FROM THE CARPATHIANS

I am writing from the Carpathian Mountains this time where I choose as the destination for my birthday trip. Thank you very much for all the nice words and birthday wishes. I was very touched.

Days here go quite quickly as there is a lot to do in summer. All the magnificent views of forest and fresh air are definitely a bonus for those who like long walks or bike rides. It is nice to see how nature takes it back to those places where the forest being logged, new trees are about to grow.

I think a new re-greening of Ukraine initiative of our president makes totally good sense. It calls for one billion trees to be planted in Ukraine in the next three years. While the illegal logging remains a major challenge to my country’s reforestation program, this proposal of President Zelensky is definitely a step ahead for our renewable resource For more, Rusty, watch this. New Film: Protecting the Carpathians | News | Global Conservation.

In other news from the Carpathians, apparently a new ski resort is to be built near Slavske, a town just about two hours by train from Lyiv. OKKO seeks to start building ski resort in Carpathian Mountains in 2021, investments to reach $500 mln

The skiing season in Ukraine begins in late November and ends in late March. At the moment , the present facilities are outdated so Slavske’s new resort will be good for the entire region.

Right now, there is only one big, modern ski resort in Ukraine – Bukovel – owned by the oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi It is quite difficult to reach as, one needs to drive for five to six hours to get there.

That’s it for this week . Stay safe.