Rough conversations

Today involved rough conversations about things Hamas has done and the refusal of people to acknowledge it or care.

It is possible for decent people to acknowledge the pain and suffering of more than one side.

Doing so does not include the word, “but.”

Further, Hamas also abducts, tortures, and kills Palestinians. 

Tomorrow I will be doing a photo shoot and will hopefully have more joy.

The Swiss President pledged long-term support for Ukraine today. Switzerland froze $8.5 billion in Russian assets. The President also said Switzerland would provide additional aid including 10 more ambulances and six fire engines. Switzerland has done this despite its principle of neutrality in its constitution. They have imposed sanctions on Russia and joined an international call for a special tribunal to address Russia’s crime of aggression. 

Russia has lost 76 passenger jets as a result of sanctions according to Russian transport minister Vitaly Savelyev today. Due to sanctions Russia is not getting spare parts or new planes and planes are not receiving software upgrades or maintenance checks. 

A Russian woman filmed the Kerch Strait Bridge, the Russian bridge to Crimea, while on a yacht. She put the footage on social media. Ukraine is thanking her for giving the Ukrainian military the necessary information they needed to attack the bridge this summer. 

The French Institute of International Relations published a report by Pavel Baer. Baer is a longtime Russia expert. He said that the war in Ukraine has taken an extreme toll on Russia’s military and means it cannot rebuild a position of military superiority in the Baltic. It has lost its position of power and ability to threaten its Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian neighbors.