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Ukraine has now been fighting their own World War III for nearly two years, but it is not just the tanks, guns & ammunition that are essential to their defence. Technology plays an absolutely crucial role as well. Specifically, Elon Musk’s Starlink (a division of his SpaceX), and Clearview AI have become indispensable. 

Soon after Russia invaded and immediately targeted essential infrastructure, Musk deployed his Starlink satellite Internet service for free across the country to facilitate communication for both the military and civilians. Without it, Ukrainian forces wouldn’t be able to fight a cyberwar against Russia or counter their constant disinformation campaign. Without Starlink, the Ukrainian military would be unable to interconnect their essential equipment, and the government couldn’t communicate with its citizens to provide lifesaving incoming information. 

As discussed in my last blog, Conflict AI, Clearview AI has built an alarming facial recognition software program by scraping billions of images & corresponding names from the Internet. They then sell this data to governments and law enforcement agencies around the world. Clearview has provided the Ukrainian military free access so they can identify captured (and dead) Russian soldiers to determine potential war criminals, human rights violators, and undercover agents.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch

While it’s admirable that Starlink and Clearview have provided their services to Ukraine at no charge, they both have benefitted from the arrangement. Musk’s Starlink is now an essential component of any modern war and Clearview’s database of people’s faces has grown from 2 billion to over 40 billion images, making it an even more powerful and enticing tool for mass surveillance.

However, the looming question is: what will be the price to Ukraine once the war is over?

Read the Fine Print

After the war, most of Ukraine’s telecommunications infrastructure will have been destroyed. It will take years and billions of dollars to restore high-speed Internet service across the shattered country. The Starlink infrastructure, however, will still be positioned high above Ukraine. These satellites have become so essential to the nation, Musk could probably ask any price he wishes for continued service.

Clearview AI has been called a fundamental building block of the digital future by MikhaylFedorov, the Minister of Digital Transformation. Does this mean that Ukrainians will live in a surveillance state as Clearview AI is embedded within their country’s popular digital identity application, Diia – all in the name of national defence and border security? 

This illegal & unjustified war has killed and disabled hundreds of thousands of innocent Ukrainians. Families have been torn apart and most of the nation has been reduced to rubble. When the war is finally over, Ukraine will have paid a terrible price for their victory over Russia. Let’s hope this hard-fought victory does not result in a new era of technological oppression.

Slava Ukraini!  Heroiam Slava!

I must admit that as I sit down to write this I’m conflicted. After 18 months in Kyiv I’ve developed an even greater affinity for the Ukrainian people than my personal heritage might suggest. This country and its people have suffered four genocidal events over the past century including of course, the most recent Russian invasion. I’d say they finally deserve some peace, but after reading a recent article in TIME magazine Ukraine’s ‘Secret Weapon’ Against Russia is Clearview AI, I’m concerned that any eventual peace may come with an expected price.

The Fog of War

As you’ll find in my previous blog or podcast, Clearview AI is a 35-person technology company that’s built an alarming facial recognition software program by scraping billions of images & corresponding names from the Internet. They then sell this data to governments and law enforcement agencies around the world. Since the most recent escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, Clearview AI has found an interesting new market niche: identifying Russian soldiers, dead or alive. 

The brutal war has left hundreds of thousands of casualties, untold destruction, human rights abuses and war crimes that must be documented, and the perpetrators punished. Soon after the illegal Russian invasion, Clearview AI provided their facial recognition software to the Government of Ukraine for free. The Ukrainian military identifies Russian soldiers through Clearview AI and the millions of images it scraped from the Saint Petersburg-based social media site VKontakte.

A Picture Worth a Thousand Words 

So far 71,000 Russian casualties have been identified and posted on a website accessible to grieving wives, mothers & daughters. I think it’s a brilliant way to sow domestic anti-war sentiments within Russia. 

Furthermore, evidence is being compiled against the perpetrators of war crimes like the Bucha massacre. Clearview AI is now an essential technology for Ukrainian prosecutors searching for separatists in Crimea who assisted the Russian invaders back in 2014. Ukrainian border guards also employ the tool to identify Russian agents trying to enter the country.

There’s no question that Clearview AI is truly being used for good in Ukraine, however, what happens when the war is over? It’s damn hard to put the genie back in the bottle once it’s out.

Don’t Diia it!

