First, links to reports from Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Tass, National Public Radio, and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. — MCM
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Turkey doubles Russian oil imports, filling EU void. From Reuters. MOSCOW — Turkey doubled its imports of Russian oil this year, Refinitiv Eikon data showed today, as the two countries are set for broader cooperation in business and especially energy trade in the face of western sanctions against Moscow. Trade between Turkey . . .READ MORE . . .
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Moscow says Ukraine behind death of Kremlin ideologue’s daughter. From AFP. Russia’s FSB security services said today that Ukraine was behind a car bombing in the outskirts of Moscow that killed the daughter of hard-line Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin. Dugin — an outspoken ultranationalist intellectual and a vocal supporter of the Kremlin’s offensive in Ukraine — is thought to have been the likely target of the attack. . . . Daria Dugina was killed Saturday when a bomb placed in a Toyota Land Cruiser went off as she drove on a highway some 40 kilometers (25 miles) outside Moscow. READ MORE . . .
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FSB solves Darya Dugina’s murder, masterminded by Ukrainian secret services. From Tass. MOSCOW — The murder of Russian journalist Darya Dugina has been solved, Russia’s federal security service FSB has said. It was prepared by Ukrainian secret services. The perpetrator — a citizen of Ukraine identified as Natalia Vovk — escaped to Estonia, the FSB’s public relations center stated. “As a result of urgent detective measures, the federal security service has solved the murder of Russian journalist Darya Dugina, born in 1992,” the FSB stressed. The special service found that “the crime was prepared and committed by Ukrainian secret services.” Its perpetrator was identified as a citizen of Ukraine, Natalia Vovk, born in 1979. . . . READ MORE . . .
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EU mulls military training for Ukrainian forces: Borrell. From AFP The European Union will debate the launch of a major training operation for Ukrainian forces in neighbouring nations, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said today. The proposal will be discussed next week at a meeting of EU defence ministers in Prague, Borrell told a press conference in Santander, in northern Spain. “I hope it will be approved,” he added.
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Humanitarian groups prepare to send winter help to Ukrainians. Ayesha Rascoe of NPR speaks with Corus International Chief Humanitarian Officer Tamara Demuria about the need for aid in Ukraine as winter approaches. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Kyiv hosts a different kind of parade to celebrate Ukraine’s Independence Day. Reported by Julian Hayda | NPR Ukraine’s independence day celebrations won’t have the usual fanfare as Russia persists in its invasion. Aug. 24 marks the day when Ukraine’s parliament vowed to separate from the Soviet Union in 1991. The date this year will also mark six months since the war began. Perhaps the most striking departure from past festivities . . . Click HERE to listen and read.
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‘Time stopped’: Ukrainians long to go home as war drags on, by Vanessa Gera and Kirsten Grieshaber | AP WARSAW, Poland — As the war reaches the sixth-month mark Wednesday, many refugees are facing the sad realization that they will not be going home soon, if they have homes to return to at all. . . . Many wouldn’t feel safe yet, even in areas under Ukrainian control. So they are biding their time, waiting for the end of a war that shows no signs of ending soon, longing for home and refusing to . . . READ MORE . . .
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TO BE CONTINUED