KYIV UKRAINE

It started as a peaceful protest in one of Europe's busiest capitals. Today, it exploded into massive violence and bloodshed, now on the brink of a civil war. At least 70 dead so far and the death toll rising. Overnight, dozens of armed pro-Russian forces seized control of the international airport. What America is officially calling a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Between the year 2013 and the present day, Ukraine has been torn apart by violent protests and military insurgencies. The issue first began when the government decided against an association agreement with the European Union, instead favoring Russian support. This escalated to the point where Russian troops alongside pro-Russian separatists seized the strategic peninsula of Crimea in a controversial referendum. A ceasefire agreement was reached in 2015, but to this day, there are incidents of violence and shady political maneuvering on both sides. I wanted to visit Ukraine myself and learn about its unique culture and what was behind its strong but often split cultural identity. This is Kiev in 10 minutes or less. Real quick, these are my friends Colin and Elliot. I met them while traveling through Estonia, and they'll be joining me for this part of the adventure. I mean, yeah, definitely no expert, but that camouflage is questionable. Maybe in like a Dr. Seuss film. On the beach. Santana. Before anyone gets upset, yes, we were aware that it was the Ukrainian flag's colors. Just having a laugh. Man, that's crazy. So this thing was probably in use, or it was in use. In the whole, yeah, when Russia invaded Crimea, Ukraine seized this. It's nuts. Well, that was totally unexpected. That was awesome. Nice, yeah. That's not her. Oh, it's a church. Starting to rain pretty hard. Headed to the Motherland Monument. Could be worse. I'm confused by the blue sky, though, you know? Elliot, you're messing up my shot, man. Sorry, dude. I'm kidding. Yeah, right. So after a few days in Kiev, we hopped on a bus and headed north. One of the craziest places on the planet. The area of Chernobyl. The explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant immediately killed two employees, with an estimated 28 firemen who died in the months after due to acute radiation poisoning. It exposed thousands to radiation, not just in Ukraine, but all across Europe. And the full effects are still being calculated. What you're seeing now is the town of Pripyat, once home to some 50,000 residents. Now it's been completely abandoned. It has allowed Mother Nature to come back in and claim her territory. I think what makes these places so eerie, so spellbinding, is that it gives us a first-hand look at how little we matter. We like to think that the things around us will last forever. And this is a reminder that that isn't the case. Who remembers the limits for Ukraine? The limit is 0.30. Everything below 0.30 is considered to be clean. And right now we have 8.40 microsieverts per hour. That's already almost 30 times higher, right, than the limit. So after our somewhat grave trip to Chernobyl, we needed a drink. So we decided to see what Kiev's nightlife had to offer. And we met some friends along the way. I think you're supposed to do something, like make a wish and then I have to blow out the candle or something. So wait until you see something. Okay, we might be here a while. Look at that. Okay, enough food and drinks. Let's get to the real stuff. Okay, thank you. All right, so what now? Real quick before you go, I've partnered with a great new company called Indohemp. They create really cool artistic hemp backpacks. And 10% of every sale goes to non-profits helping child poverty in Nepal. Just go ahead and click the link in the description of the video and use the code GOLOCAL to get 10% off of your order. Other than that, I hope you guys enjoyed the video. See you next time.