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation is a big fan of Clearview AI, and he plans to embed it within the country’s digital infrastructure. This is a scary thought considering Ukraine’s Diia digital identity app is the centre of that infrastructure. Imagine, every time you open your national digital ID app, your face is compared to 30 billion Internet images by a private company’s AI database. Your government and Clearview will always know who you are what you’ve posted, and those links could be used to profile or even prosecute you.

Identifying and prosecuting war criminals is one thing. But using a tool like ClearviewAI to identify ordinary Ukrainian citizens as they go about their peaceful daily lives is another. I believe that Clearview AI is a technology weapon and should only be used in extreme circumstances. Haven’t Ukrainians had more than enough of weapons?

Slava Ukraini! Heroiam Slava!

In my previous blog Berlin 1.0, I explained my visit to the German capital was to attend the Great Repair international architecture conference at the beautiful Akademie der Künst. Now it’s time to share what I learned while exploring Berlin and compare it to my second home, Kyiv.

Fortunately, I wasn’t alone. Two good Ukrainian friends, Yeva and Alisa, joined me. The three of us have had tons of fun hanging out and discovering all the fascinating nooks and crannies in Kyiv, so now it was time to take our show on the road.

Spätis life in Berlin

First off, we were amazed to find that Berlin is very similar to Kyiv in many ways. Both have a buzzing street life with lots of cafes, restaurants and galleries. Both exude a tangible sense of swagger boasting a vibrant arts scene and internationally acclaimed fashion industry. 

Berlin has been a major global influence on contemporary music for centuries. Ukraine has won the Eurovision Song Contest three times: 2004, 2016, and in 2022 with “Stefania” by Kalush Orchestra, thus becoming the first country in the 21st century – and the first Eastern European country to win the contest three times.

Berlin streets are dotted with kebab counters and Spätis bars where you can buy a few essentials and a beer to enjoy on the bench out front while watching the world walk by. Unlike many German cities, Berlin feels very open and alive. The people don’t seem to spend their lives locked in their flats. Rather, they live life to the fullest while ambling the bustling streets and cafes of Berlin’s neighbourhoods. The three of us felt totally at home and at times even forgot we weren’t in Kyiv.

The Gate to the East

A visit to Berlin isn’t complete without seeing the iconic Brandenburg Gate and the American Checkpoint Charlie border crossing that was originally very close to the infamous Berlin Wall. Now however, almost all signs of the former scar on the city are gone. Today the Brandenburg Gate separates a large and beautiful park on the formerly West side from the museum and cultural heart of the city located in what was the East.

East vs West

Of course, Berlin was completely destroyed by the end of World War II and was rebuilt along two vastly different political ideologies. West Berlin was designed according to Western values of democracy and freedom by the Americans through the Marshall Plan. East Berlin however, was rebuilt as an oppressive Soviet-style city by the other victor in WWII, the USSR, now known as Russia.

I believe the contrast between East and West contributes to making today’s Berlin unique. This same East versus West struggle is currently happening in Ukraine as the eastern and western portions of the country experience a different reality during this brutal war with Russia. Eventually Ukrainians will choose how they want to live their lives after this unjustified war, and Berlin is a wonderful example of what had been, and a glorious rise to become one of the world’s greatest cities.

When leaders talk about a negotiated ceasefire along the current front lines in Ukraine, they are really talking about building another wall between East and West again. Berlin’s wall eventually fell but only after two generations of East Germans had to suffer through an oppressive, Stasi regime. Asking Ukrainians to wilfully submit to an East vs West future for their nation is far too much to ask of anyone. Just ask your average Berliner the next time you stop for a beer. 

Slava Ukraini! Heroaim Slava!

Despite spending a lot of time in Germany over the years, I’ve never properly experienced Berlin. So when I got the opportunity to visit the German capital for a few days on my way back to Canada, I jumped at the opportunity.

Thanks to my incredible colleagues at Mapping Ukraine, ETH Zürich and the Swiss Network for Ukraine, I had a great excuse to explore Berlin.

The Golden ARCH+

The foremost architecture magazine in the world is ARCH+, and it’s currently sponsoring a three-month exhibition combining art, design and architecture called The Great Repair – Politics for the Repair Society. The Great Repair is an oxymoron. The title captures the convergence of two seemingly contradictory principles: the revolutionary ambition for systemic change and the evolutionary act of repair. Despite the justified (postmodern) scepticism toward revolution as a concept of rupture, we must not abandon our aspiration to bring about profound transformation.

The 3 Rs

To sum up the Great Repair, think of it as Reduce, Reuse and Recycle combined with architecture, design and philosophy. There were technical exhibits like 3D building Lidarscanning. There were more philosophical exhibits like how to design an impactful yet dignified memorial. But also an exhibit encouraging people to sign a global petition that all new construction should reduce, reuse and recycle as much of any existing structure as possible.

My Peace Coalition colleagues Jonathan & Basil from Mapping Ukraine demonstrated an impressive prototype of their 4D map of the war in Ukraine. Click through layer after layer to display things like active front line conflicts, war crimes, environmental and munition contamination, and damaged property & infrastructure. On a second screen there’s a video montage of interviews with leading global architects, urban planners, designers, diplomats and even humanitarians like me.

It was great to finally see a group of my Peace Coalition colleagues working together to create such an informational yet compelling presentation focused on not just the rebuilding of Ukraine, but the renewal of Ukraine as a prosperous Western, European nation. 

The Great Repair runs from October 14, 2023 to January 14, 2024 at the Akademie der Künste (Academy of Arts) and is well worth a visit if you’re in Berlin. I was lucky to receive an invitation to attend the spectacular opening night reception. 

No Room at the Bar

The exhibit hall didn’t actually open until 8 pm so we grabbed drinks and talked about art and architecture. We were amazed to watch the hall swell with attendees waiting in three, huge well-mannered queues. At one point, I swear there must have been over 1000 people packing this hall in 3 big line ups that never seemed to move, it turns out it was 1400 people!

Being from North America, I’ve always found Europeans more culturally aware and Berliners are a perfect example. The Great Repair is an eclectic topic displayed in an esoteric manner, yet 1500 Berliners took time out of their Friday night to attend the grand opening. I don’t think you could get more than fifty folks to show up at an event like this in Vancouver, unless you offered free booze.

People stood in line, ambled through the courtyards drinking wine or beer between sessions while chatting with architects, designers and humanitarians. As a reward for their time and perseverance, the evening ended with a three-hour music set buy a famous Berlin DJ who kept the dance floor pumping long after the exhibit hall closed.

Some say Berlin is the least German city in Germany, and I think I know why. It’s so openly happy to be multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-everything. Berlin, like Kyiv, is a living city full of citizens looking to enjoy the finer things life has to offer. The only difference is that in Berlin there are no air raids, no missiles, and no war. At least there hasn’t been over the last 78 years.

Slava Ukraini!  Heroiam Slava!

I’m back in Vancouver on my way to Ottawa for meetings in early November. During my journey I enjoyed three incredible days in Berlin (just a little future blog teaser). While responding to emails on the train I was asked by one of my colleagues for travel tips for visiting Kyiv. I realized that I’d never actually shared a detailed itinerary for getting to Kyiv. So if any of you readers are thinking about visiting Kyiv, here’s how it’s done.

All rails lead to Przemyśl

First, if you’re from Canada, the U.S. or the EU, you don’t need any kind of visa to enter Ukraine, just a valid passport like any other trip across a border.

However, the only way to get to Kyiv is by train, and the most efficient route is to fly into Krakow. If you’re in Europe that will be a short flight or train ride. From North America you’ll probably get there via London, Munich, Amsterdam or Paris.

When arriving in Krakow you’ll take an Uber to the main train station (Krakow Glowny), where you can catch a train every hour to Przemyśl on the Ukrainian border. 

You can purchase your Polish Railways tickets from Krakow or Warsaw to Przemyśl here

This train takes 2.5 hours, but I must warn you – there’s nothing to do in Przemyśl so don’t get there early or you’ll be sitting in a tiny Polish town where everything closes at 10 pm. 

From Przemyśl you’ll cross the railway tracks and Polish border control to a special Ukrainian Railways train direct to Kyiv.  

Country rail take me home

You can purchase Ukrainian Railways tickets from Poland to Kyiv or Lviv here 

There are multiple trains per day and some even have first class sleeper compartments that take 15 hours to get to Kyiv. I usually choose the faster train that leaves Przemyśl at 23:55 and takes 10 hours. The sleeper trains are great but there are no on-board services, so remember to bring your own food and beverages. The faster trains have only seats which are not ideal for sleeping, but they are modern with well-stocked canteens. 

When you depart Przemyśl you’ll need to queue for at least an hour to pass through Polish border control before you board the train to Kyiv. Make sure you budget this time into your connection from Krakow. 

