Ukraine, 5-22-22

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 . . .

Ukraine, 5-21-22

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

Ukraine, 5-20-22

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 , 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

 

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Ukraine, 5-19-22

To begin, links to Associated Press and Reuters reports related to the war in Ukraine; click on the news agencies’ names below for links to their other stories. Next, via Consortium News and Global Research, links to commentary that emphasizes diplomacy to avoid or end wars. Finally, links to three reports from National Public Radio. — MCM

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Russia-Ukraine war impact draws focus of G7 finance leaders, by Fatima Hussein and Frank Jordans |The Associated Press KOENIGSWINTER, Germany — Finance ministers for the Group of Seven leading economies will work today to deal with the immediate effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, overtaking their more ambitious plans to reform the global economy. A refugee crisis, high inflation, food insecurity exacerbated by the war and climate change, and the ramifications of a multiyear pandemic are just a few issues drawing leaders’ attention.  German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, the meeting’s host, said he’s hopeful the world’s leading democracies can agree on further funding for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia. Lindner [said] Ukraine will likely need “a number of double-digit billion euros” over the coming . . . READ MORE . . .

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AP Exclusive: Captive medic’s bodycam shows firsthand horror of Mariupol, by Vasilisa Stepanenko and Lori Hinnant | AP KHARKIV, Ukraine — A celebrated Ukrainian medic recorded her time in Mariupol on a data card no bigger than a thumbnail, smuggled out to the world in a tampon. Now she is in Russian hands, at a time when Mariupol itself is on the verge of falling. Yuliia Paievska is known in Ukraine as Taira, a moniker from the nickname she chose in the World of Warcraft video game. Using a body camera, she recorded 256 gigabytes of her team’s frantic efforts . . . READ MORE . . .

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Italy’s Draghi urges Ukraine ceasefire, skirts issue of arms shipments, by Gavin Jones and Angelo Amante | Reuters ROME — Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called today for an urgent ceasefire in Ukraine to enable a negotiated end to the war and said Italy would continue supporting Kyiv, without ruling out the supply of weapons. Draghi, who has taken a hard line against Russia since its Feb. 24 invasion of its neighbour, said it was important to maintain pressure through economic sanctions “because we have to bring Moscow to the negotiating table. . . . A ceasefire must be achieved as soon as . . . READ MORE . . .

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New ‘disinformation’ board on hold, by Nomaan Merchant and Amanda Seitz | AP WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday paused a new and controversial board’s work on disinformation and accepted the resignation of its leader, capping weeks of concerns about impinging on free speech rights and frenzied conspiracy theories about the board itself. Former Disinformation Governance Board director Nina Jankowicz told The Associated Press hours after resigning . . . READ MORE . . .

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Turkey, NATO & Peace in Ukraine, by Craig Murray | Consortium News I am in Turkey because, if there is to be movement in ending the war in Ukraine, it will happen here. President Recep Erdogan’s firm stance on a potential veto of Swedish and Finnish NATO membership is framed in public only in relation to perceived support by those countries for Kurdish resistance groups. But of course, it goes much deeper. Erdogan understands . . . READ MORE . . .

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Death by a Thousand Cuts: Where Is the West’s Ukraine Strategy? by Pepe Escobar | Global Research While we are all familiar with Sun Tzu, the Chinese general, military strategist and philosopher who penned the incomparable Art of War, less known is the Strategikon, the Byzantium equivalent on warfare. Sixth century Byzantium really needed a manual, threatened as it was from the east, successively by Sassanid Persia, Arabs and Turks, and from the north, by waves of steppe invaders, Huns, Avars, Bulgars, semi-nomadic Turkic Pechenegs and Magyars. Byzantium could not prevail . . . READ MORE . . .

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Courtroom drama: Ukrainian widow confronts Russian who shot her husband. Reported by Greg Myre, Julian Hayda and Leila Fadel | National Public Radio. KYIV, Ukraine — In an emotional scene in a Kyiv courtroom, a Ukrainian widow today spoke directly to the Russian soldier who’s pleaded guilty to killing her husband. The widow, Kateryna Shelipova, broke down in tears on the witness stand. But she was allowed . . . Click HERE to read more and listen.

