For now, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Press, the Kyiv Post, the Kyiv Independent, and Tass, and to commentary published on Dec. 17 by Scheer Post; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names and initials below. (GAZA entry for this date, so far, and a HEINBERG entry are HERE and HERE.) — MCM
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Ukraine ends year disappointed by stalemate with Russia, and anxious about aid from allies, by Barry Hatton | AP The year started with high hopes for Ukrainian troops planning a counteroffensive against Russia. It ended with disappointment on the battlefield, an increasingly somber mood among troops and anxiety about the future of Western aid for Ukraine’s war effort. In between, there was . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russia has fired 7,400 missiles, 3,700 Shahed drones in war so far, Kyiv says. From Reuters. Russia has launched about 7,400 missiles and 3,700 Shahed attack drones at targets in Ukraine during its 22-month-old invasion, Kyiv said today. An Air Force spokesman said Ukrainian air defences were able to shoot down 1,600 of the missiles and 2,900 of the drones. “We are . . . READ MORE . . .
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NEWER Russia jails men for funding far-right Ukraine group. From AFP. Russia today handed long jail sentences to a Ukrainian man and another individual for financing an ultranationalist group in Ukraine by selling illegal drugs. Thousands of Russians have been detained for protesting Russia’s large-scale military campaign against Ukraine and . . . READ MORE . . .
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NEWER Defense minister considers drafting Ukrainians abroad. From Kyiv Post. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov discussed potential scenarios for conscripting Ukrainians living abroad into the Armed Forces in interviews with German publications Welt and Bild. He revealed . . . READ MORE . . .
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NEWER How Russian troops killed 3 unarmed teenagers in Ukrainian village, by Daria Shulzhenko | The Kyiv Independent Twin brothers Yevhen and Bohdan Samodii, 17, and their friend Valentyn Yakymchuk, 18, are among over 500 Ukrainian children who were killed by the Russian army after the beginning of the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office. The brothers’ murder is documented . . . READ MORE . . .
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NEWER Russia’s Chief of General Staff cites Ukrainian failure, Russian rearmament. From Tass. MOSCOW — The Russian forces in the zone of the special military operation are engaged in active defense and constantly expand the zones of control in all directions, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said in a briefing for foreign military attaches reported today. Kiev has . . . READ MORE . . .
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Impeachment: Biden under formal investigation, by Patrick Lawrence | Scheer Post The Justice Department’s nine-count indictment of Hunter Biden makes no mention of his violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which is the front door leading to Pop’s collaboration as Hunter sold vice-presidential access to the Ukrainians, the Chinese, the Kazakhs, and others. It will be interesting nonetheless to see how this sop to demands for justice . . . READ MORE . . .
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MAY BE CONTINUED