Ukraine, 9-25-23

First, links to reports from the Associated Press, Tass, Reuters, the Kyiv Post, and Agence France-Presse; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Then, via Popular Resistance, commentary from Peoples Democracy. — MCM

   

Ukraine is building an advanced army of drones. For now, pilots improvise with duct tape and bombs, by Samya Kullab | AP  The Ukrainian government wants to spend more than $1 billion to upgrade its drone-fighting capabilities. Whether used for reconnaissance, dropping bombs or self-exploding on impact, drones save money, and soldiers’ lives. They are also more precise than traditional artillery and can deliver outsized impacts, such as . . . READ MORE . . .

   

Ukraine to either surrender on Moscow’s terms or cease to exist — top Russian lawmaker. From Tass. MOSCOW — Ukraine is fated either to capitulate on Moscow’s terms or cease to exist as a state, according to Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament), said. Volodin listed “seven facts”he said “speak for themselves” in supporting his assertion. READ MORE . . .

   

Russia tortured some Ukrainian victims to death, UN inquiry says. From Reuters. GENEVA — Russia’s torture methods in parts of Ukraine it occupied have been so brutal that it tortured some of its victims to death, the head of a U.N.-mandated investigative body said today. Erik Møse, chair of the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, told the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva his team had “collected further . . . READ MORE . . .

   

Commander of Russian Black Sea Fleet killed in Ukraine’s attack on HQ, Kyiv claims, by Julia Struck | The Kyiv Post  The Ukrainian military reported that it killed Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the commander of Russia’s Black SeaFleet, as well as 34 officers, in a missile attack on the Sevastopol headquarters on Friday. Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SSO) revealed . . . READ MORE . . .

   

U.S. Abrams tanks have arrived in Ukraine: Zelensky. From AFP. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today his army had taken delivery of US Abrams battle tanks, boosting Kyiv’s forces in their slow-moving counteroffensive against Russian troops. “Good news from . . . READ MORE . . .

   

Collaboration, not confrontation, by Noam Chomsky and Vijay Prashad | Peoples Democracy / Popular Resistance Let’s begin with a truism: the Russian invasion of Ukraine will be ended either by defeat of one side or by a diplomatic settlement. That much at least should be beyond debate. A defeat is simply not on the cards, since . . . READ MORE . . .

   

MAY BE CONTINUED