Ernie Madarang's video: UKRAINE before the invasion of 2022

We visited Ukraine in Sept. 2015 while an armed conflict was going on at Donbas by pro-Russan separatist group in the southeast region of Ukraine. At that time Crimea was already invaded & illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. We were therefore second-guessing to find a stolid, bleak country, drab & dreary cityscape w/ Sovietish-like atmosphere, chilly & suspicious of foreigners, just as we have observed in the other 7 former Soviet Republics we previously visited. This perception was not at all un-anticipated, given what they have gone through in the years past. Was under Russian Empire rule for 2 centuries then an additional 70 yrs behind the Iron curtain of USSR. We were, however, astonished to find a modern country w/ beautiful countryside landscape, certainly not Sovietish w/ no vestige of it. It's a fascinating old country w/ towns over 1000 yrs old, that has restored & preserved their thousands of archeological, architectural & historical monuments dating back to the 10th & 11th century. Besides this their rich culture we met warm & hospitable people. In the City of Lviv, it is interesting to find they have come under the rule of the Polish, Lithuanians, Austrians & Russians thru the centuries, and then conquered by the Mongols in the 13th century. It also survived the occupation of the Nazi's & the Soviet army during WWII. The City Center was remarkably saved & preserve that it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Today it has become the center of art, literature, music & theater w/ artistic activities of over 100 festivals. The Capital City of Kyiv have incredible number of architectural & historic monuments as exemplified by the grandiose ensemble of magnificent churches such as the St Sophia Cathedral, the Pechersk-Lavra Monastery of the Caves Complex, the St Andrews church, Uspensky Cathedral, just to name a few. All these splendid structures w/ their gorgeous golden domes are pearls of world architecture listed in the UNESCO World Heritage site. Odessa the major Port City of Ukraine is the biggest seaport in the black Sea. It is the summer destination not only for Ukrainians but also other Europeans because of its beautiful warm beaches. We want to share with you this video of our trip before the beautiful cities are leveled to the ground by the continued bombing of the invading Russian forces. It is sad that, to this day, war wages on. On this vain I'd like to comment briefly on Mr. Putin's speech aired on the Russian National TV on Feb, 21, 2022 on his (sic) reasons for invading Ukraine. (you can watch it on YouTube). He denounced the legitimacy of Ukraine statehood, portraying the Ukrainian people as wayward branch of Russian people.... If you're a history enthusiast you'll know that Mr. Putin's statements are erroneous if not fallacious, His interpretation of history is a fantasy of his imperialistic ambitions. Mr, Putin is trying to re-write history. Historical records show, that Ukraine was founded way back in the 9th century as the Kyvian Rus State w/ its Capital Kyiv, w/c remains the Capital to this day 1000 yrs hence. So while Moscow was still a village, as mentioned in the chronicles of 1147, Kyiv was already a Metropolis, that rivaled the cities of London. Paris & Vienna in population, wealth & splendor, By the 10th & 11th century the Kyvian Rus State was the largest & most powerful State in Europe. So long before Moscow rose to prominence, Kyiv has become the Mother of the Rus Cities in the 12th century long before Ivan IV declared himself Tsar of all Russia (1547) Ref: Wikepedia