It’s only early autumn, but here in Ukraine, the worry is the upcoming winter. Ukrainian winters are long and harsh. The estimation from the government is that this one will be significantly worse than the last. Electricity cuts, a lack of heating and difficulty getting water means everyone is scurrying to prepare with generators, solar panels or Ecoflows – power banks for refrigerators or internet routers. Nearly three years of war have taken a toll.
Kyiv last week was something akin to New York City during the UN General Assembly. There were half a dozen high-level conferences, beginning with the Ukrainian President’s wife Olena Zelenska’s meeting of global presidential spouses, which focused on protecting children in war time. The Prosecutor General, Andriy Kostin, hosted the International Criminal Court’s Chief Prosecutor Kareem Khan for a conference centred on Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. The Tony Blair Institute hosted a conference on demining. Even Michael Douglas, the Oscar-winning actor, came to town.
The week ended with Ukrainian businessman Viktor Pinchuk’s annual gathering of former presidents and prime ministers, diplomats and public intellectuals for the Yalta European Strategy (YES). The main takeaway was that Ukraine must win the war.
Overshadowing everything at the conference was the ghost of former US president Donald Trump. The question of how to win the war – which is branded in Ukraine and much of the continent as not just as a Ukrainian war, but a European war – depends on how much more military support the Ukrainians receive. Can they defend themselves by getting more Patriot batteries and anti-missile systems to intercept Russian ballistic missiles? Can the Ukrainians be given longer-range anti-missile systems to intercept incoming Russian missiles?
The answers depend, in many ways, on the November US presidential election.
A Ukrainian victory is necessary, not just for its own sovereignty but for the future of Europe
Few sitting around the table at YES seemed to think Mr Trump sees Ukraine as a friend. (A day after the forum ended, a pro-Ukraine activist in the US was charged after an apparent attempt to assassinate Mr Trump.) But former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who attended the conference, had a different view. He believes even Mr Trump – if he wins the election – will continue to support Ukraine.
“You can’t get it right for American security without a Ukrainian victory and a strong Europe,” Mr Pompeo said, referring back to his 2018 Crimea Declaration, in which the US rejected Russian attempts to annex Crimea from Ukraine.
I think it more likely that if he is elected Mr Trump will pull support from Ukraine in whatever way he can. I recall Mr Pompeo’s predecessor, Hillary Clinton, at last February’s Munich Security Forum remarking that Mr Trump always does what he says he will do – and he’s repeated his wish to stop issuing “blank cheques” to Ukraine.
Everyone at YES agreed a Ukrainian victory is necessary, not just for its own sovereignty but for the future of Europe. Mr Pinchuk opened the conference saying European cities risk being overrun by Russian forces the same way they overran the Ukrainian city of Bucha in February 2022.
It might be a scare tactic, but in a continent still traumatised from the ease with which Hitler marched into Czechoslovakia and Poland in 1939 – and the Foreign Minister of Poland was present at YES – there is a fear that borders can always be erased. Especially vulnerable are the Baltics and Eastern Europe, including Moldova where the region of Transnistria has been in a frozen conflict for 30 years.
It is difficult to win a war by being only defensive, and Ukraine has made important tactical gains, like its Kursk offensive, in which it took about 1,300 square kilometres inside Russia.
The greatest concern is how to support Ukraine on the battlefield. After nearly three years of hard fighting, in front lines that resemble the First World War trenches, soldiers are exhausted. “Victory can be gained by three means – people, weapons and will,” one YES guest said.
Ukraine does have a strong desire to win, although the losses on the front line were highlighted at YES in the form of a collage of faces of the dead heroes. What struck me was how young they were, and what a terrible loss this represents to their society.
We know Russia is intent on winning this war. But Ukraine has an extraordinary will, and a population who are fighting for their freedom, as well as, they believe, European freedom. The challenge is to convert these powerful motivations – with the help of its allies in Europe, the US and elsewhere – into what the Ukrainians call “peremoha” – victory.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Background: M&A, investment banking
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Key facilities
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How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
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