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Why does Turkey object to Finland and Sweden joining NATO? Reported by Peter Kenyon | NPR Sweden and Finland officially applied to join NATO, but Turkey’s president may oppose their acceptance into the military alliance. There is an international push to resolve Turkey’s objections. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Mariupol has fallen to Russia. Here’s what that means for Ukraine. Reported by Becky Sullivan and Laurel Wamsley | NPR The Ukrainian city of Mariupol is now in Russian hands, after more than two months of bitter fighting and constant Russian shelling that destroyed massive swaths of the city and killed thousands of civilians, according to local . . . Click HERE to read and listen.

 

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Ukraine, 5-18-22

To begin, reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, and National Public Radio. Then, via Global Research, Popular Resistance and the New York Times, analysis, reporting and commentary. It should be kept in mind that the Times published the article and the op-ed two or three days before U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s telephone conversation with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on May 13 (recorded in this blog the following day). — MCM

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Interrogation, uncertainty for soldiers abandoning Mariupol, by Oleksandr Stashevskyi and Ciaran McQuillan | The Associated Press KYIV — Russia said today that nearly 1,000 Ukrainian troops at a giant steelworks in Mariupol have surrendered, abandoning their dogged defense of a site that became a symbol of their country’s resistance, as the battle in the strategic port city appeared all but over. Ukraine ordered the fighters to save their lives — and said their mission to tie up Russian forces is now complete — but has not called the column of soldiers walking out of the plant a surrender. The fighters face an uncertain fate, with Ukraine saying they hope for a prisoner swap but Russia vowing to try at least some of them for war crimes. READ MORE . . .

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Russia uses new generation of laser weapons in Ukraine, by Guy Faulconbridge | Reuters LONDON — Russia today said it was using a new generation of powerful laser weapons in Ukraine to burn up drones, deploying some of Moscow’s secret weapons to counter a flood of Western arms supplied to its former Soviet neighbor. President Vladimir Putin . . . mentioned one called Peresvet, named after a medieval Orthodox warrior monk Alexander Peresvet who perished in mortal combat. Yury Borisov, the deputy prime minister in charge of military development, told a conference in Moscow that Peresvet was already being widely deployed and it could blind satellites up to 1,500 km above Earth. He said, though, that . . . READ MORE . . .

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A lawmaker returned home to Ukraine’s south and formed his own reconnaissance team. Reported by Frank Langfitt | National Public Radio Col. Roman Kostenko, a Ukrainian lawmaker, has built a reconnaissance and sabotage team to target Russian forces. His ultimate goal: free his family village from Russian control. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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A Ukrainian refugee is still teaching her students, who are spread around the world. NPR’s Ari Shapiro talks with Ukrainian refugee Daria Bietschasna about what life is like some two months after she fled Ukraine. “All what we get from life is opportunities,” she said, among other things. Listen HERE.  

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The significance of McDonald’s golden arches in Russia. NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Kristy Ironside, a Russia historian at McGill University, about the significance of McDonald’s leaving Russia. Listen HERE.

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Are the U.S. and Ukraine Winning? By Julian Macfarlane | Global Research As you may know, some organizations, including SouthFront are talking about UAF “successes” in the Karkhov region as the RF pulls back and re-positions to strengthen itself in the Izyum area. SouthFront has generally taken the position that the Russians are fighting with one hand tied behind their collective back, and need to devote more resources to the Ukraine — and just get it over with. Theirs is a more conventional military view than mine, although . . . READ MORE . . .

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N.Y. Times Shifts Pro-war Narrative, Documents Failure of U.S. in Ukraine, by John V. Walsh | Popular Resistance The New York Times has a job to do — and it has done that job spectacularly well over the past few months. The Times is a leader, in the opinion of this writer, THE leader in spelling out the U.S. narrative on the war in Ukraine, a tale designed to keep up morale, give the war a high moral purpose and justify the untold billions pouring from the taxpayers’ pockets into Joe Biden’s proxy war on Russia. Day in and day out in page after page of word and picture it has been instructing one and all, including politicians and lower level opinion shapers, exactly what to think about the war . . . . So, when the Times says that things are not going well for the U.S. and its man in Kiev, Volodymyr Zelensky, it . . . tells . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russians Hold Much of the East, Setbacks Aside, by Michael Schwirtz, Marc Santora and Michael Levenson | The New York Times Russia’s . . . invasion of neighboring Ukraine has been punctuated by flawed planning, poor intelligence, barbarity and wanton destruction. But obscured in the daily fighting is the geographic reality that Russia has made gains on the ground. The Russian Defense Ministry said [early last week] that its forces in eastern Ukraine had advanced to the border between Donetsk and Luhansk, the two Russian-speaking provinces where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukraine’s army for eight years. The ministry’s assertion, if confirmed, strengthens the prospect . . . READ MORE . . .

