UKRAINE'S ZELENSKYY PUSHES FOR NEW SECURITY AGREEMENTS WITHOUT RUSSIA, APART FROM PEACE TALKS Moscow has long relied on its propaganda machine to fuel support for its conflict in Ukraine and Putin has refused to declare open war on Kyiv, instead calling it a "special military operation." Reports surfaced early in the invasion that Russia was potentially relying on a "mobile crematorium" to dispose of dead soldiers to help cover the evidence of mounting causalities. The Pentagon has assessed that Russia is behind schedule in eastern Ukraine, where it intends to gain "full control." But press secretary John Kirby said Friday that the U.S. has assessed that Russian forces are still making "incremental gains" in the Donbas and a senior U.S. defense official told reporters this week the U.S. believes Moscow is making some headway in the Black Sea as well. "The Russians are still well behind where we believe they wanted to be when they st...
