First, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, National Public Radio, teleSUR. and the Washington Post; click on news organizations’ names below to see other stories. Then, from Consortium News, a link to commentary by a blogger calling attention to the Washington Post report showing challenges for some soldiers on the Ukrainian government’s side of the war. Finally, a link to commentary for today from the Center for Action and Contemplation by a CAC cofounder who was last heard from in this blog HERE. — MCM

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Russia takes small cities, aims to widen east Ukraine battle, by Yuras Karmanau and Elena Becatoros | The Associated Press KRAMATORSK, Ukraine — Russia asserted today that its troops and separatist fighters had captured a key railway junction in eastern Ukraine, the second small city to fall to Moscow’s forces this week as they fought to seize all of the country’s contested Donbas region. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the city of Lyman had been “completely liberated” by a joint force of Russian soldiers and the Kremlin-backed separatists. . . . Lyman . . . serves as a regional railway hub. Ukraine’s train system . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine’s former President blocked from leaving the country. From  Reuters. Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was prevented from leaving Ukraine to take part in a meeting of a NATO body in Lithuania, his party’s parliamentary faction said today. Poroshenko was stopped twice at a border crossing with Poland while he was on his way to the meeting of NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly, a consultative interparliamentary organization, the statement said. Ukrainian media reported . . . READ MORE . . .

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Orthodox Church in Ukraine has decided to cut ties with Russia, by Julian Hayda | National Public Radio Followers of the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine broke with its Moscow leadership. The Russian patriarch has supported the war and called opponents “forces of evil.” Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow or Monday, read.

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Putin Says Ukraine Should Open Its Ports ASAP. From teleSUR. During a telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and  Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, the Russian leader said that Ukrainian forces should clear the mined area near its ports as soon as possible. According to the Kremlin press service, “at the request of the Austrian chancellor, the Russian president assessed the situation in the context of the ongoing special military operation to defend Donbass and informed him about the efforts to ensure safe navigation in the Black and Azov Seas. . . . In this context, it was stressed that the Ukrainian side should demine its ports as soon as possible to ensure free passage of the blocked ships.” READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian volunteer fighters in the east feel abandoned, by Sudarsan Raghavan | The Washington Post DRUZHKIVKA, Ukraine Stuck in their trenches, the Ukrainian volunteers lived off a potato per day as Russian forces pounded them with artillery and Grad rockets on a key eastern front line. Outnumbered, untrained and clutching only light weapons, the men prayed for the barrage to end — and for their own tanks to stop targeting the Russians.“[The Russians] already know where we are, and when the Ukrainian tank shoots from our side . . . READ MORE . . .

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WaPo’s Glimpse of the Battlefield, by Caitlin Johnstone | caitlinjohnstone.com The Washington Post has published [linked just above] an acknowledgement that Ukraine’s war against Russia has not been nearly the cakewalk that much of the public has been led to believe. . . . WaPo reports that contrary to the triumphant narratives the Western world is being spoon fed . . . READ MORE . . .

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The Shining Word ‘And.’ Richard Rohr of CAC offers a contemplative practice of embracing “and.” We encourage you to read these words slowly, allowing for a “both-and” space to emerge within: “And” teaches us to say yes. “And” allows us to be both-and. “And” keeps us from either-or. “And” teaches . . . Click HERE and scroll down to Saturday to read the rest.

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, links to Reuters and Associated Press reports; click on the news services’ names below for links to other stories. Then, links to several National Public Radio reports, and a video on Javelin missiles. — MCM

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U.S. and Ukraine discuss danger of escalation as new arms extend Kyiv’s reach, by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali | Reuters As the United States and its allies provide Ukraine with increasingly sophisticated arms, Washington has held discussions with Kyiv https://www.reuters.com/about the danger of escalation if it strikes deep inside Russia, U.S. and diplomatic officials tell Reuters. The behind-the-scenes discussions, which are highly sensitive and have not been previously reported, do not put explicit geographic restrictions on the use of weapons supplied to Ukrainian forces. But the conversations . . . READ MORE . . .

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‘Relentless’: Russia squeezes Ukrainian strongholds in east, by Yuras Karmanau and Elena Becatoros | The Associated Press KRAMATORSK, Ukraine — Russia-backed separatists claimed they captured a railway hub city in eastern Ukraine as Moscow’s forces pushed to gain more ground Friday by pounding another Ukrainian-held area where authorities say 1,500 people have died since the start of the war. With Russia’s offensive in Ukraine’s industrial Donbas region showing . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine claims victory in Kharkiv, but some nearby areas face relentless attacks. Reported by Jason Beaubien | NPR Even as conditions improve in Ukraine’s second largest city, some people just outside Kharkiv continue living in basement bomb shelters. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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A cyberwar is already happening in Ukraine, Microsoft analysts say. Reported by Jenna  McLaughlin | National Public Radio Microsoft’s global ubiquity gives its cybersecurity experts a unique window into the Russian cyberwar against Ukraine. The software giant is involved in both monitoring and combatting attacks. Click HERE to listen and read.

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How much could it cost to rebuild Ukraine — and who would pay for it? Reported by Ashish Valentine | NPR Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has already destroyed billions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure, blocked exports from key Black Sea ports, and displaced more than 12 million people. The World Bank predicts the war will cause Ukraine’s economy to shrink by 45% this year. And as Russian forces now . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

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Javelin missiles are in short supply and restocking them won’t be easy. Reported by Frank Morris| NPR Ukrainian fighters have destroyed Russian fighting vehicles with U.S. supplied Javelins. But replacing the thousands of missiles could take years, largely because of a crimp in the supply chain.  Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read. A May 3 NPR report on Javelins is HERE.

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Javelin Missile: Made by the U.S., Wielded by Ukraine, Feared by Russia. From nasticgrana.blogspot.com Among the most noticeable weapons credited with standing up to overwhelming waves of Russian tanks has been a state-of-the-art, infantry-operated guided missile. The Americans who produced it call it the FGM-148 AAWS-M (for “Advanced Antitank Weapon System-Medium”), but many of its current users have come to call it “Saint Javelin, Protector of Ukraine.” Video is HERE.

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, links to  an Associated Press summary and a Reuters economic analysis; click on the news services’ names for other stories. Then, via Global Research, a link to a report on Henry Kissinger’s advice to Ukraine and the West. Next, via Consortium News, link to a post by Chris Hedges. Then, from Popular Resistance, a link to a John V. Walsh piece on changes at the New York Times regarding the war. Finally, from The Nation, a link to a column by the  magazine’s Katrina vanden Heuvel, carried in the Washington Post and other dailies. — MCM

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As Ukraine war grinds, world pushes for way to get grain out. From the Associated Press. KYIV — Russia pressed today for the West to lift sanctions imposed because of its war in Ukraine, claiming without proof that the punitive measures are preventing millions of tons of grain and other agricultural products from leaving Ukrainian ports, exacerbating a global food crisis. Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, but the war, including a Russian blockade of its ports, has prevented . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia Prepares To Seize Western Firms Looking To Leave. From Reuters. * Moscow eyes sweeping powers to shield jobs, local industry * Exodus of western companies, sanctions roil Russia * New laws would allow seizure of firms | Russia is advancing a new law allowing it to take control of the local businesses of western companies that decide to leave in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, raising the stakes for multinationals trying to exit. The law, which could . . . READ MORE . . .

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Henry Kissinger Says Ukraine Should Cede Territory for Peace with Russia, by Zero Hedge | Global Research  Veteran U.S. statesman Henry Kissinger has urged the West to stop trying to inflict a crushing defeat on Russian forces in Ukraine, warning that it would have disastrous consequences for the long term stability of Europe.“I hope the Ukrainians will match the heroism they have shown with wisdom,” Kissinger warned an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, adding with his famous sense of realpolitik that the proper role for the country is to be a neutral buffer state rather than the frontier of Europe. READ MORE . . .