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America and Its Allies Want to Bleed Russia. They Really Shouldn’t. By Tom Stevenson | The New York Times The war in Ukraine has entered a new phase. . . . At first, the Western support for Ukraine was mainly designed to defend against the invasion. It is now set on a far grander ambition: to weaken Russia itself. Presented as a common-sense response to Russian aggression, the shift, in fact, amounts to a significant escalation. By expanding support to Ukraine across the board and shelving any diplomatic effort to stop the fighting, the United States and its allies have greatly increased the danger of an even larger conflict. They are taking a risk far out of step with any realistic strategic gain. READ MORE . . .

Ukraine, 5-17-22

First, links to reports from the Associated Press and Reuters; click on the news services’ names for others. Next, links to two looks, both unfavorable, at a new federal government panel and its head. — MCM

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Ukraine working to pull last fighters from Mariupol mill, by Oleksandr Stashevskyi and Ciaran McQuillan | The Associated Press KYIV — Hundreds of Ukrainian fighters defending the last holdout in Mariupol were evacuated to areas controlled by Russian-backed separatists and officials worked today to get the rest out, signaling the beginning of the end of a siege that became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance. Russia called the operation a mass surrender. The Ukrainians avoided using that word . . . . Other fighters . . . remain inside the Azovstal steelworks . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine will get worse for isolated Russia, analyst says on state TV, by Guy Faulconbridge | Reuters LONDON — One military analyst had a brutally frank message Monday night for viewers of Russian state television: The war in Ukraine will get much worse for Russia, which is facing a mass mobilization supported by the United States while Russia is almost totally isolated. READ MORE . . .

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How Disagreement Became ‘Disinformation,’ by Barton Swain | The Wall Street Journal The preoccupation with “misinformation” and “disinformation” on the part of America’s enlightened influencers last month reached the level of comedy. The Department of Homeland Security chose a partisan scold, Nina Jankowicz, to head its new Disinformation Governance Board despite her history of promoting false stories and repudiating valid ones—the sort of scenario only a team of bumblers or a gifted satirist could produce. Less funny but similarly paradoxical was Barack Obama’s April 21 address lamenting online disinformation, in which he propounded at least one easily disprovable assertion. Tech companies, the former president said, . . . READ MORE . . .

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Oh God It’s Going to Get SO Much Worse, by Caitlin Johnstone | Caitlin’s Newsletter Rightists have spent the last couple of days freaking out and invoking Orwell’s 1984 in response to something their political enemies are doing in America, and for once it’s for a pretty good reason. The Department of Homeland Security has secretly set up a “Disinformation Governance Board“, only informing the public about its plans for the institution after it had already been established. The disinformation board, which critics have understandably been calling . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

 

Ukraine, 5-16-22

This updated post first links to reports and photos from the Associated Press, Reuters and TeleSUR, then to several reports from Sunday’s and today’s “Morning Edition” on National Public Radio. — MCM

