First, links to reports from National Public Radio, Reuters, the Associated Press, Tass, Agence France-Presse, and the Moscow Times; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Then, via The Unz Review, a link to the latest from an analyst based in Washington state who writes from a libertarian perspective and, at last count, 258 comments; included at the end is a video interview from last month with a retired U.S. Army colonel. — MCM
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Blinken calls for more support for Ukraine and a united front against China. Reported by Michele Kelemen | NPR Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called for more support for Ukraine and a united front against China. The new ambassador to Russia had a confirmation hearing, and Russia canceled arms control talks. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Ukraine says Russia pulls back forces from river towns opposite Kherson, by Tom Balmforth | Reuters * Kyiv: Russia withdraws some troops from Oleshky, nearby towns * Ukrainian embassy in Spain hit by letter bomb * Heavy trench warfare in east as winter sets in | KYIV— Ukraine’s military said on Thursday Russia had pulled some troops from towns on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River from Kherson city, the first official Ukrainian report of a Russian withdrawal on what is now the main front line in the south. The statement gave . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russian FM: U.S., NATO directly involved in Ukraine conflict. From AP. MOSCOW — Russia’s foreign minister today accused the West of becoming directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine by supplying it with weapons and training its soldiers. “You shouldn’t say that the U.S. and NATO aren’t taking part in this war, you are directly participating in it,” Sergey Lavrov said in a video call with reporters. “And not just by . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russia targets only Ukraine’s military potential-related infrastructure – Lavrov. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russia hits only those infrastructure facilities in Ukraine that have military significance, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today. He said high-accuracy strikes, “put energy facilities, on which the functioning of Ukraine’s armed forces and the delivery of a huge amount of weapons depends, out of commission. The West . . . READ MORE . . .
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Kremlin says Ukraine tribunals will not have ‘legitimacy.’ From AFP. The Kremlin said today that any tribunal established to prosecute alleged Russian crimes in Ukraine would lack legitimacy and not be recognised by Moscow, after the EU said it was eyeing such a court.
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Russia bans public discussions of army strategy, troop morale, mobilization. From the Moscow Times. Russian authorities have banned public discussions of a wide range of non-classified military subjects that activists say will effectively prevent the public from learning crucial information about the Armed Forces. The 60-point Federal Security Service (FSB) order, which enters into force today . . . READ MORE . . .
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The EU aims to find a way to hold Putin responsible for war crimes in Ukraine. A Martínez of NPR talks with Luis Moreno Ocampo, former chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Court, about an EU proposal for a special war crimes court in Ukraine. Click HERE to listen sometime today and, later, read.
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Putin’s remedy: A fragmented, toothless Ukraine separated by a 100-kilometer-wide no-man’s-land, by Mike Whitney | The Unz Review How does this end? How does Russia create a “neutral” Ukraine that isn’t armed-to-the-teeth by Moscow’s enemies? How do they prevent Kiev from conducting joint-military drills with NATO or placing missile sites on Russia’s border? How do they . . . READ MORE . . .