First, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, Tass, and the Moscow Times; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Then, links to two reports on a Monday session of the United Nations Security Council on a Russia-sponsored resolution proposing a U.N.-led probe of the Nord Stream pipeline explosions last September; the Consortium News report links to a UN news release on the meeting. — MCM
– – –
The war through Zelenskyy’s eyes, on train across Ukraine, by Julie Pace | AP ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — This week President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shuttled across the country on a 48-hour train trip to rally soldiers who are battling Russian forces — and, just as important, to buoy the communities often caught in the crossfire. In Zaporizhzhia, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the front lines, he came to see for himself the destruction from a Russian attack that . . . READ MORE . . .
– – –
Ukraine acknowledges Russian gains in Bakhmut; Moscow arrests U.S. reporter, by Pavel Polityuk | Reuters * UN sets aside Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant security zone plan * Ukraine strikes behind front line in Russian-occupied Melitopol | KYIV — Ukraine said on Thursday Russian forces had made some gains inside the eastern battlefield city of Bakhmut, but at a heavy price in lives lost that has blunted Moscow’s offensive as Ukraine prepares a counterstrike of its own. In a potential escalation of Moscow’s diplomatic feud with Washington, Russia’s FSB security service arrested an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Evan Gershkovich, on suspicion . . . READ MORE . .
– – –
Russian air defenses down Mi-8 helicopter in Ukraine operation, top brass reports. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian air defense forces intercepted a Ukrainian Grom-2 ballistic missile and shot down an Mi-8 helicopter over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov said today in a report that included details about battles in several areas of Ukraine. “Air defense capabilities shot down . . . READ MORE . . .
– – –
U.S. says Russia stalled in Bakhmut ‘slaughter-fest.’ From the Moscow Times. General Mark Milley, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday in Washington that Russia has not made “any progress whatsoever” around Bakhmut in the last roughly three weeks. “It’s a slaughter-fest for the Russians,” he added. Fighting in recent months has concentrated on the eastern city of Bakhmut, with Kyiv saying . . . READ MORE . . .
– – –
UN Security Council won’t probe Nord Stream blasts, by Michael Weissenstein | AP UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council on Monday declined a Russian request to investigate the blasts on the pipelines that move natural gas from Russia to Europe under the Baltic Sea. Russia, China and Brazil voted in favor of the Russian request, but other Security Council members abstained or said another investigation was unnecessary. For a resolution to be adopted . . . READ MORE . . .
– – –
UN Security Council rejects Nord Stream sabotage probe. From Consortium News. By a vote of three in favor — Russia, China and Brazil — and 12 abstentions, the United Nations Security Council on Monday refused to establish an independent U.N.-led investigation into the sabotage that destroyed the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea last September. Click HERE to watch and listen to speakers at the meeting and read comments by some participants afterwards.
– – –
MAY BE CONTINUED