First, links to reports from National Public Radio, the Associated Press, and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. Then, via Consortium News, a link to a look at “labor liberalization” measures passed this week by Ukraine’s parliament. Next, via the Moscow Times, a link to an essay about Vladimir Putin and his views, by a senior associate at the Carnegie Moscow Center. — MCM
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U.S. defense officials pledge to keep weapons supply flowing to Ukraine. Reported by Leila Fadel and Greg Myre | National Public Radio Nearly five months into Russia’s war in Ukraine, it increasingly looks like a war of attrition. At the Pentagon, the top leaders spoke about how the U.S. is adapting to this reality. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.
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Major gas pipeline from Russia to Europe restarts after a break for maintenance. Reported by Rachel Martin and Esme Nicholsom | NPR The operator announced that natural gas started flowing through a key pipeline after a 10-day shutdown. The gas flow was expected to fall well short of full capacity and the outlook was uncertain. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.
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The war in Ukraine has dramatically affected businesses — big and small. Reported by Jason Beaubien | NPR Businesses in Ukraine face numerous challenges in the midst of the war. Some have shutdown entirely, while others are scrambling to find new ways to operate. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.
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A man must decide to flee Ukraine to join his family or stay to care for his parents. Reported by Eleanor Beardsley | NPR A Ukrainian man is being forced to choose between the two: a wife and three children who have fled the country and aging parents who are trapped behind enemy lines. Click HERE to listen and read.
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HIMARS and howitzers: West helps Ukraine with key weaponry. From the Associated Press. The message to U.S. lawmakers from Ukraine’s first lady, delivered amid stark and graphic images of civilian bloodshed, couldn’t have been clearer: After nearly five full months since Russia launched its invasion, Olena Zelenska said that her country needs more Western weapons. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent her to Washington to appeal directly to U.S. Congress for air defense systems. The appeal Wednesday came as Russia suggested it plans . . . READ MORE . . .
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In occupied south Ukraine, some fear a return to Soviet times under Russia, by Tom Balmforth and Stefaniia Bern | Reuters KYIV — In Nova Kakhovka, a city in southern Ukraine occupied by Russian troops five months ago on the first day of its invasion, the signs of creeping annexation by Russia are mounting and some residents fear a return to Soviet times. A statue of Russian Communist leader Vladimir Lenin, erected in April, stands in the city centre, where the Russian and Soviet flags have been hoisted. On the side of police cars patrolling the streets, the Ukrainian word “politsiya” has been repainted in Russian. Some shops . . . READ MORE . . .
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Ukraine Uses Russian Invasion to Wreck Workers’ Rights, by Thomas Rowley and Serhiy Guz | Consortium News / openDemocracy The Ukrainian parliament has passed two new radical measures on labour liberalisation, prompting fears of Ukrainians losing workplace rights permanently as Russia’s war puts huge pressure on the country’s economy. In two laws passed on Monday and Tuesday, MPs voted to legalise “zero-hours contracts” and made moves towards removing up to 70 percent of the country’s workforce from protections guaranteed by national labour law. The latter . . . READ MORE . . .
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The Unique Banality of Vladimir Putin: We’ve seen it all a thousand times before, by Andrei Kolesnikov | The Moscow Times / The New Times Two years ago in an interview with the Financial Times, Vladimir Putin said categorically: “Liberalism is obsolete.” Years have come and gone, and here he is again pushing the theory of anti-liberalism to justify his militaristic and imperialist policies. Liberalism may be obsolete, but throughout human history the rejection of its practical application leads to . . . READ MORE . . .
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TO BE CONTINUED