For now, links to six reports: from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, the Moscow Times, and Substack; others or at least their headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (SYRIA, LEBANON, IRAN and GAZA entries for this date, so far, are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE, or scroll up.  UKRAINE 3-20-25 entry is HERE, or scroll down.) — MCM

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Russian drones strike Ukrainian city of Odesa, underlining challenges for even limited truce, by Illia Novikov | AP  KYIV — Russian drones pummeled the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa, injuring three people and sparking massive fires, officials said Friday, an attack that . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine hopes to secure ‘at least’ partial ceasefire in Saudi talks: senior official. From AFP. A team of U.S. negotiators will hold separate talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday with Ukrainian and Russian delegations, a senior Ukrainian official said. READ MORE . . .

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UE will next week accelerate plans for Ukraine peacekeeping force, by Andrew MacAskill | Reuters  LONDON — British military planners will meet again at the Northwood base in London next week to discuss how how the force could operate and the structure, a spokesman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday.

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How likely is a fresh Russian offensive on Ukraine’s Sumy region? by Bashir Kitachayev | The Moscow Times  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed this week that Russia is readying a new attack on Ukraine’s Sumy region, which borders Russia’s Kursk region. Moscow’s army has continued . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine still in talks with U.S. about minerals deal, spokesman says. From Reuters. KYIV — On Thursday the White House said it had moved beyond “just the economic minerals deal framework” and was focused on peace between Ukraine and Russia, and President Donald Trump said  the U.S. would sign the minerals and natural resources deal with Ukraine shortly. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 20  The money equation in Ukraine, by Seymour M. Hersh | Substack  The timing was right for a grand bargain this week, an involved American official told me, “Trump knows that Putin has control of the politicians but not the military. The army wanted out. The war is a diminishing return, and Trump is not a politician. He’s a businessman . . .” READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED