First, links to reports from National Public Radio, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Tass, and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Then, a link to commentary from Australia with links to other articles. — MCM

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U.S. to send tanks to Ukraine. Reported by Kaid McNamee, Matt Ozug and Mary Louise Kelly | NPR  Mary Louise Kelly speaks with John Kirby, White House National Security Council spokesperson, about the administration’s decision to send 31 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Russia downplays West’s move on tanks, strikes Ukraine again. From AP. From Washington to Berlin to Kyiv, a Western decision to send battle tanks to Ukraine was hailed enthusiastically. Moscow first shrugged it off — and later launched another barrage of attacks. The Kremlin . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian army says downed 47 of 55 Russian missiles. From AFP. The Ukrainian army said Thursday it had shot down 47 out of 55 air and sea-based missiles launched by Russia in a massive new wave of attacks. The head of Ukraine’s army, Valery Zaluzhny, said . . . READ MORE . . .

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Why tanks could be a game-changer for Ukraine. Reported by Rob Schmitz and Greg Myre | NPR  For months, Ukraine has been demanding, and was denied, state-of-the-art Western tanks. The U.S. and Germany — considered to have the best tanks in the world — promised Wednesday to send them. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Ukraine losing 80 to 200 troops in Zaporozhye Region every day, politician says. From Tass. MELITOPOL — The Ukrainian Armed Forces began losing 80 to 200 troops a day along the Zaporozhye frontline after the Russian army intensified its activities there, Chairman of the We Stand With Russia movement Vladimir Rogov said Thursday. The intensity of fighting . . . READ MORE . . .

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A Russian graveyard reveals Wagner’s prisoner army, by Felis Light, Filipp Lebedev and Reade Levinson | Reuters Many of the men buried in a rapidly expanding cemetery in the southern Russia village of Bakinskaya were convicts who were recruited by the Wagner Group last year after its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, promised a pardon if prisoners survived six months at the front. . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine sets sights on fighter jets after securing tank supplies, by Tom Balmforth | Reuters  KYIV — “The next big hurdle will now be the fighter jets,” Yuriy Sak, who advises Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, told Reuters on Wednesday. READ MORE . . .

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The West is incentivizing Russia to hit back, by Caitlin Johnstone | caitlinjohnstone.com Well the omnicidal war sluts won the debate over sending tanks to Ukraine, so now it’s time to start arguing for sending F-16s. In an article titled “Ukraine sets sights on fighter jets after securing tank supplies,” Reuters . . . READ MORE . . .

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

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Several Ukrainian officials have been dismissed in a large government shakeup. Reported by Leila Fadel and Joanna Kakissis | NPR Deputy ministers from various ministries in Ukraine are being forced out of power amid corruption investigations. Do the firings mark a shift toward transparency? Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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After U.S. offer, Germany unleashes Leopard tanks for Ukraine, by Frank Jordans and Kirsten Grieshaber | AP  BERLIN — After weeks of hesitation that created impatience among Germany’s allies, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced today his government would provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 battle tanks and approve requests by other countries to do the same. The long-awaited decision came after U.S. officials revealed Tuesday a preliminary agreement for the United States to send M1 Abrams tanks to help . . . READ MORE . . .

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After weeks of pressure, Germany agrees to send its Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine. Reported by A Martínez and Rob Schmitz | NPR  A spokesman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has confirmed that Germany will send a company of 14 tanks to Ukraine. Scholz announced the decision during a cabinet meeting today. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Spain ‘ready’ to send German tanks to Kyiv: Minister. From AFP. MADRID — Spain said today it was ready to send some of its German-made Leopard tanks to bolster Ukraine’s fight against Russia after Berlin granted approval for their European transfers. “Spain is ready . . .  to deal with our allies in any way necessary, whether that means sending Leopards, training in the use of Leopards or help in their maintenance and upkeep,” Defence Minister Margarita Robles said. She . . . READ MORE . . .

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Abrams tank deliveries to Kiev ‘a losing scheme’ for technological reasons, says Kremlin. From Tass. MOSCOW — The idea of delivering American Abrams and German Leopard tanks to Ukraine is a losing scheme for technological reasons, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today. “I am certain that many specialists understand the absurdity of this . . . READ MORE . . .

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Below, courtesy of Global Research, begins an essay from two days ago by a Berkshire County neighbor who has studied and taught about propaganda for decades. It is easier to read at Behind the Curtain. — MCM

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The New York Times is Orwell’s Ministry of Truth

By Edward Curtin |Behind the Curtain

“Ingsoc. The sacred principles of ingsoc. Newspeak, double-speak, the mutability of the past.” – George Orwell, 1984

As today dawned, I was looking out the window into the cold grayness with small patches of snow littering the frozen ground.  As light snow began to fall, I felt a deep mourning in my soul as a memory came to me of another snowy day in 1972 when I awoke to news of Richard Nixon’s savage Christmas bombing of North Vietnam with more than a hundred B-52 bombers, in wave after wave, dropping death and destruction on Hanoi and other parts of North Vietnam.  I thought of the war the United States is now waging against Russia via Ukraine and how, as during the U.S. war against Vietnam, few Americans seem to care until it becomes too late.  It depressed me.

Soon after I was greeted by an editorial from The New York Times’ Editorial Board, “A Brutal New Phase of the War in Ukraine.”  It is a piece of propaganda so obvious that only those desperate to believe blatant lies would not fall down laughing.  Yet it is no laughing matter, for The N.Y. Times is advocating for a wider war, more lethal weapons for Ukraine, and escalation of the fighting that risks nuclear war.  So their title is apt because they are promoting the brutality.  This angered me.

The Times’ Editorial Board tells us that President Putin, like Hitler, is mad.  “Like the last European war, this one is mostly one man’s madness.”  Russia and Putin are “cruel”; are conducting a “regular horror” with missile strikes against civilian targets; are “desperate”; are pursuing Putin’s “delusions”; are waging a “terrible and useless war”; are “committing atrocities”; are responsible for “murder, rape and pillaging,” etc.

On the other hand, “a heroic Ukraine” “has won repeated and decisive victories against Russian forces” who have lost “well over 100,000 Russian soldiers killed and wounded,” according to the “reliable” source, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chief of Staff, Gen. Mark A. Milley.  To add to this rosy report, the Ukrainians seem to have suffered no causalities since none are mentioned by the cozy Times’ Editorial Board members from their keyboards on Eighth Avenue.  When you support a U.S. war, as has always been The Times’ modus operandi as a stenographer for the government, mentioning the dead pawns used to accomplish the imperialists’ dreams is bad manners.  So are the atrocities committed by those forces, so they too have been omitted.  Neo-Nazis, the Azov Battalion?  They too must never have  existed since they are not mentioned.

But then, according to the esteemed editorial writers, this is not a U.S. proxy war waged via Ukraine by U.S./NATO “to strip Russia of its destiny and greatness.”  No, it is simply Russian aggression, supported by “the Kremlin’s propaganda machinery” that has churned “out false narratives about a heroic Russian struggle against forces of fascism and debauchery.”  U.S./NATO were “horrified by the crude violation of the postwar order,” so we are laughingly told, and so came to Ukraine’s defense as “Mr. Putin’s response has been to throw ever more lives, resources and cruelty at Ukraine.”

Nowhere in this diatribe by the Times’ Board of propagandists – and here the whole game is given away for anyone with a bit of an historical sense – is there any mention of the U.S. engineered coup d’état in Ukraine in 2014.  It just didn’t happen.  Never happened.  Magic by omission.  The U.S., together with the Ukrainian government “led” by the puppet-actor “President Volodymyr Zelensky,” are completely innocence parties, according to the Times.  (Note also, that nowhere in this four-page diatribe is President Putin addressed by his title, as if to say that “Mr. Putin” is illegitimate and Zelensky is the real thing.)

All the problems stem from when “Mr. Putin seized Crimea and stirred up a secessionist conflict in eastern Ukraine n 2014.”

Nowhere is it mentioned that for years on end . . . READ MORE . . .

The Twin Towers and a third skyscraper at the World Trade Center were destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001. A team at the University of Alaska Fairbanks conducted a four-year study of the collapse of the less-known Building 7 refuting the contention of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an arm of the Department of the Treasury, attributing its collapse to the effects of office fires. Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth financed the UAF study. Little may be new in the interview below, but much of it may be new to some. — MCM

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Dr. Hulsey: There was nothing right about anything NIST did. Andy Steele of AE911Truth talks with Dr. J. Leroy Hulsey, emeritus professor of structural engineering at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in advance of a presentation Hulsey will give to students and faculty on the rapid collapse on Sept. 11, 2001, of Building 7, which was not struck by any airplane. Click HERE to listen.

First, links to reports from Reuters, Agence France-Presse, the Associated Press, National Public Radio, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Then, a freelance journalist’s commentary initially published a week ago.  — MCM

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Senior Ukrainian officials step down in rare purge in Kyiv, by Tom Balmforth and Olena Harmash | Reuters * Deputy head of Zelenskiy’s office steps down * Defence official denies accusations of overpaying for supplies * Deputy prosecutor had been criticised for holiday in Spain * Allies seek German tanks for Kyiv | KYIV — Several senior Ukrainian officials resigned today in the biggest leadership shakeup of the war with Russia so far, in what an aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called an answer to public calls for “justice”. Some, though not all, of the resignations were linked with corruption allegations. Ukraine has a history of graft and shaky governance, and is. . . READ MORE . . .

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Five regional governors, four deputy ministers dismissed in Ukraine. From AFP. Five regional governors and four deputy ministers are stepping down in Ukraine against the backdrop of several corruption scandals, a senior official said today. Nemchinov also announced the dismissal of a deputy defence minister, two deputy ministers of development of communities and territories, and a deputy minister of social . . . READ MORE . . .

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Poland asks Germany for tank OK; Ukraine targets corruption, by Andrew Meldrum | AP  KYIV — Poland has officially requested permission from Germany to transfer its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine where they can help fight Russia’s invasion, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak said today. The development on possible tank deliveries came as Ukrainian authorities moved to crack down on corruption, with three senior officials today announcing their exit. Błaszczak also . . . READ MORE . . .

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Germany is under increased pressure to send its Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Leila Fadel of NPR talks with Stefan Liebich, a former member of Germany’s Parliament, about his country’s reluctance to send tanks to Ukraine, and to allow other countries to do the same. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Ukraine offers Belarus non-aggression pact, Lukashenko says. From Tass. MINSK — Ukraine offers Belarus to sign a non-aggression pact, while simultaneously training militants that pose potential threat to Belarus’ national security, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said today. “I don’t know why . . . READ MORE . . .

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Is the hammer about to fall? by Mike Whitney | The Unz Review Ukrainian forces are now suffering unsustainable casualties on the battlefield, which is laying the groundwork for the inevitable splintering of the state. Whatever the outcome of the conflict may be, one thing is certain: Ukraine will no longer exist as a viable, independent, contiguous state. READ MORE . . .

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

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Ukraine reels from a devastating week. Reported by Elissa Nadworny | NPR  In the past few days, Ukraine saw an attack on an apartment building and a helicopter crash that killed a government official. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Russia and Ukraine are receiving new weaponry that could shape the war. Reported by Steve Inskeep and Greg Myre | NPR  There’s a growing expectation that Ukraine and Russia are headed for an escalation on the battlefield in the near future. This comes as both sides are receiving new supplies of weaponry. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Poland pushes for more tanks for Kyiv, will seek German OK, by Monika Scislowska | AP  WARSAW, Poland — Poland will ask Germany for permission to send some of the Polish army’s Leopard tanks to Ukraine, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said toay, as he pushes Europe to send more military hardware to Kyiv amid complaints that Germany is being too slow in helping to thwart Russia’s invasion. He said . . . READ MORE . . .

