UN goes to Kremlin

I woke up to news that the UN General Secretary Antonio Gutierrez is in Moscow to see Putin and Lavrov. He's come in for some criticism for not visiting Ukraine first to see for himself the impact of the war, but he goes in full knowledge of the situation and the fact that Russia's action is condemned by the majority of member nations. His official role is to inform Putin that Russian actions in Ukraine violate  the UN Charter. It is proper to convey this formally in person and keep channels of communication open. At the moment, Putin's attitude is that Russia stands fast against a hostile world. And that's a very dangerous position when Russia has armaments that could destroy it completely.

The Russians are upping the rhetoric stating that NATO is conducting a proxy war in Ukraine, supplying weapons to strengthen resistance against aggression. Germany is sending fifty tanks to  the Ukrainian army, aircraft and missiles are also on the way. Some Ukrainian railway stations have been attacked by missiles, as if to show that importing war supplies will not go unopposed. Destroying rail infrastructure is not in the Russians military's best interests when gaining control would be more beneficial to them. Amazingly, the onslaught on the Donbas region isn't yet gathering full momentum. It seems that some of Ukraine's best forces are already embedded in defending the region.

America is also upping the rhetoric by stating the aim should be to degrade Russia's ability to act aggressively against any country. It's been said that the conflict so far has been more damaging to the Russian war machine than Putin anticipated, which could prolong the war beyond the target date of May 9th, associated with the Russian victory over the Nazis, and celebrated annually as such. Not being able to call his Ukraine exploit a swift success will be embarrassing as political and economic pressure starts to affect people more widely. But what impact will this have on the hold his regime has? 

After breakfast this morning, I stripped the bed linen for washing and re-made the bed. It's not such an easy task as the bed and mattress are very heavy, and in an awkward position. Joint pains in my hands make this an unpleasant exercise unfortunately.  Then I went out to do the weekly grocery shopping at the Co-op, and cooked lunch when I returned. Clare's back pain is easing slightly, and this afternoon she had an acupuncture treatment which seemed to help.

On my walk alongside the river Taff, I heard a warbler and a chaffinch, as well as the usual robins, tits, wrens and blackbirds. I saw a dipper speeding across from one river bank to another, with its distinctive flight pattern. It's the first one I've seen in the stretch between Western Avenue and Blackweir.

Another fascinating couple of programmes this evening on Sky Arts. The first was a documentary about the 16th century painter Raphael. The second was about the trafficking of archaeological artefacts looted from ancient Roman sites in Italy. 

A 60cm high group figure of three seated gods in marble was reported discovered in a clandestine excavation and taken illegally to Switzerland. The gods Jupiter, Juno and Minerva were the principal deities of Rome, depicted in a huge temple on the Capitol Hill, little of which remains today. Smaller scale versions of the original figures were thought to have existed and given pride of place in the homes of rich Roman citizens, but none had ever been found. 

The person reporting the discovery made an 'identikit' drawing of the figure, which gave the Carabinieri detectives some idea of what they were looking for, but nobody had ever seen it or anything like it. By a stroke of misfortune for the thieves, an arm from the figure broke off and was lost during excavation. The finder returned to the site secretly and discovered the missing piece among the rubble, and was then caught by the police who were monitoring his activity. The arm, lost and found, was physical evidence confirming the report of the find. A high risk press conference gave global publicity to the theft, making it impossible for art traffickers to sell the figure to any museum. This resulted in its clandestine recovery from the gang of traffickers, for whom the figure had become worthless. None were arrested, but the figure eventually found its home in the town museum at Montecelio, close to where it was discovered. 

Several times during the programme, mention was made of the true value of an artefact being not just in its original beauty, but the story it was part of. It reminded me of why programmes such as 'The Repair Shop' and 'Antiques Road Show' are so popular, because of the stories connected to objects shown.

Then, with nothing better to do, I watched the second episode of 'Life after Life', a faultless depiction of life in middle class Britain in the 1920s, and the story of a young girl's suffering as she grows up and gets married. This too is good story telling.