Ukraine! What's happening in Ukraine?
Prior to 2014, Ukraine was a rather unknown place in the world. Most Americans could not place Ukraine on the world map. Then in 2014, Vladimir Putin put Ukraine on the map with an invasion onto Crimea and into Donbas. And here we are in 2024 with an active war in Ukraine.
Ukraine was front page above the fold news, now below the fold, but it's been a very deadly and destructive war for the Ukrainian people. The war will end, and as Ukraine has done several times in the past. the country will recover, rebuild and rebound.
Ukraine is my second home. Having lived in the city of Mykolaiv for long periods of time, I am quite familiar with the country, people, culture and geopolitics. This war has strengthened the resolve of Ukrainian people but it is making them weary. If there is any positive aspect to this war, it is that the Russian boot on Ukraine's neck is coming off and Ukraine is finally putting the Russian Empire in its final resting place next to Lenin.
If you wade through the thick clouds of media smoke and Kremlin-grown propaganda, you will find a country and a culture that's as rich and inviting as any place in Europe. On my first trip to Ukraine in 2008, I had a "deja vu" experience during the entire six weeks I was there. It reminded me of my childhood in Upstate New York. In a different language of course.
International travel is a pathway to the soul which many never walk. Ukraine is a place where few tourists have ventured. Men go in search of the mythical mail order bride, but remain blind to the country and the culture. Most come back home completely ignorant to the experience they could have had using their "other" brain. Ukraine is an opportunity to experience the remnants from the other side of the "wall' and to talk with our Ukrainian peers from that era. It was mind-blowing to talk with older taxi drivers who had been hearing about those evil Americans back in the Cold War days. I've made alot of friends that way.
Incidently, Ronald Regan, without exception, is their favorite American president. An immediate thumbs up every time.
Ukrainian Photo Gallery
MYKOLAIV 2009 PARADE
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U-KRAINE?