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France, Germany seek to relaunch ties despite Ukraine strains. From AFP. PARIS — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday sought to underline the importance of their nations’ postwar alliance, despite strains created by Russia’s invasion of . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russian troops advancing in all areas of Donbass front line, says DPR leader. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian troops are advancing practically in all the areas of the front line in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), acting DPR Head Denis Pushilin said today. The DPR territorial defense headquarters reported earlier today that Russian troops had liberated the communities of Krasnopolyevka and Dvurechye near Soledar. READ MORE . . .

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

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Russia increases shelling in regions outside Ukraine’s Donbas, by Maria Starkova | Reuters LVIV, Ukraine — Russia’s defence ministry says a recent offensive has put its army’s units in more advantageous positions along the Zaporizhzhia front line, a claim Ukrainian military officials called an exaggeration. Since . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia says held air defense training in Moscow region. From AFP. The Russian Defense Ministry said Saturday it held a training exercise on repelling air attacks in the Moscow region. READ MORE . . .

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U.S. presents information about DPRK’s alleged arms export – White House. From Tass. WASHINGTON — The U.S. handed over information allegedly proving arms shipments from North Korea to Russia, U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said Friday. “The arms transfers from the DPRK are in direct violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. So today . . . READ MORE . . .

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There’s no safe place in war, by Samya Kullab and Hanna Arhirova | AP  Since February 2022, Ukrainians have lost lives from missile strikes and battlefield combat, and civilians dying in schools, theaters, hospitals and apartment buildings. But this past week seemed to have a special cruelty . . . READ MORE . . .

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What it’s like to spend a winter in the trenches, according to Ukrainian soldiers. Reported by Tim Mak | NPR  Ukrainian soldiers in the country’s northeast describe winter living conditions in their trenches, in advance of a possible springtime Russian offensive. Click HERE to listen later and, still later, read.

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

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Allied nations — including the U.S. — met Friday to talk military support for Ukraine. Reported by Tom Bowman | NPR  Having announced one of its biggest aid packages yet, U.S. military officials met with allied nations to talk military support for Ukraine. German support for the war remains an unresolved question. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Allies offer more weapons to Ukraine, but no decisions made on tanks, by Idrees Ali and Tom Balmforth | Reuters  * U.S. urges Ukraine to hold off offensive * No agreement reached on Leopard tanks at Ramstein meeting * U.S. general says it will be hard to eject Russian forces * Improvised memorials laid in Russia for Dnipro victims | RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany/KYIV — Western allies on Friday dampened Ukraine’s hopes for a rapid shipment of battle tanks to boost its firepower for a spring offensive against Russian forces, with the United States urging Kyiv to hold off from mounting such an operation. In Ramstein, U.S. General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said . . . READ MORE . . .

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German caution on Ukraine arms rooted in political culture, by Geir Moulson | AP  BERLIN — Germany has become one of Ukraine’s leading weapons suppliers in the 11 months since Russia’s invasion, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz also has gained a reputation for hesitating to take each new step — generating impatience among allies. Berlin’s perceived . . . READ MORE . . .

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U.S. designates Russia’s Wagner military group an int’l ‘criminal organization.’ From AFP. The United States on Friday designated Russia’s Wagner group as a “transnational criminal organization,” piling pressure on the private Russian army fighting in Ukraine. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said . . . READ MORE . . .

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U.S., allies agree to impose two separate price caps on Russian oil products – statement. From Tass. WASHINGTON — Representatives of the so-called Price Cap Coalition have agreed to impose two separate price caps for Russian oil products based on their category, the U.S. Department of Treasury announced after Deputy Secretary Adewale Adeyemo’s meeting with counterparts with Coalition states. “The Deputies . . . READ MORE . . .

