For now, links to reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, Tass, National Public Radio, Newsweek, and Agence France-Presse; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Then, via Consortium News, links to two alternative views of Western media treatment of a summit meeting last week in Uzbekistan. — MCM

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Russia’s Medvedev: new regions can be defended with strategic nuclear weapons. From Reuters. LONDON — Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said today that any weapons in Moscow’s arsenal, including strategic nuclear weapons, could be used to defend territories incorporated in Russia from Ukraine. Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said that referendums being organised . . . READ MORE . . .

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Zelenskyy lays out his case against Russia to UN, by Jennifer Peltz | AP  UNITED NATIONS — Ukraine’s president laid out a detailed case on Wednesday against Russia’s invasion at the United Nations and demanded punishment from world leaders in a speech delivered just hours after Moscow made an extraordinary announcement that it would mobilize some reservists for the war effort. Buoyed by a counteroffensive that has retaken . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia will fight for its independence for great future, Putin says. From Tass. VELIKY NOVGOROD, Russia — Russia will continue to defend its freedom and independence, culture and traditions for the sake of future generations and a great future, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday at the festivities on the occasion of the 1,160th anniversary of the inception of Russian statehood. “We will fight for our Fatherland, for our Motherland, the only one we have, for our . . READ MORE . . .

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What Putin’s partial mobilization announcement means for Ukraine. A Martinez of NPR talks with retired Marine Corps Col. Mark Cancian about what Putin’s partial mobilization of the Russian military and attempts to annex Ukrainian territory tell us about the next phase of the war. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Russia’s Sergey Lavrov warns U.S. it risks becoming combatant in Ukraine war, by Tom O’Connor | Newsweek In an interview with Newsweek, the Russian foreign minister said U.S.-Russian interstate dialogue “has been practically frozen owing to the United States. It is objectively not possible to maintain normal communication with Washington declaring the strategic defeat of Russia as an objective.” Click HERE for a transcript.

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UK government lifts energy fracking ban in England. From AFP. The UK government today lifted England’s moratorium on fracking, a controversial method to dig for fossil fuels, to boost energy output after key supplier Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Prime Minister Liz Truss had flagged the move two weeks ago, shortly after taking office, in a vast energy package . . . READ MORE . . .

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Defensive West smears Samarkand summit, by Joe Lauria | Consortium News At  its peril, the West continues to dismiss a movement of most of the world seeking to break free of U.S. global domination which has dramatically accelerated since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While Western media pushes the line that the whole world is standing with Ukraine and . . . READ MORE . . .

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Appointment in Samarkand, by Patrick Lawrence | Consortium News The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is dedicated to Eurasian unity and is of a piece with the famous World Island thesis of Halford MacKinder, who postulated in 1904 that the Eurasian landmass was destined to emerge as “the geographical pivot of history.” The Eurasian Economic Union, the Belt and Road Initiative, the SCO: These are the organizational hardware as this turn of history’s wheel comes to be. Of this we read next to nothing last week . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

Presented below are the first few paragraphs of a short article on breaking news from Moscow about Russia’s war in Ukraine. Joe Lauria is editor-in-chief of Consortium News (which published the article this afternoon) and a longtime correspondent and investigative reporter for various news organizations in the United States and abroad. — MCM

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How the war changed overnight

By Joe Lauria | Consortium News

From Russia’s perspective, the war in Ukraine until now has been a “special military operation” intended to defend the self-declared independent republics of Luhansk and Donetsk. 

For eight years Moscow had rebuffed entreaties from Donbass to recognize those republics. Now Russia is prepared to absorb them as part of the Russian Federation itself, along with the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions.

Today in Moscow President Vladimir Putin announced that referenda to decide whether to join Russia would be held in those four places from this Friday until next Wednesday. After that, the Russian Duma must decide whether to accept the results and formally annex those territories into Russia. 

All that is expected to happen, and once it does the game on the battlefield will change dramatically.  From Russia’s point of view, it will no longer . . . READ MORE . . .

