In 2011, he visited #Ukraine for season seven of his hit show, 'No Reservations.'

But the Ukraine that #Bourdain toured and ate around bears little resemblance to today's Ukraine.

Ukraine back then was still recovering from its Soviet hangover.

To read our entire article where we retrace Bourdain's steps in Kyiv, follow along (for free) here!

http://counteroffensive.news

It was before the popular assertiveness of the #Maidan protests in 2014, before the #Russian annexation of #Crimea, before the full-scale invasion.

The episode that he made reflected that, complete with an emphasis on borsch, vodka, and nostalgia for the victory over Nazi Germany.

While it's a bit uncomfortable to watch today, given the Russian full-fledged invasion, comparing Ukraine from then to now shows just how far national identity has come since its independence in '91 and this episode.

“[Tony] would definitely jump in his grave once he saw the atrocities of war #Russia unleashed in 2022," a friend who brought him around Kyiv during the episode told The Counteroffensive.

Whether through music, language, and food, #Ukraine today defines itself on its own terms, rather than in relation to Russia and its colonial history.

In that spirit, the team The #Counteroffensive set out to try the places that Bourdain went to in #Kyiv.

We were accompanied by our friend Yaroslav Druziuk.

Druziuk is the editor-in-chief at The Village #Ukraine and has extensive knowledge of the Ukrainian food scene.

https://www.the-village.com.ua/

Two out of the three restaurants Bourdain visited in the city are closed now.

So instead we ate dinner at Kanapa, a showcase of Ukrainian cuisine nestled under the shadow of St. Andrews Church along an ancient street.

Druziuk had a bone to pick with Bourdain. Or, more specifically, Bourdain’s rascally friend and fixer, Zamir Gotta, who worked hard to fulfill every stereotype of Post-Soviet #Ukraine in the episode.

Heroic amounts of vodka? Check. Outlandish, get-rich-quick schemes? Check. Trotting Bourdain around to all the vestiges of the former Soviet Union like a Victory Day parade, Chernobyl, and hidden submarine bases? Check, check, and checkity-check.

Bourdain dined at ‘Le Borsch’, now closed, which Druziuk said was a typical Russian-style restaurant common back in 2011.

The menu consisted of borsch, salo and varenyky. Bourdain also dined on street food, pepper-infused vodka, and Chicken Kyiv.

Druziuk, a gentle soul with a doleful expression, wanted to make clear his view that Zamir was no representative of Ukraine.

He might have Crimean heritage, but that was the Soviet Crimea, and that certainly was not of the new Ukraine of 2023.

“He used a Soviet lens to discuss the culture and food,” Druziuk said with a wry expression as he watched our comically awkward efforts to order from Kanapa’s decadent menu.

Kanapa is pictured below.

“Everything the U.S. knows about #Ukraine is #Chernobyl, the #Russian invasion, and annexation,” he said as he gazed around Kanapa’s dark paneled walls, the elegant table settings, and the open-air veranda.

“The Ukraine he (Bourdain) visited was a totally different country.”

To be clear, we don’t want to blame Bourdain, who, obviously, can’t defend his choices in making that particular episode.

He died in 2018 and #Ukraine was vastly different more than a decade ago.

Today, however, Ukraine — understandably — wants little to do with Russia.

This war is seen by many here as a fight for survival, as a country, as a people, and as a culture.

And one thing Bourdain understood was how important food was to a people’s sense of identity.

So it’s encouraging that Ukrainian fine dining is – while not common – starting to pique the interest of #Ukraine city folks.

Kanapa was one of the first restaurants to offer a haute cuisine twist on traditional Ukrainian fare.

Kanapa's Chicken Kyiv pictured.

Other countries’ cuisines are still more popular restaurant fare than Ukrainian — in part, because, as Druziuk says: “Every Ukrainian restaurant is competing with your mother or your babusya (grandmother).”

But since expressing #Ukrainian identity is, in large part, what the ongoing war is about, it’s time now for Ukrainian cuisine to come out of the Soviet shadow and make its own way.

The Kyiv food scene, which tends to be dominated by fast food, Georgian, and sushi, is getting the Ukrainian food it deserves.

More than just our replacement for ‘Le Borsch,’ Kanapa served a higher purpose, it is a successful attempt at a Ukrainian identity through food.