Ukrainian border control agents will check passports on the train after it leaves Przemyśl, so there’s no need to stop and get off the train. When you arrive in Kyiv it’s best to Uber, Bolt or Uklon (which is what I use because it’s Ukrainian and the locals use it), from the train station to your hotel.

There is no hotel like home

I highly recommend, in fact I insist that you stay at Hotel Bursa in the Podil district of Kyiv 

You can book your stay at Hotel Bursa here  

Bursa is the best hotel I’ve ever experienced and the staff are one big happy & welcoming family. The restaurant, rooftop bar and food is top-shelf. 

Furthermore, the clientele is absolutely fascinating. I’ve met and become friends with UN agency staff, journalists, fashion designers, models, artisits, diplomats, scientists, students, and entrepreneurs. If I’m here when you visit I’d be thrilled to show you around this beautiful city.

Kyiv is a wonderful city full of wonderful people and there’s no hardship other than the occasional air raid siren. It’s safe, modern and all the restaurants and shops are fully stocked so there’s nothing to worry about from a quality-of-life perspective.

I look forward to welcoming you to Kyiv! 

Slava Ukraini! Heroiam Slava!

Kyiv is a city of contrasts, and nothing illustrates this more than living on the right bank of the Dnipro river, (west side), versus the left bank, (east side). My hotel Bursa is located in the Podil district on the right bank, surrounded by four-story baroque style buildings, fancily decorated with statues and reliefs. However, due to its more Soviet-era influence, the left bank is littered with huge high-rise residential apartment towers.

In fact, the right bank begins at Podil, once a Jewish area full of craftsmen, and it surrounds the city’s original square, Kontraktova, home of the oldest Ukrainian university, the Kyiv Mohyla Academy. From Podil you can walk up the hill to see where the original walled city existed over 1000 years ago. At the summit is Maidan square, Khreshatyk Street, all the government buildings, embassies plus the exquisite St. Sophia’s Cathedral. The surrounding Golden Gate neighbourhood has small, intimate winding streets populated with restaurants, clothing designers, artists and hipsters.

Living the high life

I visited the left bank for the first time the other day and judging by the sheer size of the buildings, most of Kyiv’s residents must live there. The contrast couldn’t be starker as once you cross the river you’re surrounded by vertical suburbia with busy multi-lane streets featuring mini-marts, grocery stores and malls.

On the right bank there’s a complex Metro transit system that ensures good access to all of Kyiv. The left bank however, has only three stations so most who live there have no choice but to take an additional bus or Uber to get home from the end of the line.

Work on the right but live on the left

All government buildings and most offices are located on the right bank. Consequently, Kyivhas horrendous traffic jams and long queues for transit during the rush hours as a million people commute to work daily from left to right. Moreover, the right bank has most of the restaurants, theatres, opera house and night life. The left boasts shopping malls, big box stores and the IMAX theatre. If you’re lucky enough to live near the left bank shoreline of the Dnipro, you’ll enjoy parks, marinas, beaches, riverside walkways and gourmet coffee shops. However, residing farther east is more isolated with mini-marts and cafes crammed into the ground floors of 20-story residential apartment blocks.

Certainly, people on the left bank live a more inconvenient life, especially if they commute downtown every day. Dinner or drinks with colleagues after work ensures you must leave 90 minutes earlier to get home before curfew, or you’re staying on a friend’s couch.

No matter where they live, Kyivans are masters at living life to the fullest. Long commutes and taxi rides are all part of their daily routine. A million people commuting from left to right during war time is just another illustration of the Ukrainian people’s strength and perseverance.

Slava Ukraini!  Heroaim Slava!

Continuing the culture theme from my last post, I’d like to share some insight into the roll Ukrainian culture is playing in the war. Everyone in Ukraine is very proud of their unique cultural heritage and the murderous Russian attacks have only made that pride stronger and more resilient.

Kyivans absolutely adore their city and it’s easy to understand why. Almost every street has a shop selling art supplies or musical instruments, and chic neighbourhoods like Golden Gate are brimming with independent fashion brands, galleries, bookstores and theatres. Nearly everyone has tickets to an opera or a concert once a week, and pop-up art exhibits and fashion events are bursting with eager patrons.

Ukrainians know that Putin’s terrible war is an attempt to extinguish their cultural heritage so the only way they can preserve it is to fight.

