For today, links to reports from Tass, the Moscow Times, the Kyiv Post, Reuters, the Kyiv Independent, and Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM
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Crocus City Hall terror attack traced to Ukrainian special services — Patrushev. From Tass. ASTANA, Kazakhstan — The terror attack at the Crocus City Hall music venue in the Moscow suburb can be traced to Ukrainian special services and it is well known that the Kiev regime is fully controlled by the United States, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev said today. “They are . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russian military says recruited 100K contract soldiers since start of 2024. From the Moscow Times. Russia’s Defense Ministry said today that more than 100,000 people have signed up to fight as contract soldiers in the war against Ukraine so far this year. “Over the past week and a half, recruitment . . . READ MORE . . .
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Kremlin claims increase in Russians joining army to ‘take revenge’ for Crocus attack – Ukrainian intel rubbishes statement, by Kateryna Zakharchenko | Kyiv Post The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed today that more Russians are signing military contracts to fight in Ukraine in order to avenge the March 22 Crocus City Hall terrorist attack — an attack carried out by the Islamic State, but which the Kremlin has attempted to pin on Ukraine — where . . . READ MORE . . .
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NATO ministers mull 100 billion euro military fund for Ukraine, by Andrew Gray and John Irish | Reuters BRUSSELS, April 3 (Reuters) – NATO foreign ministers met today to discuss how to put military support for Ukraine on a long-term footing, including a proposal for a 100 billion euro ($107 billion) five-year fund and a plan seen as a way to “Trump-proof” aid for Kyiv. READ MORE . . .
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NEWER Russia says NATO, at 75, has returned to Cold War mindset. From Reuters. Russia says NATO has returned to a Cold War mindset as the alliance marks its 75th anniversary this week. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters that NATO has no place in the “multipolar world” that Moscow says it seeks. . . READ MORE . . .
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NEWER Pope deplores deaths in Gaza and Ukraine from ‘folly of war.’ From Reuters. VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis today issued a fresh appeal for peace in Gaza and Ukraine, deploring the killing of aid workers in an Israeli airstrike and paying tribute to a Ukrainian soldier who died in the war against Russia. READ MORE . . .
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WSJ: Macron privately pushed Biden, Scholz to adopt ‘strategic ambiguity’ toward Russia, by Martin Fornusek and news desk | The Kyiv Independent French President Emmanuel Macron held confidential calls with U.S. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in February to convince them about the need for strategic ambiguity in their approach toward Russia, the Wall Street Journal reported today, citing . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM APRIL 2 Life has returned to Ukraine’s Bucha. But 2 years after the killings, some families can’t move on, by Samya Kullab | AP BUCHA, Ukraine — Russian troops quickly occupied Bucha after invading Ukraine and stayed for about a month. When Ukrainian troops retook the town, they found what became known as the epicenter of the war’s atrocities. Dozens of bodies of men, women and children lay on the streets, in . . . READ MORE . . .