Ukraine, 1-6-23

For now, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters. Tass, the Moscow Times, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Then, a link to commentary by a New York Times columnist. — MCM

   

Russian forces keep up pressure as Ukraine anniversary nears, by Susie Blann | AP  KYIV — Russian forces are keeping Ukrainian troops tied down with attacks in the eastern Donbas region as Moscow assembles additional combat power there for an expected offensive in the coming weeks, Ukrainian officials said today. Weeks of intense fighting continued . . . READ MORE . . .

   

Ukraine’s defence ministry in turmoil as Russia readies offensive, by Tom Balmforth and Pavel Polityuk | Reuters  * Reznikov’s reshuffle would be highest govt change in war * Budanov, head of spy agency, said to replace Reznikov * Reznikov instrumental in military aid to Kyiv – adviser * Slew of resignations, sackings over corruption | KYIV — Ukraine sent mixed messages over the fate of its defence minister on Monday, leaving a key post in its war effort in doubt even as it braces for a new Russian offensive. A day after announcing that Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov would be sidelined, a top ally of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy appeared . . . READ MORE . . .

   

Search underway for ways to protect troops from Ukrainian chemical weapons – DPR leader. From Tass. MOSCOW — A search for additional ways to protect troops from the chemical weapons that Ukrainian forces are using is underway in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the region’s Acting Head Denis Pushilin said today. “We currently seek to equip . . . READ MORE . . .

   

Amid Ukraine war, Kremlin orders nationwide bomb shelter overhaul, by Pyotr Kozlov | The Moscow Times  Bomb shelters across Russia are undergoing systematic inspections and repairs following a Kremlin order to upgrade the country’s crumbling Soviet-era infrastructure, according to some current and former officials. Many of Russia’s thousands of bunkers, reinforced cellars and other . . . READ MORE . . .

   

Examining the Wagner Group, a private military company that Russia has relied on. Steve Inskeep of NPR talks with András Rácz of the German Council on Foreign Relations, about the Russian-allied paramilitary organization Wagner Group, which is operating in Ukraine. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

   

How will Joe Biden be remembered in 50 years? by Bret Stephens | The New York Times Thirty-one tanks for Ukraine are better than none, even if they won’t arrive on the battlefield for months. So why not announce 62 tanks, or 124, which would bring Ukraine much closer to the 300 it says it needs to win? The old argument that these tanks are beyond Ukraine’s capabilities to operate is now inoperative. So is the argument . . . READ MORE . . .

   

MAY BE CONTINUED