If
you
are
a
keen
observer
of
Above
the
Law’s
pages,
you
might
have
noticed
that
my
column
was
absent
last
week.
A
couple
weeks
ago,
I
got
in
touch
with
my
editor
to
let
her
know
that
I
would
be
traveling
in
Ukraine
with
my
cousin,
Evan,
for
a
while
and
that
although
I’d
be
doing
some
writing
while
there,
we
travel
light
(like
writing
in
a
little
notebook
with
a
penlight).
She
graciously
told
me
there
was
no
need
to
worry
about
my
column
while
I
was
away.
Well,
I
am
in
Lviv
at
this
very
moment
and
was
able
to
borrow
a
laptop.
That
f*cking
bombardment
overnight
into
Sunday
morning
was
wild,
and
I
felt
the
need
to
try
to
type
something
out
about
it
for
our
readers.
Explosions
rocked
Lviv
for
hours.
Burning
phosphorous
streaked
the
sky.
It
all
started
well
before
sunrise
when
the
Russians
sent
a
cloud
of
Shahed
strike
drones
—
140
of
them
—
careening
into
the
city
as
Kamikazes.
Then
came
the
cruise
missiles.
Russian
ships
in
the
Black
Sea
launched
volleys
of
Kalibr
cruise
missiles,
and
Tu-95MS
strategic
bombers
deployed
air-launched
cruise
missiles
of
their
own.
When
a
cruise
missile
detonates
near
you,
the
ground
beneath
your
feet
quakes.
The
drones
exploding
sounded
like
popcorn
once
the
cruise
missiles
started
to
go
off.
For
good
measure,
the
Russians
also
sent
in
MiG-31
fighter
jets
armed
with
Kinzhal
air-launched
ballistic
missiles.
The
Russian
air
forces
once
again
got
close
enough
to
Poland
to
cause
the
NATO
member
to
scramble
aircraft
of
its
own.
The
air
defense
systems
of
Lviv
are
outstanding,
and
the
brave
soldiers
manning
the
defensive
weaponry
excelled
in
their
missions.
Not
a
lot
got
through.
Still,
five
deaths
in
the
Lviv
metropolitan
area
have
been
reported
thus
far.
Four
of
those
killed
were
a
whole
family
whose
house
was
struck.
A
15-year-old
girl
minding
her
own
business
at
her
own
home
was
one
of
the
victims
of
this
senseless
violence.
I
have
gotten
to
know
Lviv
pretty
well
in
a
relatively
short
time.
Although,
being
wartime,
there
are
soldiers
everywhere
(especially
at
McDonald’s,
they
seem
to
love
that),
this
is
a
peaceful,
artistic
city.
The
night
before
the
bombing,
Evan
and
I
attended
the
ballet
at
the
national
opera
house,
a
landmark
so
beloved
that
its
facade
adorns
the
20
Ukrainian
hryvnia
banknote.
There
are
endless
beautiful
parks,
art
museums,
and
historic
structures.
While,
like
any
city,
there
are
industrial
areas
and
an
industrial
park
was
indeed
one
of
the
sites
hit
in
the
assault
on
Lviv,
for
the
most
part
there
is
very
little
anywhere
near
where
Russia
was
targeting
that
could
be
considered
a
legitimate
military
target
under
any
reasonable
definition
of
that
phrase.
Power
was
cut
to
swathes
of
the
city
and
infrastructure
used
to
heat
homes
and
businesses
was
attacked.
At
least
10
civilian
homes
were
bombed
beyond
repair.
This
was
terrorism,
plain
and
simple,
and
anyone
who
says
otherwise
is
lying.
I
saw
it
with
my
own
eyes.
It
didn’t
work
though.
A
couple
hours
after
the
last
rattle
of
machine
gun
fire
faded
away,
the
cafe
down
below
the
apartment
we
are
renting
unfolded
its
awning
and
opened
for
business.
People
crowded
inside,
excited.
Defiant.
This
was
the
largest
attack
on
the
Lviv
area
of
the
entire
war
so
far,
but
a
few
hours
after
it
ended
Evan
and
I
were
viewing
an
excellent
collection
of
modern
art
at
one
of
Lviv’s
many
fantastic
museums.
People
were
chatting
and
gesturing
enthusiastically
around
the
food
vendor
stalls
at
the
apparently
much
anticipated
Lviv
Book
Forum.
A
group
of
nerds
argued
over
strategy
in
the
back
of
a
game
shop
while
playing
an
indecipherable
Ukrainian
board
game.
Kids
played
in
the
fantastical
playground
at
the
Park
Imeni
Ivana
Franka.
Life
went
on:
not
gloomily,
not
resignedly,
but
lustilly.
Russia
is
trying
to
steal
another
country
and
destroy
the
way
of
life
of
its
people
through
terror
and
indiscriminate
violence.
The
Ukrainians
are
staging
a
heroic
resistance.
If
there
is
anything
more
you
can
do
to
help
these
people
in
this
struggle,
no
matter
how
small
it
may
seem
—
from
a
little
donation
to
a
Ukrainian
cause
to
changing
your
vote
in
the
next
election
to
ensure
support
from
our
lawmakers
—
please,
please
do
whatever
you
can.
Jonathan
Wolf
is
a
civil
litigator
and
author
of Your
Debt-Free
JD (affiliate
link).
He
has
taught
legal
writing,
written
for
a
wide
variety
of
publications,
and
made
it
both
his
business
and
his
pleasure
to
be
financially
and
scientifically
literate.
Any
views
he
expresses
are
probably
pure
gold,
but
are
nonetheless
solely
his
own
and
should
not
be
attributed
to
any
organization
with
which
he
is
affiliated.
He
wouldn’t
want
to
share
the
credit
anyway.
He
can
be
reached
at [email protected].