Wow, it’s nearing the end of May, and I haven’t posted anything for this year. While there are still things going on in Ukraine, I’m sorry to say that it’s a lot of repeats. Unfortunately, that means the world is paying less and less attention to the situation, because there just isn’t any “new news” there. So it would seem that Russia is winning the war of attrition when it comes to attention spans.

After a lot of discussion and planning, V and I will be going back for a visit. It still probably isn’t safe for an American to be going to Mariupol: the city itself is probably safe enough — as safe as a city can be, when there are enemy tanks 20km away — but being a “rich American” going through the numerous checkpoints is likely an invitation for some people to enrich themselves. We’ll plan to meet up with certain family members outside of Mariupol; it won’t be quite the same as my previous visits, but it will probably still be nice.

V will be going to Mariupol to get the rest of her things, which hopefully won’t result in bags and bags of luggage to fly home with. She says no, but she also talks about all the stuff that she still has and wants to bring back. I guess we’ll just see. She’s not expecting any trouble traveling to Mariupol, and I am praying that she’s right.

By way of contrast, here’s a first-person account of leaving Donetsk (the “capital city” of the region that includes Mariupol). I recall using some of the same descriptions of the bozos in power.
‘I Will Never Return To Donetsk’ — Conflict Reduces One Woman’s Life To Rubble