For today, links to reports from Agence France-Presse, Reuters, the Kyiv Post, the Associated Press, the Kyiv Independent, and National Public Radio, and to commentary from Kyiv Post; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for today and an ASSANGE entry for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM
– – –
Biden slaps sanctions on 500 targets involved in Russia ‘war machine,‘ by Beiyi Seow | AFP U.S. President Joe Biden today announced sanctions on more than 500 targets in Russia on the second anniversary of the Ukraine invasion. The sanctions, described by the Treasury Department as . . . READ MORE . . .
– – –
Russian drone strike on Ukrainian regions kills four, Kyiv says. From Reuters. KYIV — Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian regions in the south and east killed four people overnight and damaged residential and commercial buildings, officials said today. Ukrainian air defences shot down 23 out of . . . READ MORE . . .
– – –
Kremlin follows up Medvedev call for Odesa to rejoin Russia with drone strike killing three, by Stefan Korshak | Kyiv Post Former Russian president Dmitriy Medvedev on Thursday said all Russians love the Ukrainian city of Odesa and hope and pray for its return to the Russian fold. Later the Kremli hit the Black Sea port with kamikaze drones, killing three residents including a child. Medvedev is currently deputy head of the ARussia’s National Security Council. READ MORE . . .
– – –
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is in Ukraine to meet Zelenskyy as U.S. aid hangs in the balance, by Mary Clark Jalonik | AP WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is in Ukraine today to try to reassure President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials that Congress will deliver another round of U.S. aid, even as a package that would provide $60 billion is stalled in the U.S. House. Schumer’s surprise trip . . . READ MORE . . .
– – –
FROM FEB. 22 ‘Our reserves will run out:’ Ukrainian artillery sounds alarm on Western shell shortage, by Francis Farrell | The Kyiv Independent DONETSK OBLAST – Over winter, Russian forces have been on the offensive in the area, pushing past the ruined Bakhmut towards the Ukrainian stronghold of Chasiv Yar. Assaults on Ukrainian positions are carried out on a daily basis, but the shells lined up in the storage racks of a U.S.-built . . . READ MORE . . .
– – –
Emboldened in Ukraine, Russia marks patriotic holiday. From AFP. President Vladimir Putin today hailed Russia’s “heroes” fighting in Ukraine on the eve of the second anniversary of the Kremlin’s offensive, with Moscow bolstered by gains against ammunition-starved Ukrainian troops. His message came on Russia’s Defender of the Fatherland Day patriotic holiday, which . . .READ MORE . . .
– – –
Putin will continue destruction if he ‘does not pay the price’: Biden. From AFP. U.S. President Joe Biden said today that fresh sanctions imposed on Russia will force President Vladimir Putin to pay “an even steeper price” for his war in Ukraine and the death in prison of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. “They will . . . READ MORE . . .
– – –
As Russian troops advance, Kharkiv residents are determined to stay in the city. Reported by Joanna Kakissis | NPR Two years since Russia’s invasion, the Ukrainian border city of Kharkiv prepares for a long war by building entire school systems underground. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
– – –
What Feb. 24, 2022, means for us – Garton Ash, Dickinson, Bociurkiw, Hodges. From Kyiv Post. In connection with the second anniversary of Russia launching its all-out war against Ukraine, we have invited a number of prominent political, business and military people, analysts and journalists, to share their thoughts on what this somber date means for them and for all of us. Here is the first group. READ MORE . . .