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In Ukraine and internationally, scenario darkens for Russia, by Oleksandr Stashevskiyi and Ciaran McQuillan | The Associated Press KYIV — Europe pushed today to sharpen and expand its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Sweden poised to follow Finland in seeking membership of NATO and European Union officials working to rescue proposed sanctions that would target the Russian oil exports helping finance the war. On the ground, Russia saw more setbacks in its offensive in the east, where Ukrainian defenders are fighting desperately against attempted advances and even successfully rolling back the front lines in some areas. . . . [A patrol of Ukrainian soldiers] recorded triumphant video of their push to the Russian border in the region of Kharkiv. Ukrainian forces have already driven Russian troops back from the region’s capital . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russian forces fall back in northeast Ukraine, McDonald’s retreats from Moscow, by Jonathan Landay and Tom Balmforth |   Reuters* Ukraine says its forces have pushed through to Russian border * Russia warns of consequences over Finland, Sweden NATO move * NATO chief says Russian offensive not going to plan *  Situation still tough in south | RUSKA LOZOVA, Ukraine/KYIV — Ukrainian troops have pushed Russian forces back from the northeastern city of Kharkiv and some have advanced as far as the border with Russia, Ukrainian officials said today. The developments, if confirmed, would signal a further shift in momentum in favour of Ukraine . . . Sweden meanwhile was expected to take a formal decision on today to apply to join NATO following a similar move by Finland — a change in the Nordic countries’ long-standing policy of neutrality brought on by the Russian invasion and concern about President Vladimir Putin’s wider ambitions. . . . Moscow warned of “far-reaching consequences” should they should go ahead. And in another setback for Putin, McDonald’s Corp MCD.N, the world’s largest fast food chain, said it was pulling out of Russia because of the conflict. In Brussels, the European Union was working on a package of further economic sanctions on Russia . . . READ MORE . . .

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Surging natural gas prices squeeze U.S. industrial sector, by Marcy de Luna and Bianca Flowers |Reuters HOUSTON/CHICAGO — Skyrocketing natural gas prices have raised manufacturing and transportation costs across many U.S. industries, and the situation should persist as the United States exports more gas to Europe to make up for Russian supplies lost to sanctions. U.S. natural gas futures have doubled this year, far more than the increases in retail gasoline and diesel that have made Americans angry at the U.S. energy industry and the government. Many industrial company executives believe . . . READ MORE . . .

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‘No Other Nation Fosters Neo-nazism Like Ukraine’, Putin Warns. From TeleSUR. At the opening of a meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) today, Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the indifference of Western countries to the Ukrainian sponsoring of neo-Nazism. “There are extremists everywhere, but in no country other than Ukraine do the authorities encourage tribute to neo-nazis in mass marches with torches and fascist symbols,” Putin highlighted, stressing that this situation will eventually affect Western countries’ interests. OTSC countries condemned attempts to falsify historical events related to the fight against nazism. They also stressed . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine makes advances in the northeast around Kharkiv. Reported by Jason Beaubien | National Public Radio Ukrainian troops are pushing Russian troops away from the country’s second largest city. That is allowing residents to move out of subway stations and try to resume something of a normal life. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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A Ukrainian band is this year’s Eurovision Song Contest winner.  Reported by NPR. The band Kalush Orchestra mixes traditional folk music with contemporary hip hop. Their song “Stefania” took the first-place prize. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Finland monitors Russia’s movements as it waits for acceptance into NATO. NPR’s Steve Inskeep talks to Mikko Hautala, Finnish ambassador to the United States, about his country’s bid to join NATO after decades of remaining neutral. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Volunteers in Ukraine risk their lives to distribute supplies under constant shelling. Reported by  | NPR In some Eastern Ukraine cities, volunteers risk their lives to deliver food and medicine to those afraid to leave their homes because of constant shelling. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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McConnell says the Senate will pass the largest Ukraine aid package yet on Wednesday. Reported by Deirdre Walsh | NPR. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who led a delegation of Senate Republicans to meet with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Saturday said he expected the Senate to approve a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine on Wednesday. McConnell said he supported adding Russia to the list of state sponsors of terrorism and would back holding a vote on the issue, but urged President Biden to do it on his own. Speaking from Stockholm . . . Click HERE to read more and listen.

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McConnell heads to Kyiv and becomes the latest U.S. official to meet with Zelenskyy. Reported by Greg Myra | NPR. LVIV, Ukraine — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell joins a list of U.S. leaders who have visited Ukraine, heading a delegation of four Republican senators to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Zelenskyy described Saturday’s visit as “a strong signal of bipartisan support for Ukraine from the United States Congress.” Sens. Susan Collins, John Cornyn and John Barrasso joined McConnell on this trip, which came amid a hold-up in the Senate over a $40 billion aid package to Ukraine. McDonald’s is exiting Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, pulling out of a market it’s been a part of for 32 years. The fast-food giant had previously paused its operations in Russia less than two weeks into the brutal conflict being waged over Ukraine’s future. Click here to listen and read.

