all the determination of Ukraine’s people, all the losses among Russia’s forces, and all the errors of Russia’s leaders, there is no sign that the war will soon be over . . . .Fatefully, Putin underestimated the national pride and battlefield skills that Ukrainians have built up over the past eight years of battling Russian-backed separatists in the country’s east. . . . READ MORE . . .
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Talk peace now or suffer for generations, Ukraine’s Zelenskiy tells tells Russia, by Natalia Zinets and Natalie Thomas | Reuters * Zelenskiy calls for comprehensive peace talks. * Russia reports hypersonic missile strike * Ukraine says it has lost access to Sea of Azov * Biden warns China’s Xi against helping Russia LVIV/ODESSA, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Saturday for comprehensive peace talks with Moscow to stop its invasion of Ukraine, saying it would otherwise take Russia “several generations” to recover from its losses in the war. Russian forces have taken heavy losses and their advance has largely stalled since President Vladimir Putin launched the assault on Feb. 24, with long columns of troops that bore down on Kyiv halted in its suburbs. READ MORE . . .
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History explains Ukraine’s tenacious resistance, by James Brooke | The Berkshire Eagle There is a saying that you can push a meek and mild Ukrainian all the way until his forehead touches the ground. Then, he arises a Cossack. With Russia’s frontal attack on Ukraine, the foreheads of 40 million Ukrainians hit the ground. READ MORE, with an Eagle subscription . . ,
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Neo-Nazis in Ukraine fake Incidents to gain more ‘Western’ support, by Moon of Alabama The Ukraine claims that [an attack on the Mariupol Drama Theater] took place. Russia says that the Azov battalion blew up the building. Evidence for ‘hit by an air strike . . .’ and for ‘1,200 civilians sheltering in it’? READ MORE . . .
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We are in a period of great tectonic shifts, by Vijay Prashad | Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research The war in Ukraine has focused attention on the shifts taking place in the world order. Russia’s military intervention has been met with sanctions from the West as well as with the transport of arms and mercenaries to Ukraine. These sanctions will have a major impact on the Russian economy as well as the Central Asian states, but they will also negatively impact the European population who will see energy and food prices rise further. Until now, the West has decided not to intervene with direct military force or to try and establish a ‘no-fly zone’. It is recognized, sanely, that . . . READ MORE . . .
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TO BE CONTINUED