For today, a link to reporting and commentary from a Substack writer, followed by links to reports from  the Associated Press, Reuters, and Tass; other articles are accessible by clicking on their sources’ website address, name or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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General to general, by Seymour M. Hersh | seymourhersh.substack.com  President Joe Biden and his foreign policy aides have been left on the outside as serious peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have rapidly gained momentum. The driving force of those talks has not been Washington or Moscow, or Biden or Russian President Vladimir Putin, but instead the two high-ranking generals who run the war . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian spy agency stages train explosions on a Russian railroad in Siberia, Ukrainian media say, by Hanna Arhirova | AP  KYIV — Ukraine’s spy agency staged two successive explosions on a railroad line in Siberia that serves as a key conduit for trade between Russia and China, Ukrainian media reported Friday. The attacks underscored Moscow’s vulnerability amid the war in Ukraine. Ukrainska Pravda and other . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant suffered power outage, energy ministry says. From Reuters. KYIV — Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant lost its power supply after the last remaining line to it from Ukrainian-controlled territory was disrupted, but it has since been repaired, the energy ministry said today. The plant was occupied by Russia in March 2022 and is no longer generating power, but needs a supply of electricity to cool . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine loses roughly 315 troops in Zaporozhye area in past week — top brass. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian forces have maintained active defense in the Zaporozhye area in the past week as they repelled 14 Ukrainian attacks near Rabotino and Verbovoye in the Zaporozhye Region, with the enemy losing roughly 315 troops, Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a weekly report. In the south Donetsk area . . . READ MORE . . .