THE RUSSIAN VICTORY DAY parade in 2015 (Wikipedia).

Russia’s celebration of “Victory  Day” on Monday appears to be somewhat hollow, as the invasion of Ukraine has turned into a grinding struggle with few gains for the attacker.
According to the Associated Press, Russian President Vladimir Putin was hoping to have a major battlefield victory to report to go along with the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s 1945 Eastern front victory over Nazi Germany.

However, his forces have yet to capture or hold a major Ukrainian city, and the sanctions against Russia and a flood of weapons and other aid from the U.S. and other nations are making future successes seem less likely.

After pulling back after Ukrainian forces blunted a drive toward the capital city of Kyiv, Russian troops and war machinery have been redirected eastward toward an area with a large Russian-speaking population.

Even there, there have been scant results for the invaders, with the defenders sometimes retaking towns and villages conquered by the  Russians.

NY Times the big Pulitzer winner

Monday’s announcement of Pulitzer Prizes for excellence in journalism and literature heaped much of the glory on The New York Times, which won for international reporting, national reporting and criticism.

The Washington Post won for public service, honoring that newspaper’s coverage of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and its aftermath.

In the category of breaking news photography, Marcus Yam of the Los Angeles Times won for his work in Afghanistan.

Sports: Coach of Year is Sun’s Williams

Monty Williams, who led the Phoenix Suns to the best regular season record in the NBA was named Coach of the Year on Monday. The honor of Most Valuable Player will not be announced for a few days, but ESPN is reporting that Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets will be the MVP for the second consecutive season. Jokic reportedly finished ahead of Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Weather: Nice weather, but breezy

WINDY WEATHER here for a while (OC Tribune photo).

It’s very pleasant outside, but you might want to bring a light jacket. The forecast for the West Orange County area calls for winds up to 17 miles an hour, with a small craft advisory.

Tuesday is expected to be partly cloudy with a daytime high of 71 (overnight low of 50). The sun comes out for real on Wednesday (71/51) and Thursday (79/56).

Business: Stocks still have the jitters

It was a rough Monday for investors, as all three major stock indexes took a tumble. On top of that, the value of gold and oil slipped as well.

According to Marketwatch, the Dow declined by 653.67 points, a fall of 1.99 percent. The S&P 500 was down 132.10 (3.2 percent), Nasdaq fell by 521.41 points (4.29 percent).

Gold was down by 0.32 percent and oil by 0.22 percent.