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No Way Out But War, by Chris Hedges | ScheerPost.com The United States, as the near unanimous vote to provide nearly $40 billion in aid to Ukraine illustrates, is trapped in the death spiral of unchecked militarism. . . . The permanent war economy, implanted since the end of World War II, has destroyed the private economy, bankrupted the nation, and squandered trillions of dollars of taxpayer money. The monopolization of capital by the military has driven the U.S. debt to $30 trillion, $6 trillion more than the U.S. GDP of $24 trillion. Servicing this debt costs $300 billion a year. We spent more on the military, $813 billion for fiscal year 2023, than the next nine countries, including China and Russia, combined. We . . . READ MORE . . .

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New York Times Repudiates Drive for ‘Decisive Military Victory’ in Ukraine, by John V. Walsh | Popular Resistance A week ago, we made note of a May 11 New York Times news article, documenting that all was not going well for the U.S. in Ukraine, and a companion opinion piece hinting that a shift in direction might be in order. Now on May 19, “THE EDITORIAL BOARD,” the full Magisterium of the Times, has moved from hints to a clarion call for a change in direction in an editorial uninformatively titled, “The War Is Getting Complicated, and America Isn’t Ready.”  From atop the Opinion page the Editorial Board has declared that “total victory” over Russia is not possible and that Ukraine will have to negotiate a peace in a way that reflects a “realistic assessment” and the “limits” of U.S. commitment.  The Times serves . . . READ MORE . . .

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We Need a Real Debate About the Ukraine War, by Katrina vanden Heuvel | The Nation What we have in the media and political establishment is, for the most part, a one-sided, even nonexistent, public discussion and debate. It’s as if we live with what journalist Matt Taibbi has dubbed an “intellectual no-fly zone.” Those who have departed from the orthodox line on Ukraine are regularly excluded from or marginalized—certainly rarely seen—on big corporate media. The result is that alternative and countervailing views and voices seem nonexistent. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, links to today’s reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, and TeleSUR. Then, links to two longer accounts from Agence France-Presse, made available in April and early this month, the first on discovering the remains of civilians in Bucha, the second comparing the war in Ukraine with the one three decades ago in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Finally, via Consortium News, a link to a video of CN editor Joe Lauria interviewing Ukrainian poet Irina Starovoyt on May 13 at the annual conference of PEN International’s Writers for Peace Committee. — MCM

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Scars of war seem to be everywhere in Ukraine after 3 months, by Elena Becatoros and Yuras Karmanau | The Associated Press KRAMATORSK, Ukraine — Piano music wafted from an apartment block on a recent spring evening in Kramatorsk, blending with distant artillery fire for a surreal soundtrack to a bomb-scarred neighborhood in the eastern Ukrainian city. No matter where they live, the 3-month-old war never seems to be far away. Those in towns and villages near the front lines hide in basements from constant shelling, struggling to survive with no electricity or gas — and often no running water. But even in regions . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia launches new assault on eastern Ukraine towns, by Pavel Polityuk and Max Hunder | Reuters KYIV/KRAMATORSK, Ukraine — Russian forces launched offensives on towns in eastern Ukraine today, with constant mortar bombardment destroying several houses and killing civilians, Ukrainian officials said, as Russia focuses its attack on the industrial Donbas region. . . . In the easternmost part of the Ukrainian-held Donbas pocket, the city of Sievierodonetsk on the east bank of the Siverskiy Donets River and its twin Lysychansk, on the west bank, have become a pivotal battlefield. Russian forces were advancing from three directions to encircle them. READ MORE . . .

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The U.S. Recruits Terrorists to Fight in Ukraine, Russia Says. From TeleSUR. The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) says the United States is actively recruiting members of international terrorist organizations, including the Islamic State (ISIS), as mercenaries to fight in Ukraine. In April, about 60 ISIS militants aged 20-25 were released from prisons controlled by the Syrian Kurds with the participation of U.S. intelligence services, the SVR said in a recent statement. They were “transferred to the U.S. military base Al-Tanf, located in Syria near the border with Jordan and Iraq, for combat training with a view to subsequent delivery to Ukraine.” READ MORE . . .

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Bucha: A street filled with bodies, by  Danny Kemp | Agence France-Presse An AFP team were the first journalists to discover the horrors of Bucha, a quiet commuter town near Kyiv, occupied by the Russian army for over a month, where Russian troops are accused of massacring hundreds of civilians. This is Danny Kemp’s account of what they saw that day. Some may find it distressing. // BUCHA, Ukraine — We saw three of them at first, lying in the dirt like piles of rags. That alone would have been bad enough. “Bodies,” someone in the car said, because it was all that could be said. Our driver screeched to a halt and we jumped out . . . READ MORE . . .*

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Welcome (back) to Hell: war in Ukraine reopens Sarajevo’s scars, by Sonia Bakaric | AFP The invasion of Ukraine has brought back painful memories for those who lived through the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the bloodiest in Europe since World War II. Thirty years on, the trauma is still raw, writes Sonia Bakaric, who covered the conflict for AFP // PARIS — Thirty years have passed since the start of the war in Bosnia, but I can never forget its brutality. The memories have come alive again with the war in Ukraine, where civilians are suffering in the same ways they did back then in the most murderous of the conflicts that followed the collapse of the former Yugoslavia. Kyiv is not much more than an hour’s flight from Sarajevo . . . READ MORE . . .**

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An Exchange With a Ukrainian Poet on the War, introduced by Joe Lauria of CN Live! Irina Starovoyt spoke with CN Live! during PEN International’s annual writers’ meeting in Bled, Slovenia on Russia’s motives, the role of neo-Nazis and the 2014 events in Ukraine.Starovoyt, a Ukrainian poet from the western city of Lvov, the epicenter of Ukraine’s far-right nationalism, is not a political scientist or a geo-strategist. She is a writer and a teacher. She traveled 36 hours by bus from Ukraine to Slovenia to speak at the PEN conference. She is living through the war. CN Live! sat down with her on May 13 to get her perspective. The interview shows what an educated Ukrainian writer is being told about the war. Her views are hers alone. Watch and listen to the interview HERE.

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* Click HERE or HERE for article in French or Spanish.

** Click HERE or  HERE for article in French or Spanish.

*** PEN International website is HERE.

To begin, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters and TeleSUR; click on the news agencies’ names below for other stories. Then, links to two commentaries by Caitlin Johnstone. — MCM

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After 3 months, Russia still bogged down in Ukraine war. From the Associated Press. When Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, it had hoped to overtake the country in a blitz lasting only days or a few weeks. Many Western analysts thought so, too. As the conflict marked its third month today, however, Moscow appears to be bogged down in what increasingly looks like a war of attrition, with no end in sight and few successes on the battlefield. READ MORE . . .

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Russia launches all-out assault to encircle Ukraine troops in east, by Pavel Polityuk | Reuters KYIV/SLOVYANSK, Ukraine — Russian forces were launching an all-out assault to encircle Ukrainian troops in twin cities straddling a river in eastern Ukraine today, a battle which could determine the success or failure of Moscow’s main campaign in the east. . . . [A]uthorities in the second-largest city Kharkiv were expected to open the underground metro, where thousands of civilians had sheltered for months under relentless bombardment. The reopening is a symbol of Ukraine’s biggest military success over the past few weeks. . . . But the decisive battles of the war’s latest phase are still raging further south, where Moscow is attempting to . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia Shoots Down Three Ukrainian Fighter Jets. From TeleSUR. Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov confirmed Monday that Russian forces shot down three Ukrainian fighter jets and 13 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) overnight. While two Ukrainian SU-25 fighters were shot down in the Kherson region, one of them went down near Kharkov, he said. “Russian forces also destroyed a .  .  . READ MORE . . .

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Peaceful Life Returning to Mariupol — City Head. From TeleSUR. Peaceful life is being established to Mariupol after it was completely liberated from Ukrainian forces, Konstantin Ivashchenko, the city head, told reporters on Saturday. [Ivananschenko has been the city’s de facto mayor since April 6, following its capture by the Donetsk People’s Republic and Russian troops, according to Wikipedia.]  Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said Friday that Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu had informed President Vladimir Putin about the end of the operation to liberate completely the Azovstal plant and Mariupol from Ukrainian militants. READ MORE . . .

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Russian Warns of Mounting Threats to Its Security. From TeleSUR. By the end of this year, Russia will establish 12 new military units in the Western Military District to face the growing threat from the NATO and the United States, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said. At a meeting of the National Defense Management Center in Moscow on Friday, he said the United States and NATO have gradually increased their activities along Russia’s western borders over the past few years and tensions continue to . . . READ MORE . . .

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Sergey Lavrov: Russia Is Under a Hybrid War from the West. From TeleSUR. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday that currently those who want to carry out an independent foreign policy are under pressure from Washington. In particular, he alluded to the European Union (EU) which in security matters “is gradually merging with NATO”. He denounced . . . that all countries capable of carrying out an independent policy are currently under attack by the United States. . . . Lavrov also indicated that Moscow was the target of a “total hybrid war” by the West, but would resist sanctions by forging deeper alliances with China, India, and others. “The collective West has declared a total hybrid war on us . . . the consequences will be felt by all, without exception,” he . . . READ MORE . . .

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A battlefield assessment — three months after Russia invaded Ukraine. Reported by Leila Fadeland Greg Myre | National Public Radio When Ukraine was invaded, many expected quick Russian victory. The war is three months old, with both sides digging in and no end in sight. Many analysts say the trends now favor Ukraine. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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U.S. National Guardsmen trained Ukrainian soldiers and it seems to have paid off. Reported by Jay Price | NPR Behind some of the success of the Ukrainian military against Russia is a little-known U.S. initiative, one built around state national guards. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Twitter to Ramp Up Censorship of ‘Misinformation’ about the Ukraine War, by Caitlin Johnstone | caitlinjohnstone.com Twitter has published what it calls a “crisis misinformation policy” announcing that it will be actively reducing the visibility of content found to be false which pertains to “situations of armed conflict, public health emergencies, and large-scale natural disasters.” If you’ve been paying attention to the dramatic escalations in online censorship we’ve been seeing in 2022, it will not . . . READ MORE . . .

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MSM Is Empire Fanfic for Children: Notes From the Edge of the Narrative Matrix, by Caitlin Johnstone | caitlinjohnstone.com It’s often a long, awkward process learning that literally everyone in both mainstream political factions serves the oligarchic empire. For most people you have to get your hopes dashed over and over again by your heroes before learning this lesson, and even then many don’t. It runs counter to everything . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, links to reports by the Associated Press, Reuters, and National Public Radio; click on news agencies’ names below for other stories. Then, two essays by Edward Curtin, one on the prospect of “nuclear annihilation” in an imminent World War III, the other on anti-Russian propaganda among “progressives.” Next, via Popular Resistance, links to Margaret Kimberly writing on “liberals” and censorship, and to a Scheer Intelligence podcast on the news media’s excluding critics of the U.S./Western policies and actions regarding the war in Ukraine. Finally, links to a song Scheer uses to introduce and end his podcasts, and to a brief Wikipedia entry about the singer. — MCM

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Russian soldier sentenced to life at Kyiv war crimes trial, by Elena Becatoros, Oleksandr Stashevskyi and Ricardo Mazalan | The Associated Press KYIV — A Ukrainian court sentenced a 21-year-old Russian soldier to life in prison today for killing a Ukrainian civilian, in the first war crimes trial since Russia’s invasion. Sgt. Vadim Shishimarin was accused of shooting a Ukrainian civilian in the head in a village in the northeastern Sumy region in the early days of the war. He pleaded guilty and testified that he shot the man after being ordered to do so. He told the court that an officer insisted that the Ukrainian man, who was speaking on his cellphone, could pinpoint their location to the Ukrainian forces. During the trial, Shishimarin asked the widow of the victim to forgive . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine says it has held off the latest Russian assault in the east, by Pavel Polityuk | Reuters * Russian mine clearers sweeping captured Azovstal plant * Ukraine says its forces repel latest Russian assault on Sievierodonetsk * Russia forces control largely unbroken swathe of east and south | KYIV/MARIUPOL, Ukraine — Ukraine said today it had held off the latest assault on an eastern city that has become the main target of Moscow’s offensive since Russian forces finally seized Mariupol last week. Russian forces tried to storm Sievierodonetsk, but were unsuccessful and retreated, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office said. The city, on the banks of the . . . READ MORE . . .

