It’s been over two months since my last posting, but I’m sure no one’s been hurting for my comments.  I’m also finding it hard to transition this blog back to more mundane topics. Even though my wife is now in the US, I am still very concerned by the events in Ukraine.  I still have family in Mariupol, and my concern for their safety has not been abated.

In fact, Mariupol is probably more in danger now than it has been for a while. The truce is routinely being broken by the Russians and their DNR toadies, with the key flashpoint being Shirokino, a village only a couple dozen kilometers from Mariupol.

In addition to continued use of banned large-caliber weapons, the Russians have been playing “hide and seek” with the OSCE monitors so that their truce violations will get less public/international scrutiny.  The OSCE is very transparent in their movements, announcing where they will be going.  Russia monitors this, hides the evidence of the most incriminating violations before the OSCE arrives, and takes up positions and resumes firing once they have gone.  Shirokino did have a couple days of peace, that was only because the monitors stayed in the town, instead of returning to Mariupol.  (They left yesterday, so today were fresh reports of large artillery shelling and new tank movement.)

At this point, I don’t think anyone should be surprised by this chickenshit form of fighting that the Russians have adopted. Unfortunately, thousands of craven dipwads with guns — or in other words, the Russian army — can still outnumber the Ukrainian army, National Guard and volunteer battalions that are trying to defend Mariupol.