Culture vs War

Recently I was exposed to one of the most powerful and heart-wrenching examples of how far Ukrainians will go to preserve their culture from destruction. Andrii Rizol, is a Ukrainian marketer and film producer who established Watch Ukraine. This organization connects the country’s cinematic community with top communication executives to raise awareness of the crucial role culture has played throughout the history of Ukraine.

Andrii’s most recent project is a series of short documentary films called Culture vs War that has been travelling across Ukraine from the front lines to the gardens of St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv. I was fortunate to be invited to his screenings on the beautiful lawn of the 1200-year-old cathedral. It was a moving and solemn reminder of just how long Kyiv has been the cultural heart of the Slavic people.

Culture vs War chronicles famous Ukrainian cultural icons like rock band Antytila, Crimean Tatar actor Akhtem Seitablaiev, and cinematographer Serhiy Mykhalchuk as they abandoned their successful careers to fight for Ukraine’s heritage. The power of the imagery combined with the no-nonsense sensibility of the musicians, artists, actors and cinematographers to join the army left me crying like a baby.

Here are the first three of Culture vs War short films. Grab a box of tissues and see for yourself what’s at stake for Ukraine. I guarantee you’ll realize that a healthy and vibrant culture is the essence of any nation.

Culture vs war – Akhtem Seitablaiev

Culture vs war. Serhii Mykhalchuk

Culture vs War – Antytila

Slava Ukraini! Heroiam Slava!

One of the things I enjoy most about Kyiv is that I discover something new nearly every day. Last week I was walking in the Golden Gate district of Kyiv with friends and we stopped by Pejzazhna Valley to sit on the steps and listen to an outdoor piano performance. Misha, a young virtuoso of Western pop hits by the likes of Coldplay and Maroon 5, and Ukrainian tunes like люди (people) by Бумбокс (Boombox) plays piano in the shade of the park’s old stone staircase every night.

Misha is a 20-something long-haired Kyivan complete with the backwards baseball cap and gleaming white trainers. He plays requests from an eager audience sitting shoulder to shoulder on the stairs and those passing by drawn from around the park. Folks often stop for a few songs, make suggestions on what to play next, and even sing along – especially with the Ukrainian songs.

Misha clearly loves what he does, and actually makes a modest living through the Hryvniasstuffed into his hat beside him.

The Keys to Kyiv

Misha is but one example of the strong focus on culture in Kyiv and indeed a Ukrainian Renaissance across the country. In fact, there are three pianos near the stone staircase as part of an initiative called the Ukraine Culture Crawl. Pianos have been placed in parks all over Ukraine enticing anyone to stop and tickle the ivories anytime.

Last night we were sitting on the steps, sipping white wine while enjoying incredible music and the warm summer evening. Eventually, Misha needed to take a break and recharge, so he surrendered the piano to the crowd. The audience included an enthusiastic contingent of young students from one of the many musical academies in Kyiv. A young girl immediately jumped up and began playing the piano while her talented friends sang along with voices that were obviously blessed with operatic training.

Culture where? Everywhere!

Just a few blocks away is the Kyiv National Opera Academy and I always make an effort to wander past any time I can. Especially in the heat of summer, you’ll hear someone practising a flute, cello or an aria from Tosca. 

A walk along Kyiv Hill to enjoy the view of the mighty Dnipro River that bisects the city includes the Alley of Artists in the shadow of the spectacular Baroque Church of St. Andrews. Artists from across Ukraine flock to the alley to hang their paintings, drawings and photographs on the wall that runs straight down the centre of the pathway. Perhaps they’ll sell a work to tourists or a local looking to decorate their flat. The Alley of Artists is just a portion of a kilometres-long pathway that includes a walk across the glass Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian people to the Park Bridge that crosses the Dnipro to the beaches of Trukhaniv Island.

Kyiv has been the cultural capital of Ukraine for over a thousand years and you can see the evidence everywhere. What began with a church on a hill to establish Kyivan-Rus, developed into a deeply-rooted desire to express the culture of the region through music, art and design. 

Putin’s illegal and unjustified war is an attempt to extinguish the unique heritage of the Ukrainian people, but it only takes a stroll through the leafy parks and streets of Kyivto know that he will never succeed.

Slava Ukrani! Heroaim Slava!

