To begin, links to Associated Press and Reuters reports related to the war in Ukraine; click on the news agencies’ names below for links to their other stories. Next, via Consortium News and Global Research, links to commentary that emphasizes diplomacy to avoid or end wars. Finally, links to three reports from National Public Radio. — MCM
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Russia-Ukraine war impact draws focus of G7 finance leaders, by Fatima Hussein and Frank Jordans |The Associated Press KOENIGSWINTER, Germany — Finance ministers for the Group of Seven leading economies will work today to deal with the immediate effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, overtaking their more ambitious plans to reform the global economy. A refugee crisis, high inflation, food insecurity exacerbated by the war and climate change, and the ramifications of a multiyear pandemic are just a few issues drawing leaders’ attention. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, the meeting’s host, said he’s hopeful the world’s leading democracies can agree on further funding for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia. Lindner [said] Ukraine will likely need “a number of double-digit billion euros” over the coming . . . READ MORE . . .
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AP Exclusive: Captive medic’s bodycam shows firsthand horror of Mariupol, by Vasilisa Stepanenko and Lori Hinnant | AP KHARKIV, Ukraine — A celebrated Ukrainian medic recorded her time in Mariupol on a data card no bigger than a thumbnail, smuggled out to the world in a tampon. Now she is in Russian hands, at a time when Mariupol itself is on the verge of falling. Yuliia Paievska is known in Ukraine as Taira, a moniker from the nickname she chose in the World of Warcraft video game. Using a body camera, she recorded 256 gigabytes of her team’s frantic efforts . . . READ MORE . . .
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Italy’s Draghi urges Ukraine ceasefire, skirts issue of arms shipments, by Gavin Jones and Angelo Amante | Reuters ROME — Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called today for an urgent ceasefire in Ukraine to enable a negotiated end to the war and said Italy would continue supporting Kyiv, without ruling out the supply of weapons. Draghi, who has taken a hard line against Russia since its Feb. 24 invasion of its neighbour, said it was important to maintain pressure through economic sanctions “because we have to bring Moscow to the negotiating table. . . . A ceasefire must be achieved as soon as . . . READ MORE . . .
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New ‘disinformation’ board on hold, by Nomaan Merchant and Amanda Seitz | AP WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday paused a new and controversial board’s work on disinformation and accepted the resignation of its leader, capping weeks of concerns about impinging on free speech rights and frenzied conspiracy theories about the board itself. Former Disinformation Governance Board director Nina Jankowicz told The Associated Press hours after resigning . . . READ MORE . . .
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Turkey, NATO & Peace in Ukraine, by Craig Murray | Consortium News I am in Turkey because, if there is to be movement in ending the war in Ukraine, it will happen here. President Recep Erdogan’s firm stance on a potential veto of Swedish and Finnish NATO membership is framed in public only in relation to perceived support by those countries for Kurdish resistance groups. But of course, it goes much deeper. Erdogan understands . . . READ MORE . . .
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Death by a Thousand Cuts: Where Is the West’s Ukraine Strategy? by Pepe Escobar | Global Research While we are all familiar with Sun Tzu, the Chinese general, military strategist and philosopher who penned the incomparable Art of War, less known is the Strategikon, the Byzantium equivalent on warfare. Sixth century Byzantium really needed a manual, threatened as it was from the east, successively by Sassanid Persia, Arabs and Turks, and from the north, by waves of steppe invaders, Huns, Avars, Bulgars, semi-nomadic Turkic Pechenegs and Magyars. Byzantium could not prevail . . . READ MORE . . .
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Courtroom drama: Ukrainian widow confronts Russian who shot her husband. Reported by Greg Myre, Julian Hayda and Leila Fadel | National Public Radio. KYIV, Ukraine — In an emotional scene in a Kyiv courtroom, a Ukrainian widow today spoke directly to the Russian soldier who’s pleaded guilty to killing her husband. The widow, Kateryna Shelipova, broke down in tears on the witness stand. But she was allowed . . . Click HERE to read more and listen.
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Why does Turkey object to Finland and Sweden joining NATO? Reported by Peter Kenyon | NPR Sweden and Finland officially applied to join NATO, but Turkey’s president may oppose their acceptance into the military alliance. There is an international push to resolve Turkey’s objections. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.
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Mariupol has fallen to Russia. Here’s what that means for Ukraine. Reported by Becky Sullivan and Laurel Wamsley | NPR The Ukrainian city of Mariupol is now in Russian hands, after more than two months of bitter fighting and constant Russian shelling that destroyed massive swaths of the city and killed thousands of civilians, according to local . . . Click HERE to read and listen.