Some news and views on the war are below, most with the titles as they appeared elsewhere. — MCM
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The Associated Press is continually updating its main war story that appeared in today’s Berkshire Eagle headed “Russian forces continue shelling: Barrage targeted at Ukraine’s No. 2 city as ceasefire talks continue. For a version in the Huffington Post, click HERE.
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From the Spanish news service EFE: Huge Russian Convoy Descends on Kyiv as Shelling Kills Dozens of Soldiers “A huge Russian military convoy inched closer to Kyiv on Tuesday as day six of Moscow’s invasion began with the shelling of a northeastern military base that killed dozens of Ukrainian soldiers, and a missile strike hit the center of Kharkiv. The latest photos of Moscow’s armored convoy descending on Ukraine’s capital shows it is larger than initially thought. According to new satellite images from Maxar Technologies, the convoy northwest of Kyiv stretches from near Antonov air base, about 30 kilometers from the center of the capital, for 64 kilometers (40 miles) and consists of armored vehicles, tanks, artillery and other vehicles. Images taken earlier Monday gave the impression the vehicles stretched around 27km.”
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A page just turned in Europe’s history book: James Brooke begins a column in the weekend edition of the Eagle: “In the future, we will remember Feb. 24 alongside 9/11 and Dec. 7. Although Russia’s invasion is not a bolt from the blue like Pearl Harbor or the attack on the World Trade Center, many people did not believe last week that Russia would actually invade Ukraine.” Brooke’s views are informed by his experience as a reporter in many countries, including Russia, for the New York Times, Bloomberg, and Voice of America, and by his residence for six years in Ukraine. Eagle subscribers can read the whole column HERE.
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Putin the Apostate: Matt Taibbi begins his latest essay like this: “The president of the Council of Foreign Relations, Richard Haass, made an extraordinary statement over the weekend. ‘Just days ago much of the world was focused on the unwanted prospect of regime change in Ukraine,’ he tweeted. ‘Now the conversation has shifted to include the possibility of desired regime change in Russia.’ Senior Brookings Institute fellow Benjamin Wittes was even more explicit: ‘Regime change: Russia.’” For the whole thing, click HERE.
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Putin’s Nuclear Threat: “Vladimir Putin is a madman. He’s lost it. At least that is what the leaders of the West would like you to believe,” Scott Ritter begins a column for Consortium News. “According to their narrative, Putin — isolated, alone, confused, and angry at the unfolding military disaster Russia was undergoing in Ukraine — lashed out, ostensibly threatening the entire world with nuclear annihilation. In a meeting with his top generals on Sunday, the beleaguered Russian president announced . . . “ READ MORE . . .
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NATO Too Weak to Face Russia: Ritter chats for 40 minutes, HERE, last Thursday with Richard Medhurst. Although five days old, the interview is well worth watching if only to see which of Ridder’s predictions have come true and which haven’t, and to guess which could.
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Vladimir Putin’s Clash of Civilizations: New York Times columnist Ross Douthat begins, in the Eagle and (among other papers) the San Juan Daily Star: “When the United States, in its hour of hubris, went to war to remake the Middle East in 2003, Vladimir Putin was a critic of U.S. ambition, a defender of international institutions and multiculturalism and national sovereignty. This posture was cynical and self-interested in the extreme. But it was also . . .” READ MORE . . .