First, links to reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, Tass, and Agence France-Presse; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Next, a link to a column in today’s Berkshire Eagle by its foreign affaires writer. Finally for today, from Consortium News, military analysis in a discussion and a related article. — MCM
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Russia acknowledges retreat north of Bakhmut, Wagner boss calls it a ‘rout’, by Olena Harmash and Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey | Reuters * Russia says some troops north of Bakhmut pull back to regroup * ‘A rout, not a regrouping,’ says mercenary head * Russia says 1,000 men, 40 tanks involved in Ukrainian assault * Ukraine military says its forces advance | KYIV — Moscow acknowledged on Friday that its forces had fallen back north of Ukraine’s battlefield city of Bakhmut after a new Ukrainian offensive, in a retreat that the head of Russia’s Wagner private army called a rout. The setback for Russia comes . . . READ MORE, see map . . .
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Zelenskyy, in Rome for talks with pope, hears Italian president say, ‘We’re at your side,’ by Frances D’Emilio | AP ROME — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Rome today for talks with Italian officials and Pope Francis, who has said the Vatican has launched a behind-the-scenes initiative to try to end the war launched last year by Russia. Francis recently said . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russian assault teams liberate one quarter in Artyomovsk’s northwest – top brass. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian assault teams have liberated one quarter in the northwestern part of the city of Artyomovsk (called Bakhmut in Ukraine), Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said today. . . . READ MORE . . .
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Moscow says Kyiv using U.K. missiles to hit ‘civilian targets.’ From AFP. Moscow said today that Kyiv used British long-range missiles to target civilian sites in the eastern city of Luhansk, wounding six children. “Storm Shadow air-to-air missiles . . . READ MORE . . .
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Germany unveils 2.7 bn euro weapons package for Ukraine. From AFP. Germany is preparing a new weapons package for Ukraine worth 2.7 billion euros, reportedly Berlin’s largest since Russia invaded last year, the defence ministry said today. “We all hope for a rapid end to this terrible . . . READ MORE . . .
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Drinks group Pernod Ricard announces Russia pullout. From AFP. French drinks giant Pernod Ricard said Friday it had stopped exporting all its brands to Russia and would no longer distribute them following public pressure over its business activities there. The group, which . . . READ MORE . . .
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For Russia, it’s 1916 all over again, by James Brooke | The Berkshire Eagle Today, as Russia’s battlefield casualties soar in Ukraine, many Russians sense the nation again is watching a regime lose its grip. Essayists hark back to the dark days of World War I, when battlefield failures and bread riots combined to topple Czar Nicholas II from the gold and silver throne that Romanovs occupied for three centuries. READ MORE . . .
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‘Depleted Ukranium.’ Elizabeth Vos and Joe Laria of Consortium News talk with journalists John Pilger and Phil Miller about the announcement that Britain would send depleted uranium shells for use with Challenger 2 tanks in Ukraine, a move escalating nuclear tensions with Russia — President Vladimir Putin threatened days later to place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. The U.K. move comes amid indications that Kiev is increasingly desperate, to the point of being willing to risk scorching the earth it is fighting for. Click HERE to read and to watch the interview.