First, links to reports from National Public Radio, Reuters, the Associated Press, the Moscow Times, teleSUR, and Agencia EFE; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. — MCM
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Ukrainian officials fired after probe shows their workers collaborated with Russia. Reported by Steve Inskeep and Brian Mann | National Public Radio President Zelensky on Sunday abruptly fired two top officials — the spy chief and the top prosecutor — after an investigation found dozens of employees in those departments collaborated with Russia. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.
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Zelenskiy sidelines close allies in war’s biggest purge, by Tom Balmforth and Max Hunder | Reuters * Zelenskiy sidelines security chief, prosecutor * Hundreds of treason, collaboration cases launched * Security chief was childhood friend of president | KYIV — President Volodymyr Zelenskiy sidelined his childhood friend as head of Ukraine’s security service, and another close ally as top prosecutor, in the biggest internal purge of the war, citing their failure to root out Russian spies. Ivan Bakanov, head of the powerful SBU security agency, and Iryna Venediktova, the prosecutor general, had been emblematic of Zelenskiy’s policy of putting young loyalists . . . READ MORE . . .
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The Russian invasion of Ukraine has brought up an old question. Reported by Deb Amos | NPR Is aggressive war legal? Calls are growing now to set up an international tribunal to charge Russia with the same crime. Click HERE to listen and read.
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The Ukraine war means a potato chip company has to rethink its formula. Michel Martin of NPR speaks with Sarah Cohen, CEO of Route 11 Potato Chips, about the company’s sunflower seed oil deficit because of the Russian conflict in Ukraine and how the business is coping. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Economics of war: Pain for Europe now, later for Russia. From the Associated Press Across Europe, signs of distress are multiplying as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on. Food banks in Italy are feeding more people. German officials are turning down the air conditioning as they prepare plans to ration natural gas and restart coal plants. A giant utility is asking for a taxpayer bailout, and more may be coming. Dairies wonder how they will pasteurize milk. The euro has sagged to a 20-year low against the dollar, and recession predictions are on the rise. Those pressure points are . . . READ MORE . . .
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Tank Losses in Ukraine Raise Strategic Questions for Russia, by James Beardsworth | The Moscow Times Russia’s most modern and technologically advanced tank, the T-90M, has appeared in photos and videos in Ukraine just a handful of times since the beginning of the invasion. One video posted online last week showed a T-90M on a mud road, hidden under trees. But its relative rarity — and technological sophistication — has not saved it from Ukrainian attacks. Shortly after the first T-90M was spotted in April, Ukrainian journalist Andriy Tsapliyenko posted images standing in front of the charred remains . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russia destroys stockpile of NATO harpoon missiles in Ukraine. From teleSUR. Russia destroyed a stockpile of Harpoon anti-ship missiles located in Odessa, southern Ukraine, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said. The Russian Armed Forces’ long-range missiles hit an industrial enterprise in Odessa, which stored Harpoon missiles transferred to Ukraine by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries, Konashenko said. In the attack . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russian reporter who interrupted news show with anti-war protest detained. From Agencia EFE. Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who interrupted a state-run news broadcast to protest the war in Ukraine in March, was arrested Sunday near her home, according to posts on her social media. “Marina has been detained,” her entourage said in a message posted on her Telegram account. “Information about her location is unknown.” The post was accompanied by three photographs showing two police officers taking . . . READ MORE . . .
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TO BE CONTINUED