Odessa – on the Black Sea in Ukraine
24 July 2018 | Places
It’s not my first trip to Ukraine – I was there in 2016 visiting the capital Kiev and that 20th century disaster site Chernobyl – but this trip I certainly wasn’t very happy when I arrived in Odessa. Although it may be the ‘Pearl of the Black Sea’ or the ‘Southern St ...
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MH17 – why didn’t the Russians check before they fired their Buk missile?
27 May 2018 | Transport
Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down by a Russian missile over eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014 – almost four years ago – while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. The Netherlands authorities have announced who did it – the Russian 53rd Anti-Aircraft Briga...
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Cold War Relics – in both directions
4 August 2016 | Places
En route to the Chernobyl reactor and the ghost town of Pripyat we made a short detour to an amazing Cold War site. Here’s my diary entry: ‘a fascinating diversion to the Duga-3 early detection array (aka Russian Woodpecker), where the Russians watched out for missile...
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Kiev – the Capital of Ukraine
29 July 2016 | Places
My recent travels to Ukraine featured a couple of days in Kiev, as well as pointing a gieger counter at Reactor 4 at Chernobyl. Kiev’s a surprisingly attractive city and there’s plenty to occupy a few days.
▲ Plenty of glittering Orthodox churches and cathedral...
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A Day Trip to Chernobyl
4 July 2016 | Places
Or Chornobyl? That’s the Ukrainian spelling and that’s where the deadly nuclear reactor is located. Chernobly is the Russian spelling. Ditto for Kyiv (Ukrainian) and Kiev (Russian)
◄ I’m standing outside Reactor 4 and holding up a Geiger counter to show that I’m qu...
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