28 Days

As a result of following the news late into the evening and getting up early to take the dog out, I tend to nod off in the afternoon as it is hard to keep my eyes open.  It is beautiful today so I will probably walk over to the academic bookstore and see what other little Macmillan Collector's Library books they have.  I was pleased as punch to find a copy of Rime of the Ancient Mariner yesterday, as it was sold out on Amazon.  I saw the Tiger Lillies' unique take on Coleridge's classic poem in Vilnius a few years back.  It's the little things that really give you pleasure.

The Ukrainian women had picked through the overwhelming amount of clothes that had been gifted them the past week, and asked us if we would take away some of the boxes.  Daina is now trying to figure out where to unload all these used clothes.  She extended their lease through July, which brought tears to Marina.  It looks like we will get some compensation from the city, so it was the least we could do as we anxiously wait to see what direction this war takes.  Meanwhile, the ladies have gained some local celebrity baking Napoleon cakes, although Marina said to Daina it has been quite stressful as she and Olena are not the best match, especially in the kitchen.  The neighbors below them suggested the idea.

We watched Dmitri Peskov on Amanpour last night.  He looked like an empty shell of a man unable to put up much defense for Putin's actions.  I was saying to Daina that he normally has a silver tongue and you have to be very careful not to allow him to overtake an interview, which is why I was upset she had him on the show to begin with.  Christiane was a little more respectful toward him than necessary, but at least she didn't let him off the hook.  

There is a lot of talk this war may be over by the end of April as Putin wants to declare victory at his May 9 parade.  US intelligence says Ukraine has literally decimated his combat forces, and a great deal of his military hardware has either been destroyed or carted away.  Amanpour brought up the embarrassing losses in her interview, but Peskov shrugged them off, saying they have caused a great deal of damage on their part.  Indeed they have.  Russia continues to pummel Mariupol, turning it into an Aleppo, but Ukrainians continue to hold their ground.  Worst case scenario, Putin is forced to retreat but cleaves off Donbass in the process, which would still allow him to claim victory to his people.

What upsets me most about this war is the cynicism.  Not just on the part of Russia, but the growing amount in the West as this war nears the end of its first month.  The sanctions are already starting to break. EU countries cannot see how they can cut off oil and gas entirely and many European companies continue to do business inside Russia.  German and Swiss banks also refuse to freeze Russian oligarchs' assets entirely, I suppose out of fear that it would be a huge dent on their reserves.  Multi-million dollar yachts float around the Mediterranean Sea whose providence is difficult to ascertain. The more wily oligarchs have hidden away their assets in trusts so that they don't technically own them.  We allowed these oligarchs to insinuate themselves on European society, and now it is like trying to separate the heads of conjoined twins.  

The war drags on as Putin is still able to fund it despite the heavy losses.  Kremlin's claims that they launched the first known hypersonic missiles on Ukraine appears to be a hoax, as the Pentagon has been unable to confirm such weapons being used in the country.  The US, UK and France are still far away from developing these high speed missiles that can travel as much as 10 times the speed of sound.  Nevertheless, Putin is able to get many of his cruise missiles through the porous Ukrainian air defense system, so it doesn't really matter whether they are hypersonic or not.  One of his latest targets is a shopping mall on the outskirts of Kyiv, as Russia tries to strike fear into the inhabitants.  This is a war of terror more than anything else as the civilian dead has been relatively low to this point, given the inordinate amount of shelling.  However, cities like Mariupol are being virtually laid to waste.

All this takes an emotional toll on refugees abroad.  Marina can hardly contain herself, as her husband is on the front line.  She says her youngest son is desperately missing his father, as they both share a birthday coming up this Sunday.  She bakes cakes largely to avoid thinking about what happens next, getting very little satisfaction from the attention she has received.  This is the ultimate cost of war - the emotional scars it leaves behind.