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McDonald’s is leaving Russia, after more than 30 years. Reported by Bill Chappell | NPR. McDonald’s is exiting Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, pulling out of a market it’s been a part of for 32 years. The fast-food giant had previously paused its operations in Russia less than two weeks into the brutal conflict being waged over Ukraine’s future. McDonald’s wants to sell its entire slate of restaurants in the country to a Russian buyer. To prepare for that sale, it will start “de-arching” , , , Click HERE to read more and listen.

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TO BE CONTINUED

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Ukraine, 5-15-22

Please find below and read Elizabeth Woodworth’s review of an essay by Michael David Morrissey entitled “War Madness.” Her review substitutes for what has become a daily selection of links to news service reports and commentary relating to the war in Ukraine. As with those, each link in her review and in Morrissey’s essay is worth exploring. Click on the titles to get to the originals. — MCM

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Ukraine: Avoiding Armageddon Is Simplicity Itself: Review of a Particularly Important Essay

Review by Elizabeth Woodworth

“War Madness,” by Michael David Morrissey (May, 2022)

Both Michael David Morrissey, the author of this insightful essay, and I lived through the Vietnam “war” (which was never declared as war by the U.S. Congress).

We remember the intense anti-Vietnam War movement (1964-1973), with its mass demonstrations, sit-ins, teach-ins, draft dodgers, and desertions and mutinies within the U.S. armed forces.

There was no Internet at that time. 

But at least there was still a functioning media, which helped to end the war by publishing the Pentagon Papers in 1971.

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Today, says Morrissey, Congress and the one-voice media are united in their drumbeat that “Putin, a.k.a ‘Hitler,’ launched an unprovoked aggressive war against plucky, freedom-loving Ukraine because he wants to recreate the Soviet Union and must be stopped by all means necessary.”

Accordingly, the U.S. and its obedient NATO allies are waging a proxy war against Russia — even to the extent of risking nuclear war.

For the general public, Morrissey writes, few alternative voices exist:

RussiaToday.com and SputnikNews.com and official Russian government websites (with transcripts of speeches and press conferences of government officials, in English!) have been banned in the US and in Europe. . . . Those who stray from the accepted doctrine . . . are being excluded not only from the MSM but also from social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and even PayPal with no explanation, much less justification.

There is no antiwar movement [now], just a few dissident voices on the internet that, with almost no exceptions (like Tucker Carlson), are banned from the major newspaper and television outlets. Unless you seek them out, you will not hear from people like John Mearsheimer, Stephen Cohen (RIP), Noam Chomsky, Michael Hudson, Ray McGovern, Scott Ritter, Max Blumenthal, Aaron Maté, Pepe Escobar, Jimmy Dore, Chris Hedges, Caitlin Johnstone, Dan Kovalik, Tulsi Gabbard, Rand Paul, Richard Medhurst, Eva Bartlett or websites like ConsortiumNews.com, TruthOut.org, AntiWar.com, OpEdNews.com, TheGrayZone.com, MintPressNews.com, Telesurtv.net, Multipolarista.com, OrinocoTribune.com, MoonofAlabama.org, TheSaker.is, et al.

As they are banned from Facebook and Twitter and YouTube, they migrate to new, smaller outlets like Substack.com, Telegram.org, and Rumble.com.

What, then, is the most important thing we are missing?

If these ethical voices were heard through a traditionally balanced fourth estate, the relatively young post-Vietnam and post-9/11 public would learn about

“the neo-Nazis in the Ukraine government and military, the eight years of Ukrainian terrorism against the Russian-speaking people of the Donbass resulting in 14 thousand deaths since 2014, the failure of the Ukrainians to implement the 2015 Minsk 2 agreement, the 32 years of NATO eastward expansion despite Russian protests and warnings, and now, bringing all this to a head, the continuing refusal of the US/NATO and Ukraine to commit themselves to excluding Ukraine from NATO.”

Yet we hear nothing of the context of Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine.