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Millions of Ukrainians rushed to leave — the line to return home stretches for miles. Ari Shapiro of National Public Radio visits a border crossing between Poland and Ukraine to chronicle the journeys of Ukrainians returning to their homeland. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Russia’s war in Ukraine is threatening an outpost of cooperation in space. Reported by Geoff Brumfiel and Alina Selyukh | NPR On the ground, tensions between the U.S. and Russia are running high. Russian President Vladimir Putin falsely claims the U.S. is working with Nazis in Ukraine, while President Biden calls Putin a “war criminal.” Aboard the jointly controlled International Space Station (ISS), however, the tone is very different: American astronauts live side-by-side with Russian cosmonauts; they regularly . . . Click HERE to read more and listen.

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The national average price for diesel is up 75% from a year ago. Reported by Brittany Cronin | NPR It now costs more than $5.50 to buy diesel. The surging price of the fuel is making everything even more expensive, and that’s posing a major threat to the economy. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Average U.S. gasoline price jumps 33 cents to $4.71 per gallon. From AP. CAMARILLO, Calif. — The average U.S. price of regular-grade gasoline spiked 33 cents over the past two weeks to $4.71 per gallon. Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg Survey said Sunday that the price jump comes amid higher crude oil costs and tight gasoline supplies. The average price at the . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian judge hands down a sentence in the first war crimes trial in that conflict. Reported by Steve Inskeep and Greg Myre | NPR  The court gave a life sentence to a 21-year-old Russian army sergeant for shooting and killing an unarmed Ukrainian man during the first days of the war. Its the first war crimes trial of the war. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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It’s About Time, by Edward Curtin | Behind the Curtain Isn’t it always. With the start of World War III by the United States “declaring” war against Russia by its actions in Ukraine, we have entered a time when the end of time has become very possible.  I am speaking of nuclear annihilation.  . . . This is not uplifting, but it’s true.  The nuclear weapons are primed and ready to fly.  The U.S. insists on its first-strike right to launch them.  It openly declares it is seeking the overthrow of the Russian government.  Russia says it will use nuclear weapons only if its existence is threatened, which has . . . READ MORE . . .

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The Subtleties of Anti-Russia Leftist Rhetoric, by Edward Curtin | Behind the Curtain While the so-called liberal and conservative corporate mainstream media . . . pour forth the most blatant propaganda about Russia and Ukraine that is so conspicuous that it is comedic if it weren’t so dangerous, the self-depicted cognoscenti also ingest subtler messages, often from the alternative media. [Reading something recommended] about the war in Ukraine . . . got me thinking again about why people so often miss the untruths lying within articles that are in many parts truthful and accurate. I notice this constantly. They are like little seeds slipped in as if no one will notice; they work their magic nearly unconsciously.  Few do notice them, for they are often . . . READ MORE . . .

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Liberals Drive State Censorship, by Margaret Kimberley | Black Agenda Report Liberals are the force behind censorship efforts. They defend the state and seek to silence anyone who questions its narratives. Twice in the month of April Barack Obama spoke about “disinformation.” First at the University of Chicago and then at Stanford University he claimed that democracy is at risk because of social media. Democracy is certainly at risk but not because of anyone’s tweets. His words were really meant to frighten Americans into accepting censorship should anyone dare to present a narrative that differs from the state’s. Of course, that isn’t what Obama said. He spoke . . . READ MORE . . .

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It’s scoundrel time in the good ol’ U.S.A. Podcast hosted by Robert Scheer | Scheer Intelligence. Critics of the West’s role in the Ukraine war, such as CIA veterans Ray McGovern and John Kiriakou, are being ostracized from the American media landscape. Click HERE to listen.

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‘Rien de rien.’ Song by lyricist Charles Dumont and composer Michel Vaucaire popularized by Edith Piaf. Snatches of it are heard beginning and ending Scheer Intelligence podcasts. Words are HERE. Piaf singing it is HERE and HERE. A bio of Piaf is HERE.

To begin, links to Reuters and Associated Press reports; click on the news agencies’ names below for some of their other stories. Finally, from Global Research, a link to two things: journalist Mike Whitney’s view of Scott Ridder’s considerable readjustment of his own previous analyses of the war in Ukraine; and a video of a conversation two Saturdays ago Ridder and Ray McGovern had with host Garland Nixon on his show Saturday Morning Live. The conversation puts the current war into a global context lacking in much of the coverage of it so far. — MCM

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Pummeled by Russian offensive in the east, Ukraine rules out ceasefire, by Natalia Zinets and Tom Balmforth  | Reuters * Ukraine rules out ceasefire, concessions * Russia launches assault in Luhansk * Polish president in Ukraine to address parliament today | Ukraine ruled out a ceasefire or any territorial concessions to Moscow while Russia intensified its attack in the eastern Donbas region and stopped sending gas to Finland in its latest response to Western sanctions and its deepening international isolation. Polish President Andrzej Duda told Ukraine’s parliament that ceding even “one inch” of the country’s territory would be a blow to the whole West and reassured Kyiv of Warsaw’s strong backing for its European Union membership bid. “Worrying voices have appeared, saying that Ukraine should give in to [President Vladimir] Putin’s demands,” Duda said . . . READ MORE .  .  .

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Fate of 2,500 Ukrainian POWs from steel plant stirs concern, by Elena Becatoros, Oleksandr Stashevskyi and Ciaran McQuillan | The Associated Press POKROVSK, Ukraine — With Russia claiming to have taken prisoner nearly 2,500 Ukrainian fighters from the besieged Mariupol steel plant, concerns grew about their fate as a Moscow-backed separatist leader vowed they would face tribunals. Russia has declared its full control of the Azovstal steel plant . . . now in ruins with more than 20,000 residents feared dead. The seizure gives Russian President Vladimir Putin a badly wanted victory in the war he began nearly three months ago. As the West rallies behind Ukraine, Polish President Andrzej Duda arrived in Ukraine on an unannounced visit and will address the country’s parliament on today, his office said. . . . With Russia blocking Ukraine’s sea ports, Poland has become a major gateway for Western humanitarian aid and weapons going into Ukraine and has been helping Ukraine get its grain . . . READ MORE . . .

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The War in Ukraine: Scott Ritter’s Switcheroo: ‘Why I Radically Changed My Overall Assessment,’ by Mike Whitney | Global Research The foreign policy blogs were abuzz last Sunday with the news that [the day before, May 14] Scott Ritter had done “an about-face in his assessment of the war”. It appears that the ex-Marine had examined recent developments in Ukraine and concluded that it’s going to be much harder for Russia to win than he had originally thought. . . . Naturally, the news of Ritter’s reversal sent shockwaves across the internet, especially among the people who follow events in Ukraine closely and who greatly admire his even-handed analysis. Some of these people clearly felt betrayed by Ritter’s comments and blasted him as a “concern troll” which refers to a person who feigns sympathy while actually feeling the opposite. This is a terrible way . . . READ MORE . . .

To start, from today’s Berkshire Eagle, a link to a column by the newspaper’s James Brooke, a visiting fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies; more HERE about a chamber choir concert honoring Ukraine war victims at which Brooke will give introductory remarks tonight at 7:30. Next, two Associated Press and Reuters reports; for more of the agencies’ reports, click on their names below. — MCM

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Massive U.S. military aid headed to Ukraine, by James Brooke | The Berkshire Eagle As Russia bombs Ukraine’s railroad network, Moscow knows what will come down the tracks this summer: $54 billion in U.S. aid to Ukraine. Approved by the U.S. Senate on Thursday, this aid is 200 times larger than last year’s aid of $275 million. . . . It is more than the $47 billion in U.S. foreign aid given to all countries in 2019. Reflecting bipartisan congressional support, Idaho Republican Jim Risch told Bloomberg: “Ronald Reagan spent eight years bringing down the Soviet Union and freeing the countries in its orbit. We are all in.” The news is percolating into Russia, a tightly controlled information space where the press . . . Berkshire Eagle subscribers may click HERE to read more.

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Russia’s claim of Mariupol’s capture fuels concern for POWs, by Elena Becatoros, Oleksandr Stashevskyi and Ciaran McQuillan | The Associated Press POKROVSK, Ukraine — Russia’s claimed seizure of a Mariupol steel plant that became a symbol of Ukrainian tenacity gives Russian President Vladimir Putin a badly wanted victory in the war he began, capping a nearly three-month siege that left a city in ruins and more than 20,000 residents feared dead. After the Russian Defense Ministry announced late Friday . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia halts gas flow to Finland, intensifies push for Donbas, by Pavel Polityuk and Terje Solsvik | Reuters * Weeks-long siege ends at Azovstal, Russia says * Russia intensifies offensive in Donbas * Russia stops Finland gas flows over payment dispute * Russian military says destroyed Western arms in Zhytomyr region | KYIV/OSLO — Russia stopped providing gas to Finland in an escalation of a row over energy payments with the West today, and intensified an offensive in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. . . .  Russia is waging what appears to be a major offensive in Luhansk, one of two provinces in Donbas. . . . Moscow wants to seize the last remaining Ukrainian-held territory in Donbas. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

To begin, links to Associated Press, Reuters, TeleSUR, and National Public Radio reports; click on the news organizations’ names below to access other stories.  — MCM

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Ukraine says it repels Russian attack as war grinds in east, by Oleksandr Stashevskyi and Ciaran McQuillan | The Associated Press KYIV — Ukrainian authorities said today that their troops repelled a Russian attack in the east, as Moscow struggled to gain ground in the region that is now the focus of the war even while intensifying its campaign there. Battered by their monthslong siege of the vital port city of Mariupol, Russian troops need time to regroup, Britain’s Defense Ministry said in an assessment — but they may not get it. The city and the steelworks where . . . READ MORE . . .

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Struggling in Ukraine, Russia paves way to sign up over-40s for army, by Mark Trevelyan | Reuters LONDON — In a sign of Russia’s urgent need to bolster its war effort in Ukraine, parliament said today it would consider a bill to allow Russians over 40 and foreigners over 30 to sign up for the military. The website of the State Duma, parliament’s lower house, said the move would enable the military to utilise the skills of older professionals. “For the use of high-precision weapons, the operation of weapons and military equipment, highly professional . . . READ MORE . . .

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The History of NATO’s Expansion in a Nutshell. From  TeleSUR. Finland and Sweden today formally submitted their applications to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. This military-political alliance was founded in 1949 to contain the Soviet Union after World War II. Its aim is that through political and military means, member states work together in collective defense and the maintenance of . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia aims to capitalize on controlling the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. Reported by Leila Fadel, Joanna Kakissis and Rachel Treisman | National Public Radio. Russia is consolidating its control of the strategic Ukrainian city of Mariupol, after months of bombardment that Ukrainian officials say killed tens of thousands of civilians. The battle for Mariupol has centered on the Azovstal steel plant in recent weeks. An estimated 2,000 Ukrainian fighters and several hundred civilians had been . . . Click HERE to read more and listen.

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Finland has officially applied to join NATO and a brewery shows support. Reported by Leila Fadel | NPR Finland has formally applied to join NATO, and a Finnish brewery is helping make the case with a case of beer. The brew is called OTAN, a play on a Finnish expression that means, I’ll have a beer. And it’s also the French abbreviation for NATO. The can features a version of a cartoon knight with NATO’s compass emblem on its chest. So how does it taste? The brewery CEO describes it as security with a hint of freedom. Click HERE to listen and read.

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TO BE CONTINUED