First, word of a talk tomorrow about the war by semi-retired foreign correspondent and recent six-year Ukraine resident James Brooke, in person at a church but also available on Zoom; Berkshire Eagle reporter quizzes him. Second and third, Reuters and Associated Press reports from Ukraine, both with links to the news services’ related stories. Then, Joe Lauria of Consortium News notes reaction to a Ukrainian’s address to the Greek parliament. Finally, the Australian blogger Caitlin Johnstone sees hypocrisy in Twitter’s labeling a British politician’s account “Russian state-affiliated media.” — MCM
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Can Ukraine Beat Russia? We asked Lenox journalist James Brooke, formerly based in Kyiv, what he thought, by Clarence Fanto | The Berkshire Eagle LENOX — Is there a chance that in what’s often described as a David vs. Goliath war, Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, could claim a strategic victory against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s armed forces? That’s among the intriguing questions to be explored by veteran international journalist James Brooke during a 4 p.m. discussion Saturday at Trinity Episcopal Church, 88 Walker St. For 24 years, Brooke was a foreign correspondent for The New York Times, followed by eight years based in Moscow for Bloomberg News and then for the Voice of America. Before returning to Lenox, his hometown, last September, he spent six years in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital city, reporting for a newsletter on the nation’s business and politics. . . . The in-person, free 45-minute talk at the church, including a Q&A period, also will be available on Zoom via Trinitylenox.org. All donations — in person, by check, or online — will be sent to the International Rescue Committee for Ukraine. . . . Eagle subscribers can read more HERE.
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Ukraine says 39 killed in rocket strike on rail evacuation hub, by Natalia Zinets and Sergiy Karazy | Reuters * Ukrainian negotiator says talks with Russia continue * Russia cites ‘significant losses’ on battlefield * Zelenskiy pushes West to do more, calls for full energy ban * Teams scour rubble of destroyed buildings in towns near Kyiv LVIV/BORODYANKA, Ukraine — At least 39 people were killed and 87 wounded on today when two rockets hit a railway station in eastern Ukraine packed with evacuees, Ukrainian authorities said, as the region braced for a major Russian offensive. Reuters could not immediately verify the information coming from the city of Kramatorsk. Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of the Donetsk region, said thousands of civilians had been at the station at the time the rockets struck, in what he described as a deliberate attack. Many of the wounded were in serious condition, he said. . . . Reuters could not immediately verify the photo. The Russian defence ministry was quoted by RIA news agency as saying the missiles said to have struck the station were used only by Ukraine’s military and that Russia’s armed forces had no targets assigned in Kramatorsk . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russian missile kills 30 civilians at train station, by Adam Schreck and Andrea Rosa | The Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine — A missile hit a crowded train station in eastern Ukraine that was an evacuation point for civilians, killing dozens of people, Ukrainian authorities said today after warning they expected even worse evidence of war crimes in parts of the country previously held by Russian troops. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that thousands of people were at the train station when the missile struck. The Russian Defense Ministry denied targeting the station in Kramatorsk, a city in the eastern Donetsk region, but Zelenskyy blamed Russia for the bodies lying in what looked like an outdoor waiting area. “The inhuman Russians are not changing their methods. Without the strength or courage to stand up to us on the battlefield, they are cynically destroying the civilian population,” the president said on social media. . . . The regional governor of Donetsk . . . said that 39 people were killed and 87 wounded. READ MORE . . .
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Outrage as Azov Nazi Addresses Greek Parliament, by Joe Lauria | Consortium News Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been making a virtual world tour with video hookups to parliaments around the globe, as well as to the Grammy Awards and the U.N. Security Council, sometimes with troublesome results. Yesterday a major row erupted when Zelensky brought along a Ukrainian soldier of Greek heritage from the city of Mariupol, who just happened to be a member of the neo-Nazi Azov Regiment. Greece was under Nazi occupation during World War II and fought a bitter partisan war against Nazism (later to be betrayed by Britain and the United States.) With Zelensky in the screen, the man, who gave only his first name, told Parliament: “I speak to you as a man of Greek descent. My name is Michail. My grandfather fought against the Nazis in the Second World War. I am born in Mariupol and I am now also fighting to defend my city from the Russian nazis.” Alexis Tsipras, leader of the main opposition party, SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance, blasted the appearance of the Azov fighter before parliament. . . . Former Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras called the video being played in parliament a “big mistake” READ MORE . . .
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Twitter IS ‘State-Affiliated Media,’ by Caitlin Johnstone | caitlinjohnstone.com British politician and broadcaster George Galloway has made headlines in the UK with his threat to press legal action against Twitter for designating his account “Russia state-affiliated media”, a label which will now show up under his name every time he posts anything on the platform. . . . Galloway argues that while his broadcasts have previously been aired by Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik, because those outlets have been shut down in the UK by Ofcom and by European Union sanctions he can no longer be platformed by them even if he wants to. If you accept this argument, then it looks like Twitter is essentially using the “state-affiliated media” designation as a marker of who Galloway is as a person, rather than as a marker of what he actually does. . . . [T]his all overlooks the innate absurdity of a government-tied social media corporation like Twitter labeling other people “state-affiliated media”. READ MORE . . .
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TO BE CONTINUED