Of over-riding importance is that in 1990, an international agreement between Germany and its four occupying powers during WWII (France, Soviet Union, UK, and U.S.) allowed for the reunification of Germany if NATO would not expand “one inch eastward.”

Nonetheless, Germany — the primary beneficiary of this agreement — has stood by and watched since 1990 as 14 countries, mostly to its east, joined NATO – including five on Russia’s borders.

On April 1, 2022, Morrissey notes, the Wall Street Journal reported, at the end of a long article, that German chancellor Olaf Scholz  “made one last push for a settlement between Moscow and Kyiv. He told Mr. Zelensky in Munich on Feb. 19 that Ukraine should renounce its NATO aspirations and declare neutrality as part of a wider European security deal between the West and Russia. The pact would be signed by Mr. Putin and Mr. Biden, who would jointly guarantee Ukraine’s security.”

However, Ukraine’s President Zelensky, saying that Putin could not be trusted to uphold such an agreement, had rejected it.

Morrissey interprets:

This “shows Scholz knew exactly what was needed to prevent the war. If the same proposal had been made to Zelensky by Joe Biden, it would not have been rejected. Ukraine would not have been able to fight the Russians effectively, and would not have wanted to, without American support.

However, lacking backbone, Chancellor Scholz did not allow the rejection to be reported in the German press for 40 days, until after it appeared in the WSJ.

Regarding Scholz’s “one last push,” Morrissey writes that in fact

This proposal had never been made, either to Zelensky or to the Russians, and if it had been – by the US – there would have been no invasion and no war, and everyone would have been happy except the fools and warmongers  in Washington who think the war will weaken Russia and bring about regime-change in Moscow – as well as fill the coffers of the arms industry.

A solution was there for the taking, given a little courage:

If Scholz had had the guts to announce to the world that he had made this offer to Zelensky instead of keeping it secret, Zelensky would not have been able to reject it out of hand and the US would have been forced to choose between supporting its NATO ally or supporting Zelensky…

If Scholz had accompanied his proposal by declaring formally that Germany, for one, would never allow Ukraine into NATO, that in itself might well have been enough for Russia to call off the invasion.

The astonishing simplicity of a solution the U.S. and its puppet Zelensky clearly do not welcome

Morrissey concludes:

All it would have taken, and all it would take now, is a simple No.

No to Ukraine ever joining NATO, no to nuclear weapons in Ukraine, and no to Ukraine’s refusal to implement the Minsk 2 agreement, and as Scholz quite reasonably proposed, a declaration of neutrality “as part of a wider European security deal between the West and Russia.”

I fail to see how any rational person can fail to see the common sense and utter simplicity of this, as an alternative to war.

Why is this simple solution so important?

As Oliver Stone has recently written, the failure to talk has brought us to the brink of Armageddon once again:

This disconnect between us and Russia is the most dangerous element in the world right now. By rejecting any such information under the catch-all, guilt-denying, feel-good misnomer of “Russian disinformation,” are we not allowing ourselves to be misled once again, as we were in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, etc., etc.?

Remember that, in the depths of the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, it was the desperate last-minute attempts of John and Robert Kennedy, Nikita Khrushchev, and Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin to talk that prevented a possible nuclear apocalypse.

This is exactly what President Vladimir Putin has been waiting for.

Gallery

Ukraine, 5-14-22

Below are links to reports from the Associated Press, the Daily Mail, and Reuters. Then, via Consortium News, a link to Scott Ridder’s askance look at three American volunteers’ service in a Ukrainian Army auxiliary unit. — MCM

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Russians withdraw from around Kharkiv, batter east, by Oleksandr Stashevskyi and David Keaton | The Associated Press  KYIV — Russian troops are withdrawing from around Ukraine’s second-largest city after bombarding it for weeks, the Ukrainian military said today, as Kyiv and Moscow’s forces engaged in a grinding battle for the country’s eastern industrial heartland. Ukraine’s general staff said the Russians were pulling back from the northeastern city of Kharkiv and focusing on guarding supply routes, while launching mortar, artillery and airstrikes in the eastern Donetsk province in order to “deplete Ukrainian forces and destroy fortifications.” Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine was “entering a new – long-term – phase . . . READ MORE . . .