For now, via Popular Resistance, something from Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. — MCM

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PBS and BBC team up to misinform about Brazil’s Bolsonaro, by Brian Mier | Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting / Popular Resistance Both the U.S. and British governments supported the rise of Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. Future Prime Minister Liz Truss had secret meetings with the future president in 2018 to discuss “free trade, free markets and post-Brexit opportunities” (BrasilWire, 3/25/20). The U.S. Department of Justice was a crucial partner in the Lava Jato (“Car Wash”) investigation, which resulted in the prosecution and jailing of Brazil’s left-leaning former president Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva. The politically . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, links to reports from the the Associated Press, Reuters, National Public Radio, the Moscow Times, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their initials below. — MCM

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Putin sets partial military call-up, won’t ‘bluff’ on nukes, by Karl Ritter | AP  KYIV — Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization of reservists in Russia today, risking a deeply unpopular step that follows a string of humiliating setbacks for his troops nearly seven months after invading Ukraine. It’s the first mobilization in Russia since World War II and is sure to . . . READ MORE . . .

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Putin escalates Ukraine war, issues nuclear threat to West, by Guy Faulconbridge | Reuters  * Putin announces partial mobilisation * Warns West over ‘nuclear blackmail’ * Says Russia will use all means to defend itself * This is not a bluff, says Putin * Russia moves to annex swathes of Ukrainian territory | LONDON — President Vladimir Putin today ordered Russia’s first mobilisation since World War Two and backed a plan to annex swathes of Ukraine, warning the West he was not bluffing when he said he’d be ready to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia. In the biggest escalation of the Ukraine war since Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion, Putin explicitly raised the spectre of a nuclear conflict, approved a plan to annex a chunk of Ukraine the size of Hungary, and called up 300,000 reservists. READ MORE . . .

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Putin announces a partial military mobilization for Russian citizens. Reported by Charles Maynes | NPR  MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a “partial mobilization” of Russia’s armed forces on Wednesday morning — signing a decree that will send Russians who have gone through military training to join the fight in Ukraine while stopping short of an all-out draft. “Only those citizens . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

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Russian history professor breaks down Putin’s latest speech. From NPR. Sergey Radchenko, professor of Russian history at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies takes a look at Putin’s speech declaring a partial mobilization in Russia. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Flights Abroad Sell Out, Stocks Plunge on Putin’s ‘Partial’ Mobilization. From the Moscow Times. Virtually all flights from Russia to available foreign destinations were sold out Wednesday after President Vladimir Putin declared a “partial” mobilization of the country’s 25 million reservists. Flights from Moscow to the capitals of Georgia, Turkey and Armenia — which do not require visas for Russians — for Sept. 21 were unavailable within minutes of Putin’s announcement, according to . . . READ MORE . . .

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Top Zelenskyy advisor discusses Ukraine’s latest military moves. NPR hears from a top advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the latest Ukrainian military advances and Russia’s plan to hold a referendum in territory it occupies. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Mobilization tasks set – what Sergy Shoigu said at Defense Ministry board meeting. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russia’s Defense Ministry has determined partial mobilization tasks for all regions of the country. The General Staff has issued the necessary instructions regarding mobilization procedures, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said at the ministry’s board meeting today. He . . . READ MORE . . .

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Talks with Ukraine to be out of the question after Donbass joins Russia, lawmaker says. From Tass. MOSCOW — Any prospects for talks with Ukraine after Donbass joins Russia will be impossible, Chairman of the State Duma (the lower house of parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky told reporters today. “Unfortunately, talks have been out of the question for a while. The West and the Kiev junta that it controls . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

Presented here are links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, National Public Radio, and teleSUR; others are accessible by clicking on their initials below. — MCM

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UN experts: Rights abuses continue in Maduro’s Venezuela, by Regina Garcia Cano and Jamey Keaten | AP  CARACAS — Independent experts working with the U.N.’s top human rights body say Venezuelan authorities have failed to hold to account state-backed perpetrators of violations including arbitrary executions, sexual violence and torture of civilians, warning that abuses by intelligence and counterintelligence services are continuing. The third report from the fact-finding mission on Venezuela . . . READ MORE . . .

