JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine Braced for Russian Disinformation Attacks on Zelenskiy” – Bloomberg

File Image of Laptop Computer, Tables and Mobile Device, adapted from image at energy.gov

“Kremlin campaign to focus on legitimacy as vote scrapped Ukrainian leader sensitive over issue as war footing shifts” “… With … Ukrainian territory under Russian occupation, millions … having fled … and [Ukraine’s] infrastructure battered … martial law has imposed restrictions on elections. Zelenskiy … would otherwise be campaigning for a vote held at the end of March if he […]

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VIDEO: JRL NEWSWATCH: “Zelenskyy appeals to Trump, Congress to see ‘tragedy’ of Russia invasion in exclusive Bret Baier interview” – Fox

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“Volodymyr Zelenskyy says there have been at least 5 assassination attempts made against him” “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an exclusive FOX News interview, appealed to President Biden and Republican front-runner Donald Trump to visit Ukraine and see for themselves at the front lines of ‘this tragedy.’ … Baier met with Zelenskyy near the front lines in Kharkiv, just a […]

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VIDEO: JRL NEWSWATCH: “Zelensky: “Our Country Will Not Be Ready” To Give Up Donbas And Crimea For Peace” – RealClear Politics/ Fox

Volodymyr Zelensky file photo, adapted from dhs.gov image

“FOX News correspondent Benjamin Hall sits down with … Zelensky … ZELENSKY: … Many times, we are ready for co-production. … [I]t can be win-win. We need licenses, and we can produce air defense …. [and] when you produce it for Ukraine and with Ukraine, you produce it also with Americans. … [T]he big part will be production in your […]

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Elections in Wartime Ukraine Would Test Ukraine’s Legal-Political Flexibility

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

Ukraine is consumed by war, and elections are probably not an option. Or are they? President Zelensky is considering the answer to this question […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “New danger for Ukraine: Taking Israel’s side in war against Hamas and Gaza” – Washington Post

Volodymyr Zelensky file photo, adapted from dhs.gov image

“… Zelensky’s immediate and forceful support for Israel … against Hamas has imperiled almost a year of concerted efforts … to win the support of Arab and Muslim nations in [Ukraine’s] war against Russia. Zelensky’s early statements … after the surprise attack by Hamas … [killing] more than 1,400 Israelis … helped Ukraine stay in the international spotlight, and … […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s counter-offensive is a ‘disaster’, says former Zelensky adviser” – The Telegraph (UK)

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“Oleksiy Arestovych accuses Volodymyr Zelensky and his military commanders of making strategic mistakes and failing to break Russian lines.” “… Arestovych resigned in January as a presidential adviser after a row over the … Ukraine’s air defence systems. This week, Ukrainian prosecutors opened an investigation into [] Arestovych for comments that allegedly promote violence against women. He has denied the […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s Zelenskyy joins a meeting of global defense leaders to make a direct plea for military aid” – AP

Volodymyr Zelensky file photo, adapted from dhs.gov image

“For the first time … Zelenskyy joined a meeting of more than 50 defense leaders from around the world, making a personal pitch Wednesday for military aid in the face of lagging political support in the United States and new pressure on allies to send weapons to bolster Israel’s war with Hamas. … The meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact […]

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What Did Zelensky Accomplish During His U.S. Trip?

Volodymyr Zelensky file photo, adapted from dhs.gov image

As he pressed policymakers on the Hill and in the administration for more, better, swifter war-fighting capabilities, Zelensky made clear that Ukraine has no time to spare […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Zelensky wines, dines with the world’s richest in the hopes of rebuilding war-torn Ukraine” – New York Post

File Photo of Assorted U.S. Cash, adapted from image at tsa.gov

“… Zelensky’s most important speech while in New York … was not at the UN, but in a private room a few blocks away. ‘Investing in Ukraine has to be good for you and good for us. I understand capitalism,’ [Zelensky said, to] what was described … as a ‘star-struck’ group of billionaire financiers, plus Henry Kissinger, New England Patriots […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Staying the course: Donald Trump will ‘never’ support Putin, says Volodymyr Zelensky” – The Economist

