Links to several items of news and opinion related to the war in Ukraine follow the beginning of a column just below, which comes from Consortium News. — MCM
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The Casualties of Empire
The news reports come in daily from Moscow, Kiev and the Western capitals: how many dead since Russia began its intervention in Ukraine on Feb. 24, how many injured, how many hungry or cold, how many displaced. We do not know the true count of casualties and the extent of the suffering and ought not pretend we do: This is the reality of war, each side having its version of unfolding events.
My inclination is to add the deaths in Ukraine these past two weeks to the 14,000 dead and the 1.5 million displaced since 2014, when the regime in Kiev began shelling its own citizens in the eastern provinces — this because the people of Donetsk and Lugansk rejected the U.S.–cultivated coup that deposed their elected president. This simple math gives us a better idea of how many Ukrainians are worthy of our mourning.
As we mourn, it is time to consider the wider consequences of this conflict, for Ukrainians are not alone among its victims. Who else has suffered? What else has been damaged? This war is of a kind humanity has never before known. What are its costs?
Among paying-attention people it is increasingly plain that Washington’s intent in provoking Moscow’s intervention is, and probably has been from the first, to instigate a long-running conflict that bogs down Russian forces and leaves Ukrainians to wage an insurgency that cannot possibly succeed.
Is there another way to explain the many billions of dollars’ worth of weapons and matériel the U.S. and its European allies now pour into Ukraine? If the Ukrainians cannot win — a universally acknowledged reality — what is the purpose here?
Whether this strategy goes as Washington wants, or if Russian forces get their work done and withdraw to avoid a classic . . . READ MORE . . .
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Pain at the pump worsens as U.S. bans Russian fuel: Prices continue spiking, but some residents willing to pay up to help out by Tony Dobrowolski | The Berkshire Eagle PITTSFIELD — Anger, frustration, acceptance and doubt. Those were the main themes expressed by Berkshire motorists to the skyrocketing . . . Berkshire Eagle subscribers can READ MORE . . .
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Suffering continues in encircled Mariupol, by Mstyslav Chernov and Yuras Karmanau | The Associated Press MARIUPOL, Ukraine — Corpses lie in the streets of Mariupol. Hungry people break into stores in search of food and melt snow for water. Thousands huddle in basements, trembling at the sound of Russian shells pounding this strategic port city. READ MORE . . .
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U.S. bans import of Russian oil, by Zeke Miller, Mike Balsamo and Josh Boak | The Associated Press WASHINGTON — Striking harder at Russia’s economy, President Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered a ban on Russian oil imports in retaliation for Vladimir Putin’s onslaught in Ukraine. The major trade action, responding to the pleas of Ukraine’s embattled leader, thrust the U.S. out front as Western nations seek to help Putin’s invasion. READ MORE . . .
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AG keeping eye out for gas price gouging, by Will Katcher | [email protected] BOSTON — State Attorney General Maura Healy is monitoring gas prices after receiving complaints of price gouging, her office said yesterday, hours after Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin called for an investigation into record price hikes. Springfield Republican subscribers can READ MORE . . .
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How the Putin shock might affect the world economy, by Paul Krugman | The New York Times When Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, I think it’s safe to say that most observers expected him to get away with it. Surely Russia’s huge military would take Kyiv and other major cities within a few days; surely the West would respond with its usual timidity, giving Russia no more than a slap on the wrist. Instead . . . READ MORE . . .