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Powerful earthquake hits Mexico on anniversary of deadly temblors, killing at least 2, by Diana Beth Solomon, Kylie Madry and Lizbeth Diaz | Reuters MEXICO CITY — A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck western Mexico today on the anniversary of two devastating temblors, killing at least two people, damaging buildings, knocking out power, and sending residents of Mexico City scrambling outside for safety. Two died in the Pacific port of Manzanillo, authorities said, one . . . READ MORE . . .

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How Puerto Rico is faring after Hurricane Fiona brought catastrophic floods. From NPR. Hurricane Fiona has left Puerto Rico crippled by flooding and power failures. How are people there coping and how much better is the island’s response compared to years past? Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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76% of Chileans favor new constituent process – Cadem survey. From teleSUR. A survey conducted by the Chilean consulting firm Cadem shows that 76 percent of those polled want a new constituent process to be initiated. . . . Of the participants, 49 percent believe the process should be initiated through a new referendum to define whether to reform the current Constitution or draft a new one. READ MORE . . .

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Analysis: In Latin America, democracies shaken ahead of key elections, by David Alire Garcia | Reuters BUENOS AIRES — An assassination attempt in Argentina and spurts of election-linked violence in Brazil have emerged as the latest signs of growing political discontent in Latin America, creating a treacherous environment for incumbents of all stripes. Latin America’s political arena has intensified with fallout from the pandemic, war in Ukraine, spiraling inflation plus fears of global recession. Those hardships . . . READ MORE . . .

 

First, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, Tass, Agence France-Presse, teleSUR, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names and initials below. — MCM

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4 Ukrainian separatist regions plan votes to join Russia, by Jon Gambrell | AP  KYIV — Russian-controlled regions of eastern and southern Ukraine announced plans today to start voting this week to become integral parts of Russia. The concerted and quickening Kremlin-backed efforts to swallow up four regions could set the stage for Moscow to . . . READ MORE . . .

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In challenge to West, Russia unfurls plan to annex swathes of Ukraine, by Guy Faulconbridge and Felix Light | Reuters  * Russian-separatists plan referendums in Ukraine * Votes would allow Russia to annex 15% of Ukraine * West would then face potential battle with Russia * Ukraine says Russia is running scared * Russian parliament adopts law on mobilisation crimes | LONDON — Russia today gave support to plans by separatists which it backs in Ukraine to hold referendums paving the way for the annexation of swathes of additional territory, a direct challenge to the West that could sharply escalate the conflict. In what appeared . . . READ MORE . . .

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Kherson region decides to hold referendum on becoming part of Russia. From Tass. KHERSON, Ukraine — The authorities of the Kherson region have decided to hold a referendum on the region’s accession to the Russian Federation, Vladimir Saldo, head of the military-civilian administration of the region, said on his Telegram channel today. “Having considered . . . READ MORE . . . 

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Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region joins Russia annexation votes. From AFP. The Russian-held Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia, home to Europe’s largest nuclear plant, will join three other occupied territories in holding votes on becoming part of Russia, a pro-Moscow official said today. “Today I signed . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine vows to ‘eliminate’ Russian threat after annexation vote announced. From AFP. Ukraine today vowed to “eliminate” Russian threats against the war-torn country, after pro-Moscow separatists said they would hold referenda to join Russia later this week. “Ukraine will solve the Russian issue. The threat can be eliminated only by force,” said the Ukraine presidency’s chief of . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk leaves 13 dead. From teleSUR. On Monday morning, Donetsk’s Major Alexei Kulemzin denounced that Ukrainian forces shelled the Kuybyshevsky district, leaving 13 civilians dead. A few hours later, local media reported that the death toll rose to 16 and includes two children. The bombardment was directed at areas where there are no military personnel. The Ukrainian armed forces attacked . . . READ MORE . . .

