First, links to reports from Tass, the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, and the Moscow Times; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. — MCM
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Top Russian diplomat arrives in New York – Foreign Ministry. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has arrived in New York, where he will participate today and tomorrow in UN Security Council sessions, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. Lavrov, who was expected to hold a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today, invited the top diplomats of several countries, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to participate in UNSC sessions chaired by Russia. The issue of . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russia ‘will not forgive’ U.S. denial of journalist visas. From AP. MOSCOW — Russia said Sunday that the United States has denied visas to journalists who wanted to cover Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s trip to New York, and Lavrov suggested that Moscow would take strong retaliatory measures. “A country that calls itself the strongest, smartest, free and fair country has . . . READ MORE . . .
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China respects ex-Soviet states as sovereign nations – foreign ministry. From Reuters. BEIJING — China respects the status of the independent sovereign nations that emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Chinese foreign ministry said today, after Beijing’s envoy to Paris on Friday sparked a diplomatic storm by questioning their sovereignty. China’s foreign ministry . . . READ MORE . . .
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Wagner boss says forces won’t take any more prisoners in Ukraine. From AFP. The chief of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said his men fighting in the flashpoint eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut would kill rival soldiers and take no more prisoners. He was reacting to a Wagner-affiliated Telegram channel’s posting of an alleged recording of what it said were two Ukrainians deciding to shoot a Russian prisoner of war. READ MORE . . .
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Ukrainian troop positions spark counteroffensive speculation, by David Rising and Joanna Kozlowska | AP KYIV — Ukrainian military forces have successfully established positions on the eastern side of the Dnieper River, according to a new analysis, giving rise to speculation Sunday that the advances could be an early sign of Kyiv’s long-awaited spring counteroffensive. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russian forces thwart Kiev’s counteroffensive in Artyomovsk, top brass reports. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian assault teams continue fighting Ukrainian troops in the western areas of Artyomovsk and artillery, combat aircraft and paratroopers thwarted Kiev’s attempt to counter-attack on the flanks over the past day during the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov said today in a briefing that included other . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russia claims progress in battle for Bakhmut. From Reuters. Russia on Sunday said its forces had advanced in Bakhmut while a top Ukrainian commander said his troops were holding the frontline through the city, all but destroyed in some of the bloodiest combat of the 14-month war. However, Ukrainian Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi shared . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russia says repels drone attack on Black Sea fleet. From the Moscow Times. Russian forces repelled a drone attack on annexed Crimea Monday night, the Russian-installed governor of the port of Sevastopol said. The report is in a Moscow Times collection of Ukraine war news items. READ MORE . . .
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MAY BE CONTINUED