For today, links to three reports: from Reuters, the Associated Press, and National Public Radio, and to an interview from Consortium News — which does not mention Ukraine; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA, SYRIA and CARTER entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Ukraine’s Zelensky: Trump can be decisive in helping stop Russia’s Putin. From Reuters. KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that US President-elect Donald Trump could be decisive in the outcome of the 34-month-old war with Russia and help stop Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from AP.

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FROM JAN 2  How Trump can end the war in Ukraine, according to a former ambassador. Reported by Tinbete Ermyas, Jordan-Marie Smith, Andrew Limbong and Mallory Yu | NPR  Michael McFaul, who was U.S. Ambassador to Russia for two years during the Obama Administration, talks about the subject of his recent piece in Foreign Affairs, “How Trump Can End the War in Ukraine.” Click HERE to listen and read.

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An ignored U.S. diplomat’s warning on Russia, by Natylie Baldwin | Special to Consortium News  The National Security Archive recently published a 1994 memo, HERE, by E. Wayne Merry, a U.S. diplomat in Moscow, assessing U.S. policies toward a Russia that was in chaos. It  represented a different view of how the U.S.-led West could have managed its relationship with and guided reforms in post-Soviet Russia. READ MORE . . .