For today, links to reports from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, and the Kyiv Post, and to commentary from Indian Punchline and Marianne; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and ASSANGE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM
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Zelenskyy fires more aides in a reshuffle as Russia launches drones and missiles across Ukraine. From AP. KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today dismissed his longtime presidential assistant, three advisers and two presidential representatives in a continuing reshuffle, while Russia unleashed fresh attacks overnight. READ MORE . . .
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Russia moves 5,000 children from Belgorod after Kyiv attacks. From AFP. Five thousand children have been evacuated from Russia’s Belgorod region bordering Ukraine following weeks of deadly bombardment by Kyiv, the region’s governor said today. Regional authorities last week said 9,000 minors would be moved to other . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM MARCH 29 Kyiv’s top general says Ukraine needs fewer troops than expected. From Reuters. KYIV — Ukraine’s military will need to mobilise fewer people than initially expected to fend off Russia’s two-year-old invasion, Kyiv’s top general said on Friday. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in December . . . READ MORE . . .
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France-led coalition of allies could portend Western troops to Ukraine, by Viktoriia Stepanenko | Kyiv Post Following a Feb. 26 European leaders conference in Paris about strengthening support for Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters that despite the lack of consensus on sending ground troops to Ukraine, “nothing could be ruled out.” Other EU leaders promptly denied that any such plan was on the cards, including . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM MARCH 14 France all dressed up and nowhere to go, by M.K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline Angst in the French mind is understandable as five centuries of western dominance of the world order is drawing to a close. This predicament condemns France to a diplomacy that . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM MARCH 7 From caution to panic: What Macron’s turn hides, by Laurent Valdiguié | Marianne What happened to the president when he considered sending troops to Ukraine? Several confidential defense reports explain . . . Click HERE for article in English, and HERE for it in French.