Ukraine

• The U.S. is preparing to send a $1 billion Patriot missile battery to Ukraine.
• Ukraine has been asking for a Patriot system since the war began early this year, but cynics say it's an expensive, excessive solution for this war: each battery takes 70 to 90 highly-trained people to operate, and the single battery Ukraine is getting can only protect part of Kyiv - and only against certain threats.
• So while perhaps not perfectly practical, it's at least a strong symbol of U.S. support for Ukraine.
• Ukraine and Russia completed a prisoner swap, with Russia releasing 64 Ukrainian prisoners of war - and one American citizen. Al Jazeera pointed out that the swap is a positive sign that Ukraine and Russia are still in contact - despite vicious fighting and aerial attacks.

• The WHO corrected the popular notion that China's spike in COVID cases happened because restrictions were lifted: rather, the WHO said those restrictions weren't effective in the first place and COVID was already spreading in China before Pres. Xi gave up on them.

• The UN Women's Rights Agency rightfully kicked Iran out: there's no place in a women's rights organization for a country that treats women like "second class citizens" (per a 2021 UN report).

• A U.S. partnership (Lindsayca of Houston and CH-4 of Puerto Rico) won a $760 million deal to build two natural gas power plants in Guyana. Many of Guyana's major contracts have gone to underbidding Chinese state companies, so it's significant that a U.S. consortium won this one.