TeleSUR’s wrap-up of events related to the war in Ukraine leads below. Next is the Associated Press update on the war in Ukraine, by Evgeniy Malogetka. Then, a different wrinkle regarding the strife in that country is explored by Glenn Greenwald, formerly of Intercept. And Bret Stephens weighs in with thoughts on the war itself and how it could help the United States “rethink the way in which we look at foreign affairs for the next decade.” — MCM

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The U.S. Won’t Follow WTO Rules in Its Dealings with Russia: “By revoking Russia’s ‘Most Favored Nation’ status, the United States is creating an insurmountable rift within the international trade order it created after World War II,” according to teleSUR in its latest collection of news items connected to the war in Ukraine. Find them HERE.

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Russia keeps up pressure on Mariupol; massive convoy breaks up  MARIUPOL, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces kept up their bombardment of the port city of Mariupol on Thursday, while satellite photos appeared to show that a massive convoy that had been mired outside the Ukrainian capital split up and fanned out into towns and forests near Kyiv, with artillery pieces moved into firing positions. International condemnation escalated over an airstrike in Mariupol a day earlier that killed three people at a maternity hospital. Western and Ukrainian officials called the attack a war crime. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian refusal to permit evacuations from the port city amounted to “outright terror.”As the West seeks . . . READ MORE . . .

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Victoria Nuland: Ukraine Has ‘Biological Research Facilities,’ Worried Russia May Seize Them. by Glenn Greenwald | Global Research Self-anointed “fact-checkers” in the U.S. corporate press have spent two weeks mocking as disinformation and a false conspiracy theory the claim that Ukraine has biological weapons labs, either alone or with U.S. support. They never presented any evidence for their ruling — how could they possibly know? and how could they prove the negative? — but nonetheless they invoked their characteristically authoritative, above-it-all tone of self-assurance and self-arrogated right to decree the truth, definitively labelling such claims false. Claims that Ukraine currently maintains dangerous biological weapons labs came from Russia as well as China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry this month claimed: “The US has 336 labs in 30 countries under its control, including 26 in Ukraine alone.” READ MORE . . .

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New York Times columnist Bret Stephens says that in light of lessons learned so far from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, New rules are needed for a new world. His recent recommendation includes “a few ideas” and begins, “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is being described as the end of the post-Cold War era. This isn’t quite accurate. Since the Soviet Union collapsed . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

What follows are an Associated Press report filed sometime last night, and an analysis by Larry Johnson of The Gateway Pundit sent out sometime this morning. — MCM

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Please click HERE for the AP report by Evgeniy Malgletka used in hundreds of newspapers today in the United States. In many of them it, or a variation of it, was headlined “Airstrike hits Ukraine maternity hospital, 17 reported hurt.”

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Understanding the Russian military plan for Ukraine, by Larry Johnson | The Gateway Pundit, begins, “There is an enormous propaganda campaign underway in the West to convince the American people that they should care more about Ukraine’s border with Russia than our own border with Mexico. Give me the list of our politicians, Democrats and Republicans, who are demanding action to secure our southern border. The voices are small and not resonating. Then draw up a list of the politicians insisting that we take actions in Ukraine that will risk a nuclear war with Russia. That list is long and their voices are loud. If you dare suggest this is madness, you are accused of being a tool of Putin. That is despicable nonsense. READ MORE . . .

Links to several items of news and opinion related to the war in Ukraine follow the beginning of a column just below, which comes from Consortium News. — MCM

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The Casualties of Empire

By Patrick Lawrence

The news reports come in daily from Moscow, Kiev and the Western capitals: how many dead since Russia began its intervention in Ukraine on Feb. 24,  how many injured, how many hungry or cold, how many displaced. We do not know the true count of casualties and the extent of the suffering and ought not pretend we do: This is the reality of war, each side having its version of unfolding events.

My inclination is to add the deaths in Ukraine these past two weeks to the 14,000 dead and the 1.5 million displaced since 2014, when the regime in Kiev began shelling its own citizens in the eastern provinces — this because the people of Donetsk and Lugansk rejected the U.S.­–cultivated coup that deposed their elected president. This simple math gives us a better idea of how many Ukrainians are worthy of our mourning.

As we mourn, it is time to consider the wider consequences of this conflict, for Ukrainians are not alone among its victims. Who else has suffered? What else has been damaged? This war is of a kind humanity has never before known. What are its costs?

Among paying-attention people it is increasingly plain that Washington’s intent in provoking Moscow’s intervention is, and probably has been from the first, to instigate a long-running conflict that bogs down Russian forces and leaves Ukrainians to wage an insurgency that cannot possibly succeed.

Is there another way to explain the many billions of dollars’ worth of weapons and matériel the U.S. and its European allies now pour into Ukraine? If the Ukrainians cannot win — a universally acknowledged reality — what is the purpose here?

Whether this strategy goes as Washington wants, or if Russian forces get their work done and withdraw to avoid a classic . . . READ MORE . . .

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Pain at the pump worsens as U.S. bans Russian fuel: Prices continue spiking, but some residents willing to pay up to help out by Tony Dobrowolski | The Berkshire Eagle PITTSFIELD — Anger, frustration, acceptance and doubt. Those were the main themes expressed by Berkshire motorists to the skyrocketing . . . Berkshire Eagle subscribers can READ MORE . . .

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Suffering continues in encircled Mariupol, by Mstyslav Chernov and Yuras Karmanau | The Associated Press MARIUPOL, Ukraine — Corpses lie in the streets of Mariupol. Hungry people break into stores in search of food and melt snow for water. Thousands huddle in basements, trembling at the sound of Russian shells pounding this strategic port city. READ MORE . . .

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U.S. bans import of Russian oil, by Zeke Miller, Mike Balsamo and Josh Boak | The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Striking harder at Russia’s economy, President Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered a ban on Russian oil imports in retaliation for Vladimir Putin’s onslaught in Ukraine. The major trade action, responding to the pleas of Ukraine’s embattled leader, thrust the U.S. out front as Western nations seek to help Putin’s invasion. READ MORE . . .

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AG keeping eye out for gas price gouging, by Will Katcher | WKatcher@masslive.com BOSTON — State Attorney General Maura Healy is monitoring gas prices after receiving complaints of price gouging, her office said yesterday, hours after Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin called for an investigation into record price hikes. Springfield Republican subscribers can READ MORE . . .

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How the Putin shock might affect the world economy, by Paul Krugman | The New York Times When Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, I think it’s safe to say that most observers expected him to get away with it. Surely Russia’s huge military would take Kyiv and other major cities within a few days; surely the West would respond with its usual timidity, giving Russia no more than a slap on the wrist. Instead . . . READ MORE . . .

Today’s entry is comprised of links to commentary that differs from most opinion in mainstream media outlets, followed by a link to an Associated Press wrapup in today’s newspapers throughout the United States. — MCM

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To Punish Russia, the ‘Liberal Order’ Attempts to Suicide Itself, by Moon of Alabama, begins, “Two days ago we looked at why Russia is doing what it does . . . The ‘west’ had failed to understand Russia’s need to act. It has failed to make the necessary commitments, and accept Russia’s reasonable demands, to avoid the struggle. In consequence it will now fall apart. The knee-jerk reaction to Russia’s ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine will, as Alastair Crooke writes, lead to the end of the ‘liberal order’ . . .” READ MORE . . .

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A Proposed Solution to the Ukraine War, by Greg Mello, begins, “Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, what was a regional conflict has become a global hybrid war with ever-greater stakes, not least the risk of nuclear war. Perhaps the greatest danger lies in the difference of motives between parties, which is also the fundamental cause of this war: Russia seeks security, while the U.S. and its NATO allies have been using Ukraine to deny that security — to “break Russia,” in Henry Kissinger’s 2015 phrase. The U.S. does not want peace, unless it be the peace of a conquered Russia. That is why there is no obvious end to the escalations and counter-escalations. The U.S. and NATO see opportunity in the war they have been trying so hard to provoke. The tragedy is that few people seem to understand that at the root of the Ukraine crisis is a specific strategy known as the Wolfowitz Doctrine . . . READ MORE . . .

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Would a ‘Cold’ War Be the Best News Around?, by Michael Klare, begins, “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been widely described as the beginning of a new cold war, much like the old one in both its cast of characters and ideological nature. “In the contest between democracy and autocracy, between sovereignty and subjugation, make no mistake — freedom will prevail,” President Biden asserted in a televised address to the nation the day Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine. But while Russia and the West disagree on many issues of principle, this is not a replay of the Cold War. It’s an all-too-geopolitical twenty-first-century struggle for advantage on a highly contested global chessboard. If comparisons are in order, think of this moment as . . . READ MORE . . .

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In These Days of Great Tension, by Vijay Prashad, begins, “It is impossible not to be moved by the outrageousness of warfare, the ugliness of aerial bombardment, the gruesome fears of civilians who are trapped between choices that are not their own. If you read this line and assume I am talking about Ukraine, then you are right, but of course, this is not just about Ukraine. In the same week that Russian forces entered Ukraine, the United States launched airstrikes in Somalia, Saudi Arabia bombed Yemen and Israel struck Syria and Palestinians in Gaza. READ MORE . . .

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Worthy and Unworthy Victims, by Chris Hedges, begins, “Rulers divide the world into worthy and unworthy victims, those we are allowed to pity, such as Ukrainians enduring the hell of modern warfare, and those whose suffering is minimized, dismissed, or ignored. The terror we and our allies carry out against Iraqi, Palestinian, Syrian, Libyan, Somali and Yemeni civilians is part of the regrettable cost of war. We, echoing the empty promises from Moscow, claim we do not target civilians. Rulers always paint their militaries as humane, there to serve and protect. Collateral damage happens, but it is regrettable. This lie can only be sustained among those who are unfamiliar with the . . . READ MORE . . .

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Today’s Berkshire Eagle bannered this headline at the top of page 1: “Ukraine: Putin’s tactics ‘medieval’: Humanitarian crisis deepens as Russian forces continue shelling” over a version of reporter Yuras Karmanau’s daily Associated Press wrapup, which began, “LVIV, Ukraine — The humanitarian crisis in Ukraine deepened Monday as Russian forces intensified their shelling, and food, water, heat and medicine grew increasingly scarce, in what the country condemned as a medieval-style siege by Moscow to batter it into submission. A third round of talks between the two sides ended with a top Ukrainian official saying there had been minor, unspecified . . . READ MORE . . .(The link is to the report as carried in the Orange County Coast.)

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made “an impassioned speech today to the British House of Commons” lasting about 10 minutes, according to NPR’s “All Things Considered” program. This the day after the New York Times printed a letter from U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, headed “Russia’s War on Ukraine Must Fail.” The letter appeared in the space at the upper left-hand corner of its editorial page often reserved for the newspaper’s own editorials. Times subscribers can read it HERE.

Before I finished reading the essay below, it reminded me of two books, James Reston’s The Artillery of the Press (1967) and Phillip Knightly’s The First Casualty: The War Correspondent as Hero, Propagandist, and Myth Maker (1976). It still does. Thanks to Consortium News for forwarding the essay. Just below it is a version of the Associated Press’s main story on the Russian invasion in this morning’s newspapers. — MCM

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War, Conflict & Enemies of Truth

By Michael Brenner

Accurate perception, precise language and objectivity are the first victims of war and conflict. For good reason. Emotion eclipses reason. The “we/they” prism refracts and distorts our thoughts. The individual is swept up into the mass mood. Frenzy roils just below the surface.

Experiences of war and conflict, though, are not uniform.  They vary. Whose blood is being shed, in what quantities? Are we the direct protagonist or just the empathetic supporters of certain combatants? How closely and why do we identify with one side? How much do we hate the other side? Is our collective self vulnerable or confident? What is the pre-existing anxiety level?

Consequently, each situation is peculiar. A country’s subjective response and attendant behavior, therefore, can be highly revealing.

Unfortunately, observation is blurred and selective. We are poor witnesses to ourselves. Sometimes, we never do gain the perspective needed for a clear rendering of what happened, how we felt and what we did. Oddly, the more peculiar the experience, the less the inclination and ability to reflect on it.

Such is the case in regard to the current Ukraine affair. That singular feature is itself noteworthy. For that is not due to indifference – quite the opposite. Washington is the producer and would-be director of the drama as well as the co-star.

The feature that cries out for our critical attention is the frenzy that the Ukraine conflict has engendered. This despite the absence of an American military presence, no obvious national interest of the first order at stake, and it’s erupting at a time when one would have thought the country’s appetite for this sort of thing satiated by two decades of endless, failed wars in nearly every part of the world.

My principal concern here is not to answer the question of “why?” I have tried to address that in previous commentaries here and here. Instead, the aim is to highlight those characteristics of America’s collective national persona brought into stark relief by our reaction to events.

Hypocrisy

The air is rank with it. The . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russian attacks halt plans to evacuate civilians By Yuras Karmanau (AP) LVIV, Ukraine —Russian forces stepped up overnight shelling of Ukrainian cities in the center, north and south of the country late Sunday, presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich said. “The latest wave of missile strikes came as darkness fell,” he said on Ukrainian television. He said the areas that came under heavy shelling include the outskirts of Kyiv, Chernihiv in the north, Mykolaiv in the south, and Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city. READ MORE . . .

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Readers of hundreds of newspapers across the United States woke up today to versions of the Associated Press story on the Russian invasion of Ukraine that begins just below. ABC News carried the report in full. A second AP story, also beginning below, got less attention on the radio. Next, eight of 12 Popular Resistance-linked offerings for today concern the war and possible consequences. After that, the founder of the rightist Gab social network says Russia is experiencing what he calls “the Gab treatment” by tech giants. Along the same lines, on Global Research a Substack writer sees opportunities in the forced closing of the RT America channel. — MCM

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Putin says Ukraine’s future in doubt as cease-fire continues: Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Ukraine’s statehood is in jeopardy and pinned the blame on that country’s leaders

By Yuras Karamanau | Associated Press

LVIV, Ukraine — Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Saturday that Ukrainian statehood is in jeopardy and likened the West’s sanctions on Russia to “declaring war,” while a promised cease-fire in the besieged port city of Mariupol collapsed amid scenes of terror.

With the Kremlin’s rhetoric growing fiercer and a reprieve from fighting dissolving, Russian troops continued to shell encircled cities and the number of Ukrainians forced from their country grew to 1.4 million. By nighttime Russian forces had intensified their shelling of Mariupol, while dropping powerful bombs on residential areas of Chernihiv, a city north of Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said.

Bereft mothers mourned slain children, wounded soldiers were fitted with tourniquets and doctors worked by the light of their cellphones as bleakness and desperation pervaded. Crowds of men lined up in the capital to join the Ukrainian military. READ MORE . . .

Before going to news coverage of developments in the war in Ukraine, I offer a selection of analyses from sources which will likely complement those found on TV and radio and in newspapers. The first bunch come from a contributor with the pen name Moon of Alabama via the website Popular Resistance. — MCM

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Disarming Ukraine — Day 9 — Europe Increases Its Own Losses: “I feel too outraged and frightened about what is now happening in our societies to write about it,” Moon of Alabama begins. “I thus continue to quote others at some length.” Among the views he forwards are those of Patrick Armstrong, Bill Roggio, M.K. Bhadrakumar, Whitney Webb and Tony Wood. Click on anything highlighted to get started.

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Hundreds of this morning’s U.S. newspapers carried at least some of  THIS Associated Press report by Andrew Drake, Francesca Ebel, Yuras Karmanau and Mstyslav Chernov headlined in some of them Attack on nuclear plant triggers alarm,

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Russian offensive continues toward Mariupol; Visa and MasterCard suspend their operations in Russia Le Monde reports in a news brief: “Russia had announced a ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from this strategic port. But these operations were rapidly suspended, and the Mariupol mayor accused Moscow of continuing to bombard the city.”

Below please find a recent Associated Press account of the war in Ukraine, and another in the French newspaper Le Monde of the Russian attack on the large nuclear plant in southeast Ukraine. Other reports may follow. — MCM

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Russia attacks Ukraine nuclear plant as invasion advances

By Jim Heinz, Yuras Karmanau and Mstyslav Chernov | Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces shelled Europe’s largest nuclear plant early Friday, sparking a fire as they pressed their attack on a crucial energy-producing Ukrainian city and gained ground in their bid to cut off the country from the sea.

Leading nuclear authorities were concerned — but not panicked — about the damage to the power station. The assault triggered phone calls between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Joe Biden and other world leaders. The U.S. Department of Energy activated its nuclear incident response team as a precaution.

The attack on the eastern city of Enerhodar and its Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant unfolded as the invasion entered its second week and another round of talks between the two sides yielded a tentative agreement to set up safe corridors to evacuate citizens and deliver humanitarian aid.

Nuclear plant spokesman Andriy Tuz told Ukrainian television that shells were falling directly on the facility and had set fire to one of its six reactors. That reactor is under renovation and not operating, but there is nuclear fuel inside, he said. READ MORE . . .

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Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant falls into Russian hands: The Zaporijia complex in Ukraine was hit during the night by Russian strikes. A reported fire was extinguished in the morning. Authorities said levels of radioactivity remained unchanged.

By Faustine Vincent | Le Monde

The Russian army Friday seized Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant, Zaporijia in southeast Ukraine city of Enerhodar, it was announced by regional authorities, who said plant personnel were inspecting the reactors to assure that security protocols are respected. The plant, which has six nuclear reactors, was hit during the night by Russian strikes. A fire ignited in one building raised fears of an immense nuclear catastrophe.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter during the night: “The Russian army fired from all sides on the Zaporijia nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe. Fire was reported. If the plant explodes, it will be six times as big as intense as Chernobyl! The Russians must immediately cease firing, let firefighters enter, and establish a security zone.

The international Atomic Energy Agency called for “a ceasing of the use of force” and warned of “grave danger if the reactors are hit.” Its director general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, was to hold a news conference in the morning.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian tanks opened fire on the plant. “These tanks are equipped with thermal sights, so they know what they’re doing; they were prepared,” he said in a video. For a time, Russian soldiers prevented rescue services from entering the site to extinguish the fire; they were able to access the site only in early morning.

After several hours of uncertainty the complex was secured and the reactors completely secured, U.S. and Ukrainian officials said. The fire, which claimed no victims, was extinguished by Ukrainian firefighters at 6:20 a.m. local time. It involved a building dedicated to training and a laboratory. Ukrainian authorities said the attack involve no “essential” plant installation, and nuclear security was was not affected. Le Monde subscribers can READ MORE in French.

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Some coverage of the war in Ukraine follow from the Spanish newspaper El Pais, beginning at 2:15 or so p.m. EST. — MCM

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Russia and Ukraine agree to humanitarian corridor with possible ceasefire during evacuations. Negotiators plan third meeting

By Javier G. Cuesta in Moscow and María R. Sahuquillo in Dnipró (Ukraine) | El País

In the eighth day of the Russian offensive against Ukraine, delegations from Kiyv and Moscow returned Thursday to talks aimed at bringing an end to the conflict. A ceasefire was not achieved, but a third meeting is envisioned for the beginning of next week.

“We have agreed on the creation of humanitarian corridors for departures of civilians,” said Mijailo Podoliak, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodímir Zelenskyy, although a truce for these is not certain. “There could be a ceasefire in the evacuation areas,” he added, according to Interfax.

“The key question we resolved today,” said Vladimir Medinsky, chief of the Russian delegation, “has been the protection of the civilian population. He would only say a ceasefire was “possible” for the civilian evacuations.

Talks took place in the Belarusian region of Gómel, with that country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, acting as mediator.

Pollak said the two sides agreed to continue talks “as soon as possible,” noting he was not happy with the meeting. “Unfortunately, we did not achieve the results we had hoped for.” READ MORE in Spanish . . .

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Russia attacks intensify in south  and east. ‘We are being destroyed,’ Mariupol mayor says

By María R. Sahuquillo | El País

Putin’s army is sharpening its offensive to take control of the whole Ukrainian coast. The Russian forces’ advance toward the capital city of Kyiv remained stalled, according to U.S. and British reports.

Russia is attacks continued on Ukraine’s east and south. The military forces sent by Vladimir Putin have intensified bombing in costal zones and in the east, completing a week of the Kremlin-launched invasion. The Russian army has besieged the city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov and entered the port city of Jersón, a strategic point on the mouth of the Dnipro River near the Black Sea. It is also advancing toward Zaporiya, an enclave closer to the country’s interior and near a major central nuclear plant. READ MORE in Spanish . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

Some news and views on the war are below, most with the titles as they appeared elsewhere. — MCM

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The Associated Press is continually updating its main war story that appeared in today’s Berkshire Eagle headed “Russian forces continue shelling: Barrage targeted at Ukraine’s No. 2 city as ceasefire talks continue. For a version in the Huffington Post, click HERE.

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From the Spanish news service EFE: Huge Russian Convoy Descends on Kyiv as Shelling Kills Dozens of Soldiers “A huge Russian military convoy inched closer to Kyiv on Tuesday as day six of Moscow’s invasion began with the shelling of a northeastern military base that killed dozens of Ukrainian soldiers, and a missile strike hit the center of Kharkiv. The latest photos of Moscow’s armored convoy descending on Ukraine’s capital shows it is larger than initially thought. According to new satellite images from Maxar Technologies, the convoy northwest of Kyiv stretches from near Antonov air base, about 30 kilometers from the center of the capital, for 64 kilometers (40 miles) and consists of armored vehicles, tanks, artillery and other vehicles. Images taken earlier Monday gave the impression the vehicles stretched around 27km.”

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A page just turned in Europe’s history book: James Brooke begins a column in the weekend edition of the Eagle: “In the future, we will remember Feb. 24 alongside 9/11 and Dec. 7. Although Russia’s invasion is not a bolt from the blue like Pearl Harbor or the attack on the World Trade Center, many people did not believe last week that Russia would actually invade Ukraine.” Brooke’s views are informed by his experience as a reporter in many countries, including Russia, for the New York Times, Bloomberg, and Voice of America, and by his residence for six years in Ukraine. Eagle subscribers can read the whole column HERE.

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Putin the Apostate: Matt Taibbi begins his latest essay like this: “The president of the Council of Foreign Relations, Richard Haass, made an extraordinary statement over the weekend. ‘Just days ago much of the world was focused on the unwanted prospect of regime change in Ukraine,’ he tweeted. ‘Now the conversation has shifted to include the possibility of desired regime change in Russia.’ Senior Brookings Institute fellow Benjamin Wittes was even more explicit: ‘Regime change: Russia.’” For the whole thing, click HERE.

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Putin’s Nuclear Threat: “Vladimir Putin is a madman. He’s lost it. At least that is what the leaders of the West would like you to believe,” Scott Ritter begins a column for Consortium News. “According to their narrative, Putin — isolated, alone, confused, and angry at the unfolding military disaster Russia was undergoing in Ukraine — lashed out, ostensibly threatening the entire world with nuclear annihilation. In a meeting with his top generals on Sunday, the beleaguered Russian president announced . . . “ READ MORE . . .

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NATO Too Weak to Face Russia: Ritter chats for 40 minutes, HERE, last Thursday with Richard Medhurst. Although five days old, the interview is well worth watching if only to see which of Ridder’s predictions have come true and which haven’t, and to guess which could.

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Vladimir Putin’s Clash of Civilizations: New York Times columnist Ross Douthat begins, in the Eagle and (among other papers) the San Juan Daily Star: “When the United States, in its hour of hubris, went to war to remake the Middle East in 2003, Vladimir Putin was a critic of U.S. ambition, a defender of international institutions and multiculturalism and national sovereignty. This posture was cynical and self-interested in the extreme. But it was also . . .” READ MORE . . .