Cagrettes

$3–5 per pack of cigarettes. Is that a lot or a little?

I wouldn't be surprised if Trump starts supplying Patriot systems to Putin to protect oil refineries.

An old USSR's car.

Russian cars are not often seen in Ukraine. Mostly, they are old Soviet Ladas or Volgas. Ronald Reagan told an amusing story about Soviet cars. There is just one detail in this anecdote that does not reflect reality: the money for the car had to be paid at the time of purchase, not in advance. I never managed to buy a car in the USSR. By the time I was third or fourth in line, the Soviet Union had collapsed. So, I bought my first car at a second-hand car market in Poland.

Paulownia

I've seen a plant with unusually large leaves. AI suggested it was a Paulownia—a tree that grows five meters in a year and produces wood that dries in four days. The Paulownia breaks more rules at once than any other species in this series.

Buildings

Beyond the untamed patch of overgrown weeds and wild grass, the sharp, clean lines of a new development rise against the horizon. The contrast is striking: a vibrant tangle of neglected nature in the foreground, yielding abruptly to pristine concrete, glass, and steel. These modern structures stand as symbols of sudden expansion by private business, casting long shadows over the uncultivated earth that awaits cash flow from local authorities.

Rain

Rain, rain ☔ go to Spain Never show your face again

Last warm autumn days

Last warm 🍁🍂🍁🍂 Autumn days. Quel beau moment.

A store

Stores` shelves are not empty but prices did rise.

Students

Students enjoy a short break from classes, relaxing with friends, sharing laughs, and enjoying some free time before returning to their studies. There is a medical college behind a corner.

Church of St. John Nepomucene (Костел Яна Непомука)

A Catholic parish has existed in Dubno since 1612. Services were held in a wooden church until 1811. After a fire, a stone structure was built on the site of the wooden one, the church operated there until 1945, when the building was confiscated from the local Catholic community and subsequently converted into a sports school in 1959. Showers and toilets were installed in the sacristy. The organ and interior furnishings were removed in the 1960s, and seven ornate church altars were irretrievably destroyed by the communist authorities. The Catholic parish reclaimed the dilapidated church in 1993 and began restoration work, which continues to this day. A statue of Christ stands on the building's façade. A modern organ, manufactured by the German firm Josef Weimbs Orgelbau, was donated to the church by Catholics from Germany. Its installation began in November 2023, and the first solemn liturgy accompanied by the organ took place in the spring of 2024 during the parish's patronal feast day.

Zucchini

Not all zucchini sellers have such long eyelashes.

Maccabean Marrtyrs

The Feast of the Holy Maccabean Martyrs is celebrated on August 1st to honor seven brave Jewish brothers, their mother St. Solomonia, and their teacher Eleazar. After the Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox churches split, the celebration falls on different dates. The Ukrainian church celebrates on August 1, the Russian one 13 days later, according to the Gregorian and Julian calendars. The Ukrainian church has a larger number of believers, the Russian one has more church parishes.

Attention

In Canada, I liked that people dress in clothes that are comfortable for them, not in clothes that are just to draw attention to themselves.

Another cafe near home

Very close to home, I suddenly found myself in the rain. Hide in a small, cozy cafe. Only four tables, warm light, pleasant music and delicious coffee.

Small cafe

There are many small cafes in our city. Some cafes only have one or two tables, but they are also cozy.

Moon

Bad words

Ukrainians are amused by the fact that in Russia people curse even with children, while here in Ukraine everyone is intelligent and well-mannered. The word "похуй" is displayed on the windshield for all to see. The car has Volyn license plates, it is the birthplace of Lesya Ukrainka, the great Ukrainian writer and translator of the 19th-20th centuries. The word "похуй" (meaning "fuck") is a crude slang expression denoting complete indifference. In English, it has several equally expressive equivalents, depending on the context and desired level of emotion: "I don't give a fuck" is the most accurate and popular (vulgar) equivalent.

+39C

Way!

A gravity-free portal

It's very hot here

A popular cafe in the city center

A popular cafe in the city center. Pubs are very popular in Ireland and Britain. I have personally checked more than once, if you ask an Irishman where he lives? He will not name his home address, but the nearest pub near his home. Cafes are popular in our country. There are five cafes within a radius of 100 m from my house, plus three more stores where you can buy coffee "to go".