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A war with recurring themes: Russian blunders, Ukrainian ingenuity. Reported by Greg Myre | NPR  Ukraine keeps laying deadly traps for the Russian military — and the Russians keep biting. When Ukraine . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

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Russia’s attempt to use energy to pressure Europe could backfire. Reported by Jackie Northam | NPR  Russia has cut off natural gas for much of Europe to punish it for its support of Ukraine. But Putin may have miscalculated. Europe has been preparing to survive winter without Russian gas. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Why Russian pop star Alla Pugacheva dissent against Russia matters. Reported by Charles Maynes | NPR  Russian pop diva Alla Pugacheva [Poo-gah-CHEOV-ah] is among those condemning President Putin’s war in Ukraine. Her willingness to part ways with the Kremlin may hint at a larger domestic groundswell. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, links to reports from Kawsachun News (the first via Popular Resistance), the Associated Press, and teleSUR; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. — MCM

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IMF tells Bolivia to drop its successful economic model. From Kawsachun News / Educate!  The IMF released a report Friday on the Bolivian economy in which it recommends adopting drastic neoliberal measures, including; reducing workers’ salaries, cutting public investments, and ending currency controls. These policies have turned Bolivia from one of the poorest countries in the region into its fastest-growing economy. . . . Bolivia’s Economy Minister, Marcelo Montenegro, emphatically rejected the report, stating; “They prescribe the old recipes from many decades ago where they call for reducing . . . READ MORE . . .

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Mexico will propose a peace plan to end Ukraine war. From Kawsachun News. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Sunday that his Foreign Minister, Marcelo Ebrard, will present a peace plan at the United Nations General Assembly, that will seek to broker a truce in the Ukraine war and propose the creation of a commission to implement it. The commission would include Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, Pope Francis and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “The peacekeeping mission must immediately . . . READ MORE . . .

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Fiona slams Dominican Republic after pounding Puerto Rico, by Dánica Coto | AP  HAVANA — Hurricane Fiona roared over the Dominican Republic today after knocking out power across all of Puerto Rico, causing damage the governor said was “catastrophic.” No deaths had been reported, but authorities in the U.S. territory said it was too early to know the full scope of damage from an expansive storm that was still forecast to unleash torrential rain across Puerto Rico today. Up to 30 inches (76 centimeters) was forecast for Puerto Rico’s southern region. As much as 15 inches were projected for the eastern Dominican Republic. READ MORE . . .

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Biden declares state of emergency in Puerto Rico Due to Hurricane Fiona. From teleSUR. U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday approved the declaration of a state of emergency in Puerto Rico in the face of the arrival of Hurricane Fiona. With maximum sustained winds of 130 kilometers per hour (80 miles), the tropical storm has gained strength and has already become a hurricane as it approaches the island, where it threatens heavy rains, flooding and . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, links to reports from Kawsachun News, the Associated Press, EuroWeekly News, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, National Public Radio, and teleSUR; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. — MCM

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Mexico will propose a peace plan to end Ukraine war. From Kawsachun News. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Sunday that his Foreign Minister, Marcelo Ebrard, will present a peace plan at the United Nations General Assembly that will seek to broker a truce in the Ukraine war and propose the creation of a commission to implement it. The commission would include Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, Pope Francis and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “The peacekeeping mission must immediately . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine says Russian missile struck close to nuclear plant, by Karl Ritter and Jon Gambrell | AP  KYIV — A Russian missile strike hit a facility close to a nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine early today, causing no damage to its reactors but damaging other industrial equipment in what the country’s atomic energy operator, Energoatom, denounced as an act of “nuclear terrorism.” . . . Energoatom said the missile struck just 300 meters (yards) from the plant, causing an explosion that broke more than 100 windows . . . READ MORE . . .

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At least 200 Russian soldiers reported killed or injured in Svatovo hotel explosion in Luhansk, by Chris King | EuroWeekly News An explosion in a hotel in the Luhansk region city of Svatovo is reported to have killed or injured at least 200 Russian soldiers. Serhii Gaidai, the head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, posting on his Telegram channel, reported that at least 200 Russian soldiers were either killed or injured in an explosion at a hotel in the Luhansk region city of Svatovo in Ukraine. Gaidai added that the Russian military was jamming communications and population control messages in the Luhansk region [and] deploying more forces to the front line. READ MORE . . .

