The pond unfroze

The koi were cold and they didn’t move much. 

The drive back was easy and we made good time. 

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has backed the Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (REPO) for Ukrainians Act. It it is passed and signed, Biden would have the right to seize frozen Russian assets. The money couldn’t be used for military purposes but it could fund the restoration of Ukraine. 
The war in Ukraine has diverted money from other uses in Russia. Russia made regional governors make funding cuts so the infrastructure problems Russia already had are worse, and people are losing heat in the middle of winter. People are losing heat even in Moscow and as many of the people forced to fight come from minority groups far from Moscow, Moscow was otherwise largely spared. It isn’t that Russians suffering is a good thing, but presumably the more Russians suffer, the more likely there might be an uprising that would toss Putin from power. These things always look impossible until they suddenly happen. So here’s hoping.