Another fountain

There are several fountains in our city, but almost all of them are working as drinking fountains for wild pigeons but not as air humidifiers. It's very hot here these days.

Old fountain

The old fountain, known as the "pearl of the 50s", was out of service and falling into disrepair for a long time. But in 2019 it was repaired and restored. In the warm season, the local Christian church holds musical evenings "Beside the Old Fountain", which gather people to listen to live music and singing.

Hotel

The hotel had been built in 1967 as a typical hotel during the Soviet period. Over time, the hotel was rebuilt. There was indeed a restaurant on the ground floor. But a few years ago, the restaurant premises were bought by the ATB grocery store chain. There isn't a restaurant at the hotel now but a sign "Restaurant" remained on the facade of the building. The contents of the former restaurant at the hotel are the ATB grocery store.

The Central Street

In the late 60s, there was no bypass road around our city, so all transit cars drove along the central street. Quite often we went out to the main street to look at foreign cars because they were different from the Soviet "Moskvich" and "Volga" and looked better. There were many cars from France and Holland, fewer from Germany, but they were there too. Two guys from our yard, who came from Kyiv to their aunt every year, once said that there were also foreign cars in Kyiv, but they were scattered all over the city, and here they were all in one place, driving along the main street, so it seemed that there were more of them. Once, in a haberdashery store, I saw French tourists who drove up to the store in a beautiful car. They were a man with a girl who was a little older than me. She looked about 15-16 years old. The girl had unusually large eyes. Maybe that was the fashion in France at that time. Now I don't remember the brand of car that the French tourists were traveling in, but I still remember for yet that girl's eyes. ---- #Dubno, #Cenralstreet, #retrospect

Banderka

A mountain on which, in the forest, there's a village called Girnyky. When I was 12 or 13 y.o., the boys would go there in the early spring to pick snowdrops for our mothers, grandmothers, and sisters for March 8th. Then, we called the mountain Banderka. We inherited that name from older boys. Several years ago, I asked a resident of this village if there were Banderyes there during the war (Bandery – members of OUN-UPA, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists - Ukrainian Povstanska (Rebel) Army). "Yes, there were," he replied. "There were real Banderas and fake ones. What do you mean fake? - I didn't understand. The real ones wore uniforms, but the fake ones didn't. Father of that man was a tailor in the village, and Banderiyes would come to him to have him sew uniforms for them. They brought their own fabrics and always paid for the work. The "fake Boundaries" were ordinary gangs of armed robbers who roamed nearby villages, collecting food from the peasants, supposedly for the "real Banderites." Near the hotel in the town, there's a memorial stone commemorating the site where, in January 1945, three residents of the village of Rachin were publicly hanged for being members of the OUN-UPA. Those executed were 35, 25, and 23 years old. #oldvillage, #Girnyky, #memorialstone, #Rachin

Children and war

According to the official "Children of War" database, as of June 2026, at least 707 children have been killed and over 2,570 injured since the start of the full-scale invasion in Ukraine. Forced deportation: The Ukrainian government has identified over 20,000 children who have been forcibly transported or deported to Russian-controlled territories or to Russia itself, with only a fraction of them being safely returned.

Калгарі - Цюріх

Гарний літачок, - як ззовні так і всередені

Seton — сучасний район на південному сході Калгарі

Seton — сучасний район на південному сході Калгарі, спроєктований як повноцінний міський центр, де мешканці можуть жити, працювати та відпочивати в одному місці. Район активно розвивається з кінця 2010-х років і вважається одним із найперспективніших нових районів міста. Головною перевагою Seton є поєднання житлової забудови з розвиненою інфраструктурою. Тут розташований великий медичний комплекс South Health Campus, один із найбільших спортивно-рекреаційних центрів міста — Brookfield Residential YMCA at Seton, а також численні магазини, ресторани, офіси та громадські простори. Район створювався з акцентом на пішохідну доступність та сучасний міський стиль життя. Seton приваблює молоді сім’ї, фахівців медичної сфери та інвесторів завдяки новому житловому фонду, зручному доступу до послуг і подальшим планам розвитку транспортної інфраструктури. Через велику кількість сервісів його часто називають «південним даунтауном» Калгарі.