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‘Punitive’ Ukrainian strike on Donetsk city kills 13: Kremlin-backed authorities. From AFP. Kremlin-backed authorities in the east Ukrainian city of Donetsk said today that a strike by Ukraine’s forces in the Russian-controlled city had left more than a dozen people dead. ”Initial information shows that as a result of punitive shelling … in the Kuibyshevskyi district (of Donetsk), 13 civilians died. The number of people injured is being determined,” the Moscow-backed mayor of the city . . . READ MORE . . .

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Zelenskiy vows no let-up as Ukraine says troops cross Oskil river in northeast, by Pavel Polityuk and Phil Stewart | Reuters  * Ukraine says its forces advance to eastern bank of Oskil * Biden says: ‘They’re defeating Russia’ * Ukraine says Russia strikes Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear plant | KYIV — President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed there would be no let-up in Ukraine’s fight to regain its territory as Kyiv said its troops had crossed the Oskil River, preparing for an assault on Russia’s occupation forces in the eastern Donbas region. Reflecting the dramatic change in momentum since Ukrainian forces routed Russian troops earlier this month in the northeast, U.S. President Joe Biden offered . . . READ MORE . . .

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A former national security official explores what could be next in the Ukraine war. Michele Martin of NPR asks retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman about what he thinks will happen next in Russia’s war against Ukraine following the recent success of Ukrainian forces. Click HERE to listen and read.

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NATO’s approach to Russia’s borders planned years ago. From teleSUR. The head of NATO’s Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, said Saturday that NATO began planning its expansion near Russia’s borders several years ago. . . . The alliance has revealed plans to increase the number of prepared forces on the eastern flank to more than 300,000 soldiers in the near future and intends to increase the composition of combat groups to the brigade level. Moreover, NATO countries pledged to increase defense spending. READ MORE . . .

John Pilger, an Australian journalist, author and documentary filmmaker, completed the essay that begins below sometime in early September. It has since been reprinted widely.  — MCM

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Silencing the Lambs. How Propaganda Works

By John Pilger

In the 1970s, I met one of Hitler’s leading propagandists, Leni Riefenstahl, whose epic films glorified the Nazis. We happened to be staying at the same lodge in Kenya, where she was on a photography assignment, having escaped the fate of other friends of the Fuhrer.

She told me that the “patriotic messages” of her films were dependent not on “orders from above” but on what she called the “submissive void” of the German public.

Did that include the liberal, educated bourgeoisie? I asked.  “Yes, especially them,” she said.

I think of this as I look around at the propaganda now consuming Western societies.

Of course, we are very different from Germany in the 1930s. We live in information societies. We are globalists. We have never been more aware, more in touch, better connected.

Are we? Or do we live in a Media Society where brainwashing is insidious and relentless, and perception is filtered according to the needs and lies of state and corporate power?

The United States dominates the Western world’s media. All but one of the top ten media companies are based in North America. The internet and social media – Google, Twitter, Facebook – are mostly American owned and controlled.

In my lifetime, the United States has overthrown or attempted to overthrow more than 50 governments, mostly democracies. It has interfered in democratic elections in 30 countries. It has dropped bombs on the people of 30 countries, most of them poor and defenceless. It has attempted to murder the leaders of 50 countries.  It has fought to suppress liberation movements in 20 countries.

The extent and scale of this carnage is largely unreported, unrecognized; and those responsible continue to dominate Anglo-American political life.

In the years before he died in 2008, the playwright Harold Pinter made two extraordinary speeches, which broke a silence.

“US foreign policy,” he said, is “best defined as follows: kiss my arse or I’ll kick your head in. It is as simple and as crude as that. What is interesting about it is that it’s so incredibly successful. It possesses the structures of disinformation, use of rhetoric, distortion of language, which are very persuasive, but are actually a pack of lies. It is very successful propaganda. They have the money, they have the technology, they have all the means to get away with it, and they do.”

In accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature, Pinter said this:

“The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless, but very few people have actually talked about them. You have to hand it to America. It has exercised a quite clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good. It’s a brilliant, even witty, highly successful act of hypnosis.”

Pinter was a friend of mine and possibly the last great political sage – that is, before dissenting politics were gentrified. I asked him if the “hypnosis” he referred to was the “submissive void” described by Leni Riefenstahl.

“It’s the same,” he replied. “It means the brainwashing is so thorough we are programmed to swallow a pack of lies. If we don’t recognise propaganda, we may accept it as normal and believe it. That’s the submissive void.”

In our systems of corporate democracy, war is . . . READ MORE . . .

First, links to reports from the New York Times, Agence France-Presse, teleSUR, the Associated Press, Reuters, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Then, via Popular Resistance, a link to a commentator’s critique of some Western coverage. — MCM

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Ukraine wants the U.S. to send powerful new weapons. Biden is not so sure, by David E. Sanger, Anton Troianovsky, Julian E. Barnes and Eric Schmitt | The New York Times WASHINGTON – Flush with success in northeast Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is pressing U.S. President Joe Biden for a new and more powerful weapon: a missile system with a range of 190 miles (305 kilometers), which could reach far into Russian territory. Zelenskyy insists . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine nuclear plant reconnected to national grid: IAEA. From AFP. Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is receiving power from the national grid once again, the UN’s atomic agency (IAEA) said Saturday, after it was cut off from external power, raising the risk of an accident. The Russian-occupied plant had been cut from the national grid . . . due to shelling. “The restored 750 kilovolt (kV) line is now . . . READ MORE . . .

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Putin: Donbass liberatation is goal of Russia’s operation. From teleSUR. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Russia’s goal in Ukraine with its special military operation remains the same: to liberate the entire territory of the two Donbass republics. His statements came amid a Ukrainian counter-offensive. Russia will do everything possible to prevent a “negative turn of events,” he said, but will respond more seriously if . . . READ MORE . . .

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U.S. military intel chief says Putin can’t achieve Ukraine goal, by Ellen Knickmeyer | AP   WASHINGTON — “We’re coming to a point right now where I think [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is going to have to revise what his objectives are for this operation,” Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said Friday. “Because “it’s pretty clear right now that he’s … not going to be able to do what he initially intended to do.” Putin sent troops into neighboring Ukraine in February with what U.S. officials say was the objective of unseating Ukraine’s Western-friendly government. READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine alleges torture at village near Russian border, by Elena Becatoros and Leo Correa | AP  KOZACHA LOPAN, Ukraine —  In a dank basement behind the local supermarket, metal bars cordon off a corner of the room to form a large cell. . . . Ukrainian authorities say this was a makeshift prison where Russian forces abused detainees before Ukrainian troops swept through the village . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia has likely extended locations it is prepared to strike, UK says. From Reuters. Russia has likely extended the locations it is prepared to strike in a move to undermine the morale of the Ukrainian government and people, the British military said today. Russia has increased its targeting of civilian infrastructure even . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian troops shelling Kherson Region’s Novaya Kakhovka. From Tass. KHERSON, Ukraine — Ukrainian troops are shelling Novaya Kakhovka in the Kherson Region, air defense was activated, the military-civil administration of Novaya Kakhovka wrote on its Telegram channel today. . . . Earlier, an air alert was declared in the city. Ukrainian troops have . . . READ MORE . . .

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Dissecting some war propaganda news items, by Moon of Alabama | Educate! On Friday night a Reuters headline claimed: Mass grave of more than 440 bodies found in Izium, Ukraine -police. Many media, who republish the Reuters feed, repeated that headline and the news story beginning, “KYIV  Ukrainian authorities have found a mass grave of more than 440 bodies in the eastern city of Izium that was recaptured from Russian forces, a regional police official said on Thursday . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED