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Words and Music of Good Cheer Fill the Air

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Less than an hour ago By Blair A. Ruble   Kennan Institute Image Credit Kyiv’s winter holiday celebrations have shifted in recent years, to the Western Julian calendar of December 25 for Christmas and January 1 for New Year’s. This leaves behind the Russian Orthodox Church’s marking of Christmas on January 7 and Old New Year on January 14, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar.  With these new dates, new traditions have taken shape. Offerings at Kyiv’s October Palace included, for the second year in a row, a “Sinatra Christmas” concert, which is becoming a staple of holiday celebrations for Ukrainians around the country, along with the National Presidential Orchestra’s “Magic Christmas Concert” featuring Ukrainian and European holiday music along with Strauss waltzes to usher in the new year. The “Diesel Show Big Christmas Concert” followed, headlined by a variety of television actors ranging from pop music stars to comedians, with acts for children to enjoy.  The war...
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Trump Picks a Jet-Setting Pal of Elon Musk to Go Get Greenland

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President-elect Donald J. Trump has tapped Ken Howery, a venture capitalist, to help broker a deal to buy Greenland. Credit... IBL/Shutterstock By  Theodore Schleifer Theodore Schleifer writes about wealthy political donors, especially those from Silicon Valley. The New York Times, Jan. 16, 2025,  3:49 p.m. ET (excerpt; original article contains lilnks) Kenneth Alan Howery (/ˈhaʊəri/; born November 4, 1975) is an American entrepreneur and diplomat. He is a co-founder of PayPal and Founders Fund. He served as the U.S. Ambassador to Sweden from 2019 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. ...  In response to growing calls for Sweden's NATO accession following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Howery authored an op-ed saying the Ukraine invasion had dramatically shifted public opinion in Sweden about NATO, and that the country would "make an outstanding addition" to the alliance and its joining "will be cause for celebration."...
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Rubio on Ukraine and NATO [Excerpt from CBS News, January 15]

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of State, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) arrives to testify during his Senate Foreign Relations confirmation hearing at Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.  Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images The Florida Republican called for an end to the war in Ukraine , which has carried on for nearly three years since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022.  "This war has to end," he said, adding that there should be a "ceasefire."  Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the committee, asked Rubio about his seeming shift in what was once full-throated support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia. Rubio voted against a foreign aid package last April that included assistance for Ukraine, despite his earlier support for the country. During the 2024 campaign,  Trump criticized the Biden administration  for sending billions to Ukraine in aid.  "I voted against that ...
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Ukraine Launches ‘Massive’ Drone Attacks Inside Russia, Officials Say The barrage appeared to be one of the largest recent assaults in Ukraine’s campaign to damage Russia’s war machine on its home territory.

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Kazan, the capital of the republic of Tatarstan in Russia, in October. Local media in Kazan reported on Tuesday that a tanker at a liquefied natural gas base was struck by a Ukrainian drone.Credit...Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated Press Kazan, the capital of the republic of Tatarstan in Russia, in October. Local media in Kazan reported on Tuesday that a tanker at a liquefied natural gas base was struck by a Ukrainian drone. Credit... Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated Pres  By  Cassandra Vinograd, reporting from Kiev, Ukraine,  The New York Times , Jan. 14, 2025  Updated  3:10 p.m. ET  Leer en español Ukraine carried out “massive” drone strikes on several regions of Russia overnight, local officials there said on Tuesday, in what appeared to be one of the largest recent assaults in Kyiv’s campaign to cripple Russia’s war machine on its home turf. The attacks, mostly in southwestern Russia, were the latest in a series demonstrating Ukraine’s ability to ...
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From: Gideon Rachman, "Trump risks turning the US into a rogue state," The Financial Times, "13 hours ago"

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"If Trump can claim that it is a strategic necessity for the US to take over Greenland or the Panama Canal, why is it illegitimate for Putin to claim that it is a strategic necessity for Russia to control Ukraine? " © James Ferguson; image from cited article
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The Painting, the Photograph and the War for Ukraine’s Culture

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An image depicting a famous 19th-century painting of Cossacks, with current Ukrainian soldiers standing in for the warriors, has struck a chord as Kyiv battles to assert its identity.  Émeric Lhuisset, a French photographer, with Ukrainian soldiers. The image he created was inspired by a painting and was briefly displayed at the Ukrainian House in Kyiv, the capital. Credit... Oksana Parafeniuk for The New York Times By  Constant Méheut Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine The New York Times , Jan. 11, 2025 Leer en español It looks like a serene snapshot from Ukraine’s battlefield: A group of armor-clad soldiers huddled around a makeshift table scattered with food and playing cards. Some laugh or smoke, and one lounges on the ground, smiling as he scrolls through his phone. The photograph is unlike others of the  Ukrainian front  that have rallied people in Ukraine over the course of the war — there is no cannon fire, no soldiers climbing out of trenches, no wounded fighters ...
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