“Humanitarian demining” … I know you were being sarcastic, but it is a horrible prospect. You’re right, it will happen.
I hope that the actual humanitarian demining efforts will someday produce a practical solution to locating and removing mines.
Since one of my hobbies was metal detecting, I have come across mines and cartridges even from the First World War in excellent condition. This is the biggest problem here. For one coin there are two dozen cartridges and a bucket of garbage. By the way, the quality of the cartridges of the First World War and the German ones of both wars is better than the Soviet ones of the Second World War. My grandfathers told me that all sorts of injuries and deaths were common after the war when mines exploded in the fields or children played with cartridges and shells. Even a couple of years ago there were cases when tourists made a fire on the ground and a mine exploded under it. We have a belief that the earth pushes out metal and sooner or later everything ends up on the surface.
I am not only sarcastic, but also very cynical. Unfortunately, people usually pay very little attention to understanding what is happening and it is not surprising that they get what they get. However, I was one of them. But understanding only makes things worse. Perhaps it was the unwillingness to notice the bad that mattered.
Ecclesiastes 1:18
For in much wisdom is much grief, and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
I am not at all surprised by the scandal associated with the restoration of the recently destroyed children's hospital in Kyiv, where a journalistic investigation revealed fraud
https://nashigroshi.org/2024/08/01/skandal-na-vidbudovi-okhmatdytu-pidriadnykom-bez-poiasnen-obraly-firmu-z-otochennia-sluhy-narodu-za-307-mln-z-tsinamy-kh2/For this reason, I did not engage in abstract collections of money that will be received and spent by no one knows who and how. However, there are no frauds in other destroyed hospitals, which are simply not being restored at all or the local authorities trying to find money in their budgets without any sponsors. The same thing happened with the cities. A lot of noise around Bucha, crowds of politicians wanting to take pictures in it and huge amounts of money for its restoration and silence in relation to other cities, from which only ruins remain. As time has shown, the scale of Bucha cannot be compared with Mariupol or Bakhmut, but from the railway station in Kyiv to the place for taking photos in Bucha - an hour's ride in a comfortable minibus without the risk of a shell or FPV drone hit it. Therefore, only real volunteers who help those who really need it get closer to the front line. Although their number has also greatly decreased due to the high risk of ending up in the army instead of their destination.
At the beginning of the full-scale war, the Ukrainian government introduced simplified requirements for importing humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Such rules strengthened Ukraine’s capacity to provide defence and humanitarian support to the population, engaging thousands of people and organizations worldwide in volunteering. Humanitarian aid from donors passed through Ukraine’s customs border based on a declaration filled out by the person transporting the relevant goods without applying any customs formalities.
A new, innovative mechanism now governs the import of humanitarian aid into Ukraine, exclusively allowing registered non-profit organizations to participate. This transformation mitigates corruption risks and significantly boosts Ukraine’s capacity to manage and distribute humanitarian aid efficiently.
https://golaw.ua/insights/publication/novij-mehanizm-vvezennya-gumanitarnoyi-dopomogi-v-ukrayinu-yuridichnij-oglyad/There was another drone attack tonight, which was successfully repelled. It's also unusual that electricity is on all day again. The main news is the official confirmation of the arrival of six F-16s to Ukraine
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-31/ukraine-gets-first-delivery-of-f-16-fighter-jets-after-long-wait?srnd=homepage-europe One of them has already been seen in the sky over Lviv. A lot of memes immediately appeared on the Internet.
https://24tv.ua/ru/samolet-f-16-seti-burno-reagirujut-vozmozhnuju-peredachu-istrebitelej_n2609409 I liked the one where the sky is full of planes like birds
https://x.com/serhii_rieznik/status/1818925523038310768Attempts to contact Colin G3ZAF on the radio were again unsuccessful, but I was able to contact Australia VK2OT on 28 and Indonesia YB1CDA on 21. But the most interesting QSO in July is certainly the Norfolk Islands - VK9DX.