For today, links to reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, and Tass, followed by commentary from Responsible Statecraft and Indian Punchline; other articles are accessible by clicking on the sources’ names or initials below. (Today’s GAZA entry is HERE.) — MCM
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Russian forces intensify pressure on Ukraine’s Avdiivka, Kherson. From Reuters. Russian forces aiming to contain a four-month-old Ukrainian counteroffensive maintained unrelenting pressure on Sunday on the shattered town of Avdiivka in the east and intensified shelling in the southern area of Kherson. Russia has focused on the industrial east since pulling back . . . READ MORE . . .
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A price cap on Russian oil aims to starve Putin of cash. But it’s largely been untested. Until now, by David McHugh | AP FRANKFURT, Germany — For months after Ukraine’s Western allies limited sales of Russian oil to $60 per barrel, the price cap was still largely symbolic. Most of Moscow’s crude — its main moneymaker — cost less than that. But the cap was there in case oil prices rose — and would keep . . . READ MORE . . .
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Ukraine’s military loses 285 troops in Donetsk area over past day. From Tass. MELITOPOL — MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/. Russian forces struck Ukrainian army units in the Donetsk area, killing and wounding roughly 285 enemy troops over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Battlegroup South Spokesman Vadim Astafyev reported on Monday. Russian forces also . . . READ MORE . . .
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U.S. ATACMs in Ukraine gamble with future civilians’ lives, by Titus Peachy | Responsible Statecraft Cluster bombs violate the most central principle of international humanitarian law. They fail to distinguish between military targets and civilian life in two significant ways. They are difficult to target precisely, creating a large “footprint” of harm that often includes civilians. And many do not explode on impact, but persist over time, maiming and killing whoever disturbs them long after wars end. The fact . . . READ MORE . . .
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Biden gives booster dose to the faltering Ukraine war, by M. K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline In President Biden’s formal address to the nation from the Oval Office last Thursday, the bedrock of his argument was that resolute support of U.S. allies is essential for preserving American primacy in the world. The main plot was that the hybrid war in Ukraine will continue so long as he remains in office in the White House. It has morphed into a “forever war”. READ MORE . . .