(2022-02-17). Russian UN Ambassador Responds To US 'War Propaganda'. popularresistance.org Aaron Mate And Max Blumenthal Speak With Deputy Permanent Representative Of Russia To The UN Dmitri Polyanskiy On Escalated Tensions On The Russian-Ukraine Border, US Accusations Of An Imminent Russian Invasion, And The Context Missing From A US Media That Refuses To Interview Russian Officials.
(2022-02-17). Ex-U.S. Ambassador to USSR: Ukraine Crisis Stems Directly from Post-Cold War Push to Expand NATO. democracynow.org 
U.S. officials are accusing Russia of sending more forces to the Ukrainian border just days after Moscow announced it was pulling some troops back. This comes as Ukrainian authorities and Russian-backed separatists are both accusing the other side of violating a ceasefire in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. For more on the history behind the present crisis in Ukraine, we speak with one of the last U.S. ambassadors to the Soviet Union prior to the collapse of the USSR, Ambassador Jack Matlock, who says the U.S.-led expansion of NATO following the end of the Cold War helped lay the groundwork for the current s…
(2022-02-17). US Escorts Russian Bombers From East Syria Coalition Airspace. news.antiwar.com While the US and Russia are both largely focused on fighting ISIS in Syria, they still get tangled up in a lot of side arguments. This week, The US says Russia's bombers didn't give them advanced notice, so US fighters were dispatch to escort them away. The bombers reportedly ended up in Latakia. | The area is seldom used, with Russia not crossing the area since last May. US tensi…
(2022-02-17). US deputy ambassador was told to leave in retaliation for Russian diplomat's expulsion. tass.com
(2022-02-17). Headlines for February 17, 2022. democracynow.org NATO Defense Ministers Gather in Brussels, Dispute Russia's Claims of Troop Drawback, COVID-19 Pandemic Claimed 75,000 Lives Last Week, U.S. Centers for Disease Control Prepares to Roll Back Guidelines for COVID Restrictions, Hospitals in War-Ravaged Syria Forced to Close Amid Cuts in International Aid, U.N. Says 8 Million Yemenis Could Lose All Humanitarian Aid Next Month Due to Funding Shortages, Colombia Forced Displacement Crisis Worsened in 2021, Mexican Journalists Interrupt Congress to Demand Justice for Assassinated Colleagues, Amnesty International Condemns "Sham Trial" for Jailed Russi…
(2022-02-17). Marco Rubio Threatens Honduras' President (+Venezuela). orinocotribune.com During a US Senate hearing regarding the nomination of Laura Farnsworth as new US ambassador to Honduras, US extreme-right Republican Senator Marco Rubio said he hoped the President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, would not follow the example of her husband, former President Manuel Zelaya, and align Honduras with Cuba and Venezuela. | "I hope that the new president Xiomara Castro follows that path, and not the example that her husband provided when he was president and sympathized with Hugo Chávez in Venezuela and Raúl Castro in Cuba," said the anti-communist senator. Analysts surmise that Zelaya's drift to the left…
(2022-02-17). At Least Four Soldiers Wounded After Syrian Military Helicopter Crashes in Latakia, Source Says. sputniknews.com Preliminary data indicates that the incident happened due to a technical malfunction, according to the source.
(2022-02-17). Israel Attacks Syrian Army Base Near Damascus. news.antiwar.com On Wednesday night, Speculatively, Israeli media are saying Iranian troops might sometimes use that base. Israel, as usual, isn't commenting on why they're attacking Syria, however. | Indications are that the base sustained damage, and some damage was done in the town of Zakiya. There have been no reports of any casualties. | Interestingly, there was no…