For today, links to reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, the Kyiv Independent, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initals below. (GAZA entry for this date and two ASSANGE entries are HERE, HERE, and HERE.) — MCM
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Putin wants Ukraine ceasefire on current frontlines, sources say, by Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Osborn | Reuters MOSCOW / LONDON — Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to halt the war in Ukraine with a negotiated ceasefire that recognises the current battlefield lines, four Russian sources told Reuters, saying he is prepared to fight on if Kyiv and the West do not respond. Three of the sources . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russia smashes train tracks in a battered Ukrainian border region where children are being evacuated, by Illia Novikov | AP KYIV — A nighttime Russian attack destroyed train tracks and rolling stock in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, officials said today, and authorities organized the evacuation of children from the area that is being pummeled by the Kremlin’s forces in a powerful new offensive. Since May 10 authorities have evacuated more than 11,000 . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russian troops ‘bogged down’ in battle for Vovchansk, Ukraine says. From AFP. Russian forces have become “bogged down” trying to capture the Ukrainian border town of Vovchansk, Ukraine’s top general Oleksandr Syrsky said Friday, though fighting on the eastern front remains intense. Kyiv has been trying . . . READ MORE . . .
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General Staff: Russian troops halted in Kharkiv sector, Ukraine conducts counterattacks, by Kateryna Denisova | The Kyiv Independent Ukrainian forces halted Russian troops in the Kharkiv sector and are conducting counterattacks, a representative of the Main Operational Directorate of Ukraine’s General Staff, said today. Russia launched a new offensive on May 10 in . . . READ MORE . . .
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Russian troops blocking Starlink service in Ukraine — NYT. From Tass. NEW YORK — Russian troops have been using jamming systems to disupt Starlink service for Ukraine’s armed forces and interfere with their drone navigation, The New York Times reported. According to the U.S. newspaper, Starlink satellite . . . READ MORE . . .
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Kremlin condemns calls for Kyiv to use U.S. arms in Russia. From AFP. Moscow today attacked “hothead” U.S. lawmakers after mounting calls, including from House Speaker Mike Johnson, for Ukraine to be allowed to fire donated American weaponry into Russia. Johnson on Wednesday said . . .READ MORE . . .
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FROM MAY 23 Critics call Blinken’s embrace of Ukrainian attacks on Russia ‘deeply ill-advised,‘ by Brett Wilkins | Common Dreams Anti-war voices this week sounded the alarm over U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s newfound embrace of letting Ukraine use weapons supplied by the United States to attack targets inside Russia— a policy critics say risks a catastrophic escalation between the world’s two top nuclear powers. So far, the Biden administration . . . READ MORE . . .