Kharkiv has 3.5 times London's population

I don't understand war. Attacking and invading a neighbouring county makes absolutely no sense to me. None. Here, in North America, I don't think most folk have a good handle on just what a fine country the Ukraine is. And Russia is can be a damn fine place to live as well. And yet, an invasion may not be on the table, as they say, but it is a possibility. Why?

I decided to check out the Ukraine and I chose the city of Kharkiv in which to do some sightseeing thanks to Google Street Views. Why Kharkiv? I caught a journalist, who was working in Kharkiv, being interviewed on CNN. I thought it must be a rather important city if a foreign journalist was stationed there.

Kharkiv has a large, popular, city park. London has a city-block sized park, too. I checked out the Ukrainian park. Wow! The Kharkiv park is absolutely amazing. 

There was a time London's park had a fountain but no more.  It was removed and discarded some years ago.

The heritage section of Kharkiv is not as intact as one might like but it does boast the presence of a large number of fine, old structures. London does not have a heritage district. The vast majority are gone and the one's remaining are sprinkled about here and there. The last intact block of heritage structures was torn down in order to build a massive downtown mall and then the mall was never built. Today a hockey arena occupies the land.

Kharkiv is a larger city than London. It has about 3.5 times the population of London. In 1975, the Ukrainian city started to build a subway. Today there are some 30 metro stations. In 1975, London politicians were discussing how to build an improved transit system. Today the London politicians are still discussing how best to build a rapid transit system. Nothing has been done but at least London is now considering a rapid transit system. For the moment, London will continue to use simple buses. Come back in 40 years and see what has changed.