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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin demands immediate ceasefire during first call to Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine, by Rob Crilly | Daily Mail U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin talked to his Russian counterpart by telephone on Friday for the first time since Moscow invaded Ukraine, and called for an immediate ceasefire. American officials had repeatedly expressed frustration at Russian refusals to maintain communications during the conflict. But on day 79 of the war, the Pentagon announced that Austin had spoken to Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu. ‘Secretary Austin urged an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication,’ said spokesman John Kirby. A senior U.S. defense official said the two had spoken for about an hour in a ‘professional’ call requested by Austin. ‘I won’t speak for the Russians,’ said the official, ‘but I think . . . the message was received with respect to keeping the lines open”. READ MORE . . .

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Turkey ‘not closing door’ to Sweden, Finland NATO entry, Erdogan advisor says, by Orhan Coskun, Jonathan Spicer and Can Sezer | Reuters * Finland wants to join NATO * Sweden expected to follow suit in bid to join alliance * Turkey wants its security concerns to be considered | ISTANBUL — Turkey has not shut the door to Sweden and Finland joining NATO but wants negotiations with the Nordic countries and a clampdown on what it sees as terrorist activities especially in Stockholm, President Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman said today. “We are not closing the door. But we are basically raising this issue as a matter of national security . . . READ MORE . . .

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Live-Action Role Play in Ukraine, by Scott Ridder | Consortium News Malcolm Nance, Dennis Diaz and Willy Joseph Cancel: Their experiences — one fatal — offer a sobering view of Americans in the International Legion of the Territorial Defense of Ukraine. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

Ukraine, 5-13-22

Reports from the Associated Press and Reuters are followed by two pieces passed along by Consortium News. In the first a public policy analyst laments the damage the war is doing to already insufficient worldwide efforts to combat global warming. In the other, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel looks at Washington’s addiction to “persistent warfare.” — MCM

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Ukraine puts Russian solider accused of war crime on trial, by Oleksandr Stashevskyi | The Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine — The trial of a Russian soldier accused of killing a Ukrainian civilian opened today, the first war crimes trial since Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor. Scores of journalists packed inside a small courtroom in the Ukrainian capital where the suspect appeared in a small glass cage . . . READ MORE . . .

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Rand Paul stalls quick Senate OK of $40B Ukraine package, by Alan Fram | AP WASHINGTON — Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul defied leaders of both parties Thursday and single-handedly delayed until next week Senate approval of an additional $40 billion to help Ukraine and its allies withstand Russia’s three-month old invasion. With the Senate poised to debate and . . . READ MORE . . .

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UK says new sanctions hit Putin’s network including ex-wife and cousins. From Reuters. LONDON — Britain said on Friday it had imposed its latest round of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s financial network, including his ex-wife and cousins. “We are exposing and targeting the shady network propping up Putin’s luxury lifestyle and tightening the vice on his inner circle,” foreign minister Liz Truss said in a statement. “We will keep going with sanctions on all those aiding and abetting Putin’s aggression until . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine: U.S. Gas & Europe’s Decarbonization Hit, by Michael Davies-Venn | International Politics and Society Links between global energy policy and the war in Ukraine are becoming increasingly clear. The connection is illustrated in as yet perhaps one of the most unfortunate geopolitical outcomes from the ongoing war. While the European Union’s decision to buy more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States may seem to solve short-term supply energy problems on the continent, it also consolidates the EU’s fossil fuel energy infrastructure. At the same time, it weakens that of renewable energy, creates a leadership vacuum on addressing global climate change, and may well undermine how the EU implements its European Green Deal. It’s important to bear in mind that methane, the main gas in LNG . . . READ MORE . . .

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Five Reasons for Washington’s War Addiction, by William J Astore | TomDispatch Why has the United States already become so heavily invested in the Russia-Ukraine war? And why has it so regularly gotten involved, in some fashion, in so many other wars on this planet since it invaded Afghanistan in 2001? Those with long memories might echo the conclusion reached more than a century ago by radical social critic Randolph Bourne that “war is the health of the state” or recall the ancient warnings of this country’s founders like James Madison that democracy dies not in darkness, but in the ghastly light thrown by too many bombs bursting in air for far too long. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED