Camp, Muriel, Clare and I went for a walk in the woods yesterday and the two guys soon separated from the girls.  We both had seen the news and I wanted Camp’s opinion. ‘Do you think the Russians and Iranians helped Hamas to stage and execute their assault on Israel yesterday?’

‘It doesn’t matter what I think but the fact is that now the eyes of the world have shifted to the middle-east and away from Ukraine. This cannot be good for their cause. Maybe this was the plan all along because this senseless attack will do no good for the Palestinians.’

We walked in silence but not for long. We looked behind us but Muriel and Clare were just as immersed talking to each other.

‘We cannot let our support for Ukraine slip into complacency,’ Camp said. ‘We all know what happened. Putin’s Russia invaded their cousins – Ukraine – unprovoked and without cause. The special military operation – the euphemism used by Russia – was supposed to be over in a couple of weeks but then that didn’t happen. The Ukrainians, under the leadership of their newly elected prime minister Zelensky fought back and destroyed the 20km long column of tanks and armoured vehicles who were driving toward Kiev in order to take over the city, the government and the country. Ukraine and the rest of the western world woke up to this horror show and condemned it unanimously. Support for the assaulted sovereign country was swift and immediate – from all the NATO countries as well as many others around the globe. On 7^th April 2022, the UN General Assembly passed resolution ES-11/4 demanding Moscow to completely, immediately and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Ukraine. The vote was 143 in favour, 5 against and 35 abstaining.’

‘Yes, I realize that now, a year and a half later, the unrelenting assault of Russian troops with the help of the mercenary Wagner group is ongoing and is wasting thousands of  young lives on both sides of the conflict.’

‘Let me count the offences of Putin’s special operation,’ Camp said.

‘Millions of Ukrainian citizens displaced and uprooted. According to the UN, some 

18 million people need humanitarian aid and protection. In addition to the more than 6 million refugees outside Ukraine, an estimated 5.9 people have been displaced within the besieged nation.

Thousands of hectares of arable land destroyed and mined, making it unhabitable for decades. According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the Russian war in Ukraine has created a minefield of 250,000 square kilometers in size in his country making it the largest minefield in the world.

Cities and ports destroyed. According to estimates by the Ukrainian authorities, over 350’000 facilities and millions of square meters of residential, educational, medical and sports infrastructures have been destroyed and thousands of km of roads and railways along with airports, ports and generating-stations have been destroyed or damaged.

Grain exports disrupted. Since Russia cancelled the grain deal which allowed Ukraine to ship grain from Odessa to the Bosporus Strait in Turkey across the Black Sea it is now shipping the grain along the Danube into and through Romania. Russia has stolen 6 million tons of grain from the occupied territories of Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion and war. Since March 2022, Canada has provided temporary asylum to over 166’000 Ukrainians.’ 

‘Let’s not forget the thousands of Ukrainian children abducted and relocated into Russia,’ I added. ‘In fact, Russia’s Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Ms Maria Lvova-Belova along with her boss Putin is accused of crimes against humanity by the International criminal court. They were charged with being responsible for the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia — a war crime under international legislation.’

‘Yes, Ms Belova herself said that over 700’000 children have been taken into Russia since the beginning of the war.’

‘The well documented destruction and theft of Ukrainian cultural icons and artifacts from museums and galleries is one aspect of the war that is overlooked. It is a genocidal policy to deny the Ukrainians their separate identity, language and culture and the imprisonment of academics across universities and cultural institutions.’

Let’s be clear,’ Camp doubled down, ‘Russia is the aggressor, Ukraine the victim. Putin, the chief kleptocrat of the kleptocracy that is modern Russia is the villain. We need to keep supporting the victims and try and restrict, sanction, disrupt and destroy the warmongers in Moscow.’

We were looking around for our wives who were somewhere behind us. We were quiet because of the steep steps leading up to Soames hill. 

‘Is it possible for Ukraine to win this war?’ I said.

‘Probably not in the long run but we cannot give up our support just because the war is too long, too expensive and too disruptive. Let’s face it, one man and one word could end this catastrophe.’

We finally reached the top and below us spread the glorious and beautiful view of Howe Sound, Gibsons harbour and the islands: Keats, the Pasleys and the long blue band of Vancouver Island in the distance. Above us the blue sky and a couple of eagles soaring, unperturbed by all the trouble in the world.