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Marine mammal casualties of Russia’s war. From Living on Earth/ NPR. Freelance journalist Alex Kroeber spoke with researchers about the war’s impacts on marine mammals in the Black Sea, where scientists have documented recent mass strandings of dolphins and porpoises. A key suspect is military sonar, which . . . Click HERE to listen.

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The dynamics of the effort to educate the public about the physics and chemistry of three World Trade Center skyscrapers’ rapid collapse on Sept. 11, 2001, have evolved over the years. Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth is the best-known of a dozen or so organizations challenging the government narratives. Money is needed to keep up the fight, There is Giving Tuesday every November. There are appeals to fund films. There are end-of-the-year appeals. The January one below weds text and voice in a single three-minute message. Give. — MCM    

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Project Due Diligence: The Fire Rises. From AE911Truth. Click HERE to listen and read. Alternately, click HERE to watch same video on YouTube and read other viewers’ comments. Or do both.

First, links to reports from National Public Radio, the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France Presse, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. And finally for today, a link to a column by a Brookings Institution fellow that appeared this week in the Washington Post and dozens of other newspapers. — MCM

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A tradition of plunging in an icy river persists in Ukraine, despite the war. Reported by Elissa Nadworny, photographer Claire Harbage and Hanna Palamarenko | NPR  DNIPRO, Ukraine — Many of the people here have been doing this for years and are far less interested in the washing away of their sins and more into the idea of a fresh start, a clean mind and a jump start as they begin the new year. “It gives you a little bit of . . . Click HERE to listen, read, and look at photos.

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Defense leaders meet amid dissent over tanks for Ukraine, by Lolita C. Baldor and Tara Copp | AP  RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — Defense leaders gathered at Ramstein Air Base in Germany heard an impassioned plea for more aid today from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as they struggled to resolve ongoing dissentover who will provide battle tanks and other military aid to his embattled country. “This is a . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine holds out for tanks as U.S. tells allies to ‘dig deeper’, by Idrees Ali and Tom Balmforth | Reuters * Pressure on Germany over its Leopard battle tanks * U.S. announces latest military aid package of up to $2.5 bln * CIA Director William Burns in secret Kyiv meeting with Zelenskiy | RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany/KYIV —  Ukraine said it expected strong decisions from NATO and other countries that are meeting on Friday to discuss whether to send modern battle tanks and the United States said it was time to “dig deeper” to help Kyiv confront Russian forces. The defence ministers’ talks at Ramstein Air Base in Germany follow . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine Says Detained 7 ‘Russian Agents.’ From AFP.  Ukraine said today it had detained seven people suspected of handing coordinates to Russian forces for strikes in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, where dozens of civilians were recently killed in a missile attack. The SBU security service . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russian engineering troops receive over 20 robotic vehicles — commander. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian defense enterprises delivered over 20 robotic vehicles to army engineers under the 2022 defense procurement plan, Chief of Russia’s Engineering Troops Lieutenant-General Yury Stavitsky said in an interview published today. “Under the state defense procurement . . . READ MORE . . .

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Why Ukraine’s allies are reluctant to send U.S. or German battle tanks. Reported by Steve Inskeep and Rob Schmitz | NPR  Ukraine’s allies are announcing their latest weapons packages for the country. But not all of them agree on whether to share western-designed and made heavy battle tanks. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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The time for incrementalism is over. Send in the tanks, by Michael O’Hanlon  | The Brookings Institution  WASHINGTON — The issue at hand is whether the United States and its allies should provide Kyiv with modern, Western-made heavy tanks — weapons that would greatly boost the Ukrainians’ battlefield power, especially for maneuver warfare of the type needed to retake much or most of the roughly 17 percent of Ukrainian territory that Russia still holds. (Britain has announced . . . READ MORE . . .