First on a day of little news about the war, links to reports from Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press, Reuters, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Next, from antiwar.com, commentary on how the war is affecting Republican politics in the United States. Then, from AP, an analysis of possible broader consequences of the International Criminal Court’s warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arrest. — MCM
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Zelensky says Ukraine ‘will never forgive’ on first anniversary of Bucha killings, by Emmanuel Peuchot | AFP Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that Ukraine would “never forgive” Moscow for its occupation of Bucha, a year after the town became a symbol of alleged Russian war crimes. AFP journalists on April 2 last year discovered the bodies of at least 20 people in civilian clothing, some with their hands tied behind their . . . READ MORE . . .
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Chaplains made part of Ukraine’s military as war drags on. From AP KYIV — The first group of chaplains to join the Ukrainian military’s command structure graduated in a ceremony Saturday. Although chaplains have ministered to Ukraine’s armed forces for years, they worked as embedded civilians rather than as officers. Now, they will sign contracts to . . . READ MORE . . .
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Ukrainian official offers plan for a Crimea without Russia, by Karl Ritter | AP KYIV — Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, today outlined a series of steps the government in Kyiv would take after the country reclaims control of Crimea, including dismantling the strategic bridge that linksthe seized Black Sea peninsula to Russia. Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, but most of the world . . . READ MORE . . .
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Brittney Griner urges Biden to bring home reporter Gershkovich. From Reuters. — U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, who was freed from a Russian penal colony in a prisoner exchange last year, has urged the Biden administration to keep using “every tool possible” to win the release of a U.S. reporter accused of spying in Russia. Griner and her wife Cherelle said that “our hearts are filled with great concern” for Evan Gershkovich, the journalist arrested by Russia’s FSB security service . . . READ MORE . . .
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Wall Street Journal again calls for reporter Gershkovich’s release. From Tass. NEW YORK — The Wall Street Journal once again called for release of its reporter Evan Gershkovich, detained in Russia over espionage charges. “The Wall Street Journal demands the immediate release of our colleague Evan Gershkovich, a distinguished journalist who was arrested while reporting in Russia,” the WSJ said, characterizing Gershkovich’s detention as a “vicious affront” to the freedom of press, which . . . READ MORE . . .
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Ukraine war enters 2024 U.S. presidential election — stage right, by John V. Walsh | antiwar.com Opposition to Joe Biden’s proxy war to destroy Russia has entered the 2024 U.S. presidential election. And the growing anti interventionist sentiment among grass roots conservatives and libertarians is alarming Establishment warhawks on both “left” and “right.” They are furious. Their anger boiled over when Tucker Carlson asked likely GOP presidential candidates for their positions on the cruel war steeped in the blood of Ukrainian proxies; he posted their replies on Twitter. The only two who opposed the war: Donald Trump and Ronald DeSantis. Trump’s responses came as no surprise. As before, . . . READ MORE . . .
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War-crimes warrant for Putin could complicate Ukraine peace, by Mike Corder | AP THE HAGUE, Netherlands — An international arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin raises the prospect of the man whose country invaded Ukraine facing justice, but it complicates efforts to end that war in peace talks. Both justice and peace appear to be only remote possibilities today, and the conflicting relationship between the two . . . READ MORE . . .
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MAY BE CONTINUED