First, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Then, links to two articles opposing U.S. policy toward Russia, the first in the context of NATO expansion and the second focusing on Washington’s prioritizing warfare over diplomacy. — MCM
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Russia launches ‘exceptional’ air attack on Kyiv as Europe, China look to exert influence, by Samya Kulla | AP KYIV — Ukrainian air defenses thwarted an intense Russian air attack on Kyiv early today, shooting down all 18 missiles aimed at the capital with the help of Western-supplied weapons, officials said. Loud explosions boomed over Kyiv as the nighttime attack combined Russian missiles launched from the air, sea and land in an apparent attempt to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses. No casualties were reported. The barrage . . . READ MORE . . .
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Kyiv says it shoots down volley of hypersonic missiles, by Gleb Garanich and Sergiy Karazy | Reuters * First time Kyiv has claimed to shoot down multiple Kinzhals * Putin had touted the nuclear-capable missile as a world beater * Ukraine preparing major counteroffensive * Already claims biggest battlefield gains for six months | KYIV — Ukraine said today it had shot down six Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missiles in a single night, thwarting a superweapon Moscow had previously touted as all but unstoppable. It was the first time Ukraine had claimed to have struck an entire volley of multiple hypersonic missiles, and if confirmed would be a demonstration of the effectiveness of newly deployed Western air defences. READ MORE . . .
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Russia says ‘all targets hit’ in overnight barrage on Ukraine. From AFP. Russia says that all the targets assigned by its military in an overnight missile barrage on Ukraine had been hit, after Kyiv announced it had downed nearly 20 Russian missiles. The defense ministry in Moscow says long-range precision-strike missiles had targeted . . . READ MORE . . .
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Situation in Artymovsk ‘tense’, but Russian forces continue to advance, says DPR head. From Tass. MOSCOW — The acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushilin, said today there were “fewer and fewer high-rises” in Artymovsk (Ukrainian name Bakhmut) controlled by the Ukrainian units.” READ MORE . . .
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Ukraine says recaptured 50 sq. km. near Bakhmut in recent days. From AFP. A Ukrainian deputy defence minister said today that Kyiv’s troops have pushed Russian forces from chunks of territory around the embattled city of Bakhmut in the east of the country. “In the last few days,” Ganna Malyar said, “our troops liberated around 20 square kilometers (7.7 square miles) in the north and south of the outskirts of Bakhmut. At the same time, . . . READ MORE . . .
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Why are we in Ukraine? On the dangers of American hubris, by Benjamin Schwarz and Christopher Layne | Harper’s Magazine From the early Nineties, Washington’s message to Moscow could not have been clearer or more disquieting: Normal diplomacy among great powers was obsolete. Russia was expected to acquiesce to a new world order created and dominated by the United States. The radical expansion of NATO’s writ reflected . . . READ MORE . . .
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Why RFK’s candidacy matters to the conservative cause, by David Stockman | antiwar.com There is nothing more stupid, pointless, unnecessary and morally repugnant than Washington’s proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. Owing to that folly, Ukrainians in their tens of thousands are being slaughtered and what was once the breadbasket and industrial heartland of eastern Europe is being smashed to smithereens. And all because . . . READ MORE . . .
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MAY BE CONTINUED