One facet of the war in Ukraine that doesn’t often get shared is that Kyiv is still a really fun city. Everywhere you’ll find basement speakeasys, streetside cafes and parks bustling with people enjoying the rhythm of summertime everyday life, just like in any other European city. Afternoon parties turn into late, but not too late-night revelry as the music and drinks must stop flowing at 9:30 so that folks can get home before the midnight curfew. 

On the surface, Kyivans seem to be living a normal life, but scratch a little below and you’ll find wartime guilt weighing heavily on everyone. 

War is always on my mind

No one ever forgets about the war raging in the east and southern regions of the country, even while trying to blow off some steam. Nightly drone and missile attacks still plague Kyiv, but fortunately Ukrainian air defence is rock solid thanks to the top-notch military equipment supplied by Western allies. Life is quite a bit easier in Kyiv than it is in Kherson for example, which is in range of the murderous Russian artillery. 

Everyone works hard to pay their bills, but also donate whatever they’d normally squirrel away as savings to the military. Whenever a group of us is sitting & chatting after the rooftop the bar has closed, there’s lots of laughter, but there’s also a stiff dose of reality.  

One of my friends has a father fighting on the front lines but hasn’t heard from him in four days. Two others have family trapped in occupied territory, and there’s always someone talking about volunteering to fight. Men are constantly drafted and everyone knows a friend who’s died at the front. 

A Guilted Cage

Ukrainians are people just like us. They want to be happy and enjoy life, but it’s very hard to be happy about anything while friends & family are dying just a few hours away. When living day by day, how can you not need to blow off steam? At the same time, celebrating just seems wrong, a guilty pleasure that should be reserved for people not at war.  

After a year living in Ukraine I’ve learned that war causes untold damage and heartbreak, but it also brings people together to resist a common enemy. Ukrainians and Russians are like a fractured family who’ve spent decades together but are now experiencing a horrendous estrangement.  

In Ukraine, guilt is a paradox, but so is an unjustified, murderous war with your brothers and sisters.  

Slava Ukraini!  Heroaim Slava! 

Generally, I consider myself to be a very positive person. I get up every day assuming it’s going to be good or even great, until something or someone proves me wrong. I believe in being nice to your barista in the morning, always tipping your server, holding doors open for strangers, and saying please & thank you. Very basic, simply things we all learned in childhood. It’s amazing how positive your life can be when you, yourself, exude positivity.

Life is about living, and to me, that means meeting other people and sharing your life with them. Maybe that’s why I’ve found it easy to stay in Kyiv for over a year during wartime. I’m surrounded by so many incredible people who willingly share their lives with me every day. It’s both exciting and heartwarming at the same time.

Feeling the Love

The entire crew at Hotel Bursa is ‘family’ to me and I spend lots of time with them because I truly enjoy it. My day always begins with hugs and coffee, and my nights end with conversation and laughter on the rooftop deck after closing. I’m invited to staff parties and attend nearly everyone’s birthday party. The couch in my room is always available for curfew-induced surfing, and everything I have is everyone’s to share.

Last night, spontaneously in the middle of conversation, four of the crew turned to me and said “Michael, do you know how much we love you?” I was speechless and blushing from ear to ear when they followed up with, “You are the nicest person we’ve ever met.” After melting in my chair from the warmth these wonderful folks shared I replied, “I love all of you too, and I’d take a bullet for any of you.” I suppose regular missile attacks result in different ways of thinking and expressing oneself, but it’s the best way to describe how grateful I am to be surrounded by such a loving family.

Human Antidepressant

My overall positive mood and resulting approach to life has also earned me the nickname “the Human Antidepressant.” This blush-worthy moniker was assigned to me by Artem, my Ukrainian brother from another mother. 

It’s not hard to exude positivity if you put your mind to it, and you’ll be astonished at how quickly it becomes second-nature. The effect you’ll have on others occurs naturally through osmosis. It’s a wonderful feeling, and it changes outcomes.

Friends are Family

When I eventually leave Kyiv I may just miss my Bursa family more than I’ve missed my real family. Why are my connections so strong here? Perhaps the war has made people more open, or perhaps Ukrainians don’t have much to look forward to given the daily murderous Russian attacks. All I know is I wouldn’t want to be be anywhere else on earth right now because I truly love my wonderful family in Kyiv. 

I wish you could join me here at Hotel Bursa in Kyiv. After two weeks of wartime warmth, kindness and caring, you’ll never want to leave.

Slava Ukraini!  Heroiam Slava!