But the second shuttered restaurant, ‘McFoxy's’ makes it hard to argue this point.

‘McFoxy's’ is a #McDonald's knock-off that was shuttered for tax evasion in 2016. The chain opened in 2009 and Bourdain visited the location in #Kyiv that stood directly next to a #McDonald's.

Finally, the only restaurant that Bourdain visited that is still open is a staple street food in #Kyiv.

One of the few to be "overwhelmingly Kyivian," says Druziuk, who met up with Will to share the hot dog-esque guilty pleasure.

‘Kyivska Perepichka’ is a small window on a busy street near #Maidan #Nezalezhnosti, the central square in Kyiv, that serves a #Ukrainian delicacy known as Perepichka, which is a hot dog wrapped in dough and then fried.

If Bourdain could re-film his tour, this hypothetical new episode would reflect the Ukrainian identity surging throughout.

Russia’s war aims to erase the very idea of Ukraine and to subsume this country into a dreary dream of imperialism.

But our culinary adventures are just the latest illustration that Ukraine, obviously, no longer relies on #Moscow for its cultural cues.

We’re sure Bourdain would see that today, and it’s sad he never got the chance to see the nation #Ukraine has become.

Now for the news:

Ukrainian armed forces retook ground along two fronts in the #Zaporizhzhia and #Donetsk Oblasts this weekend, totaling over 10 miles of progress.

These gains are some of the largest since the counteroffensive began in June.

After reports of raids along the east bank of the #Dnipro River all last week, ISW reports that #Ukrainian forces have now maintained a steady presence there, but they hesitate to call it a significant bridgehead.

Despite Ukrainian success outlined above, Ukraine has also had to cede ground liberated from Russia in September last year to a renewed Russian push near #Kharkiv.

Because of this, #Ukraine has evacuated villages in the region in preparation.

While Ukraine deals with an emboldened Russia in the northeast, Snake Island, famous for the "Russian warship go **** yourself" line, has just had a new sign erected on the tiny Black Sea island by Ukrainian border guards.

https://www.facebook.com/DPSUkraine/videos/984624145915718/?locale=uk_UA

Planning a visit to #Crimea from #Russia anytime soon? Think again.

A recent #Ukrainian strike on the Kerch Bridge disrupted traffic and an angry Kremlin warned Ukraine of retaliation.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/13/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war.html

The UK's Ministry of Defence just announced a significant downsizing of the #Wagner Group amid conjecture that the Kremlin is no longer footing Wagner's bills and that responsibility has most likely been passed on to #Belarus.

Poland and Lithuania have taken preparatory steps to combat the recent Wagner presence in Belarus.

Yesterday, Poland announced the transfer of 10,000 troops to its border with Belarus while Lithuania has closed two of the six of its border crossings with Belarus.

https://www.euronews.com/2023/08/13/poland-increases-number-of-troops-protecting-its-border-with-belarus

Hi folks, Tim here.

It seems that everywhere I go recently, I’ve been talking to folks about *The Poll.*

Last week CNN released a poll that showed, for the first time as far as I can tell, a majority opposing additional funding to support Ukraine: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/04/politics/cnn-poll-ukraine/index.html

The poll suggested the American public was starting to tire of supporting the Ukrainian war effort, which is a worrying sign for the folks I’ve been talking to in Kyiv.

The White House was forced to respond to the poll, with NSC spokesperson John Kirby arguing that they had "solid support" from the public, and pointing out that "if we just sit back and we let #Putin win, we let him take #Ukraine, where does it stop next?"

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/09/politics/white-house-responds-cnn-poll/index.html

Meanwhile, the White House isn't stopping its push for more $: on Thursday it asked for another $24 billion in supplemental funding for Ukraine.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/10/politics/ukraine-funding-supplemental-joe-biden/index.html

This will be a major storyline of the next year: how #Ukraine fatigue, or outright opposition to Ukrainian victory, will play a role in the 2024 presidential campaign.

Fighting this ‘Ukraine fatigue’ is one of the reasons The Counteroffensive exists in the first place.

We believe that by writing compelling, human-first stories about people going through the news, we can keep interest and public attention on this terrible conflict.

We hope you’ll keep supporting and reading us as the war continues on.

Today’s Dog of War are these pups that congregated along the highway gas station as we found our way back to Kyiv from abroad.

Stay safe out there.

Best,
Tim