Screenshot file photo of Volodymyr Zelensky Gesturing, from Congressional Teleconference, adapted from image at doggett.house.gov

“But Ukraine’s president fears that some of his country’s Western backers are losing faith.” “… Having failed to overwhelm Ukraine quickly, [] Putin seems determined to exhaust the country and to wear out its partners’ resolve to keep funding and supplying it with arms. … But [] Zelensky says Russia itself is fragile. … [suggesting that Russia itself will suffer […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Is Ukraine really interested in fighting corruption?” – The Economist

Hands Opening Envelope Containing Cash

“Volodymyr Zelensky removes his defence minister and goes after an oligarch” “… At face value [Ukraine’s latest corruption stories] show the government wresting back the initiative on reform. … Zelensky said he would replace … defence minister[] Oleksii Reznikov … following months of corruption scandals …. [T]he SBU … detained [oligarch] Ihor Kolomoisky … on suspicion of fraud and money-laundering. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “A disastrous strategic failure has Ukrainians discussing politics again” – Washington Post/ Anna Nemtsova

Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

“… Ukrainians have buried their political disputes in the name of national unity. But some are starting to believe that the tacit ban on discussion of controversial topics has outlived its usefulness. … Ukraine is fighting this war to maintain not only its statehood but also its democracy. … [S]urely the freedom to ask uncomfortable questions of those in power […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian Forces Are Doing ‘Everything They Can’ to Stop Counteroffensive, Zelensky Says” – New York Times

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

“The Ukrainian leader has secured new weapons pledges, but it was not clear when the aid would arrive, or how consequential it would be on the battlefield.” “… Zelensky … said … Russian forces were throwing ‘everything they can’ at Kyiv’s troops fighting to retake land in the south and east … emphasizing the grueling nature of a counteroffensive … […]

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VIDEO: JRL NEWSWATCH: “Trump describes how he could solve Russia-Ukraine conflict in 24 hours” – Fox

Cropped Photo of Donald Trump Seated In Front of U.S. and Russian Flags, Part of Larger Photo at Summit with Vladimir Putin, adapted from White House photo

“Trump says President Biden isn’t capable of dealing with world leaders.” “… Trump explained his plan to secure peace in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking back the White House on Sunday, saying he would tell … Zelenskyy to make a deal. … The former president said he has a good relationship with both Zelenskyy and … Putin, and added […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Inside Zelensky’s Plan to Beat Putin’s Propaganda in Russian-Occupied Ukraine” – Time

Screenshot file photo of Volodymyr Zelensky Gesturing, from Congressional Teleconference, adapted from image at doggett.house.gov

“… [I]n Russia … [and] occupied regions of eastern and southern Ukraine, millions of people absorb the Kremlin line about Ukraine through Russian television. Its central message, like a genocidal fever dream mixed in among gardening shows and soap operas, depicts Ukraine’s existence as a historical mistake, its government a cabal of satanists and neo-Nazis intent on Russia’s destruction. Zelensky, […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy makes surprise commencement address at Johns Hopkins” – Baltimore Sun

Screenshot file photo of Volodymyr Zelensky Gesturing, from Congressional Teleconference, adapted from image at doggett.house.gov

“The Johns Hopkins University celebrated its commencement … with a surprise speech from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy via livestream …. and [awarded] Zelenskyy an honorary doctorate …. The Class of 2023 offered him a standing ovation after the address …. Zelenskyy offered … a message centered around time, … ‘the most valuable resource on the planet.’ … He said the […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Zelenskyy vows Ukraine will withstand Russian attacks on power networks; ‘We must return all lands,’ Ukrainian president tells the FT” – Financial Times

Screenshot file photo of Volodymyr Zelensky Gesturing, from Congressional Teleconference, adapted from image at doggett.house.gov

“… Zelenskyy said Russia’s new strategy to destroy Ukraine’s infrastructure … would not weaken the country’s resolve to liberate all occupied land, describing the conflict as a ‘war of strength and resilience.’ … insist[ing] there would be no lasting resolution to the war unless Russia withdrew from all [Russian-occupied] territories …. Kyiv has been pushing back at perceived pressure to […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine feels the chill of Biden’s foreign policy” – Financial Times

File Photo of Joe Biden at Podium in Front of U.S. and State Department Flags, adapted from image at usembassy.gov

“Afghanistan withdrawal heightens Zelensky’s fears of dwindling support from Washington” “… Ukraine has fought an eight-year war against Russia and Russian-backed militants …. Yet even before the chaotic pullout from Kabul, alarm was spreading … over fears … [that] Biden wanted to focus more on other foreign policy issues, especially … China. The first warning sign … came … when […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Biden agrees to meet Zelenskiy, but after the Putin summit” – bne Intellinews/ Ben Aris in Berlin

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“… Biden has invited … Zelenskiy to meet at the White House in July …. Zelenskiy says he learned through the press – not … the State Department – that … Biden … decided to stop trying to block a Russian pipeline that Ukraine sees as a dire national security threat. … [Zelenskiy, in a news interview,] spoke of his […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s Overburdened Doctors in Desperate Virus Fight” – AP

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“… [The] … broken or substandard equipment, a lack of drugs, low wages [] reflect[] the meltdown of Ukraine’s health care system … quickly overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic even with the country’s relatively low number of cases. Ukraine’s corruption-plagued economy has been weakened by six years of war with Russia-backed separatists in the east. … Zelenskiy’s year-old administration inherited […]

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After Ukraine-Russia Prisoner Swap, Can Zelenskiy Capitalize On Momentum?

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Christopher Miller- KYIV, Sept. 7, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/after-ukraine-russia-prisoner-swap-can-zelenskiy-capitalize-on-momentum-/30151851.html) “Our guys are home.” As those words were shared by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on September 7, the Ukrainian nation simultaneously celebrated and breathed a collective sigh of relief upon learning that 35 of their compatriots […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “‘Dirtiest’ Race Ever Drags Ukraine Election Into Perilous Waters” – Bloomberg/ Kateryna Choursina, Yulia Surkova

Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

“… the first of two spots in an almost certain runoff next month looks wrapped up[;] a battle for the other is raging between incumbent Petro Poroshenko and ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Accusations are flying — everything from voter payoffs to wiretaps and shady donors. There’s even a decoy candidate …. Dirty tricks aren’t unique to Ukraine. They’re a common […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s 2019 Election: the End of Ideology and the Last Comedian [Excerpt]” – PONARS Eurasia/ Sergiy Kudelia

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

Sergiy Kudelia is Associate Professor of Political Science at Baylor University and a member of PONARS Eurasia. [Full text with charts: ponarseurasia.org/point-counter/article/kudelia-ukraine-2019-election?fbclid=IwAR3I3Y-JM4qgHgQ_guQPMZ5FHV4TPxbH-E1n3KqcgJiDAV5cypW3McQAHEs] The frontrunner in the Ukrainian presidential campaign is someone who has never held a government position and has no record of political or civic activism. Rather, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has risen to prominence by ridiculing on stage the very […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Tymoshenko out of Ukraine top-two presidential candidates, new poll says” – bne Intellinews

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“… Tymoshenko is losing public support ahead of the March presidential elections and after taking an early lead has now fallen out of the top two, according to the … Kyiv-based Razumkov Center …. [indicating] 17.5% [of] all respondents plan to vote for Ukrainian comic … Volodymyr Zelenskiy and [that] of those that said they will definitely vote in the […]

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