First, links to reports from the Associated Press, National Public Radio, Agence France-Presse, Tass, Reuters, and the Moscow Times; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. — MCM
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High-level talks in Ukraine yield little reported progress, by Derek Gatopoulos and Suzan Fraser | AP LVIV, Ukraine — Turkey’s leader and the U.N. chief met in Ukraine with President Volodymr Zelenskyy on Thursday in a high-powered bid to ratchet down a war raging for nearly six months. But little immediate progress was reported. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would follow up with Russian President Vladimir Putin, given that most of the matters discussed would require the Kremlin’s agreement. READ MORE . . .
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The United Nations wants to avoid a nuclear disaster in Ukraine. Reported by Leila and Frank Langfitt | NPR U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is in Ukraine where he is calling for the Russian and Ukrainian armies to back away from a nuclear power plant over fears of a nuclear catastrophe. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.
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Zelensky rules out any ‘peace’ without Russian troop withdrawal. From AFP. LVIV, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday ruled out peace with Russia unless it withdraws its troops from Ukraine, speaking after talks with his Turkish counterpart, and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Zelensky told reporters he was “very surprised” to hear from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Russia was “ready for some kind of peace“, adding: “First they should leave our territory and then we’ll see”.
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Russia deploys hypersonic missiles to its Baltic exclave, by Vladimir Isachenkov | AP MOSCOW — The Russian military said Thursday that it has deployed warplanes armed with state-of-the-art hypersonic missiles to the country’s westernmost Baltic region, a move that comes amid soaring tensions with the West over Moscow’s action in Ukraine. Russia’s Defense Ministry said three MiG-31 fighters with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles arrived . . . READ MORE . . .
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U.S. dooming EU to hunger, cold, isolation in bid to cling to power, says Duma Speaker. From Tass. MOSCOW — The United States seeks to maintain its “power over the world” by damaging European countries and actually dooming them to isolation, Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said toiday. . . .”Washington has condemned Europe to hunger, cold and isolation. . . . Washington is ready to do everything to maintain its power over the world, sacrificing . . . READ MORE . . .
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How a journalist and an aspiring writer in Ukraine grew while working on a news site. Reported by Gregory Warner | NPR A local journalist in small town New York and an aspiring writer in Eastern Ukraine discovered they had a lot more to learn from each other than either expected. Click HERE to listen and read.
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From bomb shelter to dorm room: Ukrainian students find refuge at U.S. colleges, by Rose Horowitch | Reuters On March 31, about a month after Russia invaded Ukraine, Hlib Burtsev won a spot at Brown University for this fall. The Ivy League school extended an offer for him to join its summer session and paid for his food, flights and housing because of the war in his country. . . . More than 120 U.S. universities have efforts to help Ukrainian students, according to a survey of 559 schools by . . . READ MORE . . .
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Pro-Kremlin Rapper Unveils Starbucks’ Russian Successor. From the Moscow Times. Stars Coffee, the renamed former Starbucks chain, opened its first coffee shop in central Moscow on Thursday. Co-owners Timur Yunusov, a famous pro-Kremlin rapper known as Timati, and restaurateur Anton Pinskiy, presented the new brand with a logo that closely resembles the iconic Starbucks siren. The siren has been replaced by a woman wearing a Russian headdress called a kokoshnik instead of a crown. READ MORE . . .