The Palm Sunday massacre

in Ukraine has to be condemned. There were no "mistakes" about this. It was a deliberate act. Putin's forces were not targetting a meeting of military leaders. They were targetting ordinary people, many of them going to church. The "second strike" is enough to show that this was the intention. 

Putin could not care less about the people he killed and maimed. His military commanders do not care either. They do it with drones. They plan on remote maps and they push buttons. They send in poorly educated soldiers to finish off their handiwork. 

Of course there is a faint possibility that they are finding it harder to put soldiers on the ground. They are using soldiers from North Korea and China now. There might not be too many of them but I have no doubt that Kim and Xi are happy to be rid of some of the less competent or those they view as less committed. 

Putin is not going to give in until he gets what he wants. Nobody is absolutely certain how much he wants but everyone knows he wants more than he now has. He wants to see Russia become the glorious USSR of old. Allowing him to keep any land he has taken by force is simply going to encourage him. Why should the Ukrainians give up anything to a bully? Why especially should they be required to give up mineral rich land to someone who has already devastated their country? 

This was never a "special military operation". It was a grab for land and power that could never be justified. Even so I have no doubt that Putin will be filmed going to church for Easter.

All of that has hit the world headlines as did the bombing of the last fully functioning hospital in Gaza. It won't worry Muslim Hamas supporters that the hospital was funded by Christians and is being bombed by Jews. 

For Jews and Christians this time of the year is supposed to have  profound religious significance.  I just wonder if it means anything to some of them at all.