Crooked Media - What A Day: Putin him in his place

One year ago today, Russia invaded Ukraine. 
 

• On a day of somber commemoration and reflection, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged to push for victory in 2023 today in an address in the nation’s capital of Kyiv. Zelenskyy struck a defiant tone in the face of Europe’s most large-scale, deadly war since World War II, maintaining his stature as a symbol of national resolve. (Ed note: For more on the prospects of Ukraine winning the war this year, and the consequences of a more drawn-out conflict, listen to this episode of Positively Dreadful.)
   

• China noted the anniversary by calling for a comprehensive ceasefire in Ukraine, and Zelenskyy said he was open to certain aspects of Beijing’s 12-point peace plan. Russia said it appreciates China’s plan and is open to achieving its goals through political and diplomatic means. China, however, has never condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, so as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, the country “doesn’t have much credibility.” There was speculation that Chinese President Xi would deliver a “peace speech” today, but that never materialized. 
   

• Compounding China’s credibility problem: The U.S. has reportedly gained new intelligence that the Chinese government is considering providing Russia with drones and ammunition. The deal is not yet finalized, and reports suggest that negotiations between the two countries are ongoing. Since its invasion, the Kremlin has repeatedly requested drones and ammunition, but it wasn’t until the past week that senior U.S. officials have been concerned enough that they have been actively sharing the intelligence with allies and partners. Seems like this conflicts with their peace plan but okay!!

China’s plan may also be a non-starter due to the demand that the West end sanctions meant to squeeze the Russian economy. 
 

• American prosecutors said today that they are moving to seize six properties in New York and Florida allegedly belonging to a sanctioned Russian oligarch. They also separately charged a Russian national with illegally exporting counterintelligence equipment. The Department of Justice has sought to use asset seizures and criminal charges to put economic pressure on business executives aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin so that he might be incentivized to stop the war. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the DOJ is prepared to continue exerting such pressure “for as long as it takes.”
   

• The devastation the war has wrought in Ukraine has rippled the world over as images of destroyed villages, cities, hospitals, and extensive human suffering have circulated globally. This has raised questions about how Kyiv will pay for reconstruction, especially when Ukraine is seeking billions in international aid just to make it through the rest of 2023. The Ukrainian economy contracted 30 percent this past year alone, and the country will need $38 billion by the year’s end just to cover its budget deficit.

In the past year, Russia’s war has exacted devastating human and economic tolls, and has turned international world order on its axis. Through continued diplomatic efforts and solidarity with the Ukrainian people, may this year of the conflict be the last.

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The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to force former Vice President Mike Pence to testify in front of a grand jury investigating disgraced former president Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. 

First Lady Jill Biden gave the clearest indication yet that President Biden will run for re-election. 

An independent analysis of EPA data has found nine air pollutants at levels that could raise long-term health concerns in and around East Palestine, OH, after the train derailment there three weeks ago. 

The Federal Reserve’s key inflation gauge rose last month at its fastest pace since June. 
 

Over 20,000 abortion pills have been shipped across the United States in the six months since the Dobbs decision. 

The U.S. set hundreds of record-high temperatures in the southeast and all-time record low temperatures in the west this week.

Thus far this year, Israeli forces have killed 65 Palestinians, including 13 children, in the bloodiest period of violence since 2000. At least 11 Palestinians were killed during an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, and the IDF wounded more than 100 others in the fighting. IDF officials reported a different toll of dead and wounded, saying they were targeting a Palestinian militant group called the “Lion’s Den” but Palestinian officials said that along with the militants killed, so too were a 16-year-old boy and a 72-year-old man, both civilians. More than 80 other Palestinians were shot with live ammunition, and hundreds more suffered from tear-gas inhalation. Following Friday prayers today at the Dome of the Rock Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem, Palestinians chanted and protested against the deadly raids and crackdowns on Palestinian prisoners by Israel’s ultra-right-wing government. United Nations officials called for de-escalation after the most recent spate of horrific violence.

The Biden Administration is reportedly vetting deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su and Sara Nelson, the president of the nation’s largest flight-attendants’ union, to replace current Labor Secretary Marty Walsh when he steps down next month, ensuring that Walsh will be succeeded by another pro-labor labor secretary. Imagine that!

Twelve Democratic-led states have sued the FDA to challenge certain restrictions imposed on the distribution of the abortion pill mifepristone, saying the limits are not supported by evidence. 

According to legal experts, the disclosure of emails and texts in which Fox News executives and hosts disparaged the election conspiracies they then went on to promote greatly increases the chances that the defamation case from Dominion Voting Systems will succeed.