Register  Login serving classic dishes such as chicken Kyiv and borscht a Ukrainian restaurant from Alex Cooper and Anna Andriienko The restaurant is named after Tatarbunary in southern Ukraine where he is supporting his community and the army while Andriienko has relocated to London to oversee the launch of the restaurant It will showcase dishes from head chef Kate Tkachuk The menu is set to include the likes of borscht (a traditional beetroot soup) and chicken Kyiv as well as recipes from Cooper’s grandmother the Tatar Bunar project has been led by I am Design and features reclaimed wood from the Carpathian region as well as Bulgarian stone from Bessarabia The 90-cover restaurant will also champion Ukrainian artists and craftsmen which were made during the blackouts in Kyiv the restaurant will seat an additional 20 guests in its outdoor terrace Tatar Bunar has set its opening date for 9 April Sign Up Jacobs Media is a company registered in England and Wales The roots of Russia's invasion of Ukraine go back decades and run deep The current conflict is more than one country fighting to take over another; it is — in the words of one U.S official — a shift in "the world order."Here are some helpful stories to make sense of it all on Ukraine's far southern border with Romania is one of the few Ukrainian-run ports still operating in the country Ukraine — The traffic is near constant in this remote southernmost region of Ukraine Eighteen-wheelers are clogging bumpy two-lane roads hauling goods and grain to and from a border that probably hasn't been this busy since Soviet times There are only three Ukrainian-run ports that are still operating in the country All are on the Danube River in this secretive multiethnic region that locals say has been long overlooked by Kyiv "You may have heard that during the blockade of Black Sea ports there arises the problem of exporting grains," says Rodion Abashev the head of the district government agency in Izmail a city separated from Romania by the Danube "Now all of the regions that are near the border are helping with this problem." Russia's blockade and occupation of Ukraine's Black Sea ports have largely halted its maritime trade. Ukraine and the United Nations say it's also contributing to a global food crisis because Ukraine is such a major food exporter that African and Middle Eastern countries have relied on 70% of Ukraine's exports went through its Black Sea ports with all of those ports blocked by Ukrainian mines or under Russian occupation the country is having to move some of its 23 million tons of stockpiled grain and other goods by land Ukraine has established two trade routes to export grain, the country's Deputy Foreign Minister Dmytro Senik told Reuters earlier this month "Those routes are not perfect because it creates bottlenecks but we are doing our best to develop those routes in the meantime," he said but differences in rail gauges create delays when they cross the border into neighboring countries Much of the international attention has focused on the larger of the two trade corridors where differences in rail gauges and long lines at border crossings have created a bottleneck But quieter efforts to move commodities through Ukraine's southwestern-most corner an ethnically diverse and historically pro-Russian region known as Bessarabia Ports on Danube river are the only gateway for export of 22 mln tons of grain, which Russia blocks in Ukraine. And this year's crop will be add’l 50 mln. To date, 4,000 trucks struggle to unload at Izmail and Reni for 4 weeks. Russia is fully responsible for world food crisis. pic.twitter.com/d8FkgbUzRi A Soviet statue in the southwest corner of Ukraine in a region called Bessarabia that's ethnically diverse and historically pro-Russia say drive times have doubled on local roads and supply issues are helping drive up the costs of goods by 30% to 70% Valentyna Irzheva works at a roadside shop in Tatarbunary where supply issues are helping drive up the costs of goods by 30% to 70% truckers are living in their rigs and bathing on the muddy banks of a neighboring lagoon as they wait for weeks And there are broader concerns that this growing southern trade route is uniquely vulnerable to Russian interference a truck driver waiting at the port of Izmail stands near a marshy area where he says he's been bathing while biding his time to offload his truck Belous and other truckers share meals cooked in between their trucks sometimes of fish caught in the nearby river as some locals call it — is geographically isolated from the rest of Ukraine The wide mouth of the Lower Dniester River separates it from the rest of the Odesa Oblast There are only two routes connecting the regions runs through the southern tip of Moldova just south of the border town of Palanca a rail and vehicle bridge along the Black Sea coast has been repeatedly targeted by Russian airstrikes shook buildings in downtown Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi roughly 10 miles away It is about 10 miles from the Zatoka bridge which has been hit by multiple military strikes over the course of the war "We see constant bombardments," Vitarliy Grazhdan "They are trying to destroy our logistics and the economy of our country This was all done to put us to our knees." Grazhdan and other Ukrainian officials won't say if Russia's latest missile strike on the Zatoka bridge was successful in destroying the crossing Access to the bridge is blocked by strict checkpoints But members of pro-Russian channels on the social media app Telegram have shared photos they claim show the rail bridge soon after the strike with a mess of twisted steel dipping into water below This was all done to put us to our knees." he says the strikes are illustrative of how fraught and dynamic the situation is for business owners desperate to export goods "The situation is very difficult and uncomfortable and it changes every day," says the CEO of a company still producing sunflower oil and exporting it by way of the Danube River He asked NPR not to use his name to avoid identifying the company because of security concerns for their business operation citing Russia's strikes on other agricultural enterprises in recent weeks The river's ports aren't equipped to handle the amount of volume that's being asked of them The soaring price of gas and unreliable rail lines are making it harder for them to make any sort of profit A man fishes near the port in Izmail as boats come and go on the Danube Bessarabia was a region that some speculated would be a prime target of Russia complicated history and lingering pockets of pro-Russian sentiment are reminiscent of another area of Ukraine Russia has already annexed: Crimea The region does not have an ethnic majority of Ukrainians and Russian propaganda media is still widely disseminated Villages in the region are generally small and poor "The attitude to the central government is like this: OK an Izmail-born professor of social sciences at Izmail State University the only state-run institute of higher learning in Bessarabia "So let's live together but do not interrupt our good living here." made a show of visiting the strategically important Snake Island last year to raise awareness of Russia's increased warship presence in the Black Sea "There is a problem and it is not only a Ukrainian problem," he said at a news conference during the visit the Black Sea region might be blocked and all this will affect the Azov region Local volunteers join the mayor (not pictured) of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi for an afternoon meal after completing some work like cleaning up sidewalks and tending to the town's garden beds But it didn't do much to change hearts and minds locally The actions Russia has taken since invading Ukraine have Civilian buildings being targeted by missile strikes "We even have this sort of joke that Russian authorities did the most to unite different nationalities to one Ukrainian nation," says Jaroslav Kichuk Russia has lost a lot of supporters who would have supported them for years and years." just off the concrete banks of the Danube River fishermen cast lines into the water in the shadow of its moving cranes Business owners tell NPR that the port is being expanded A grain elevator is being built to help export agricultural goods a claim that local authorities won't confirm who asks for his last name not to be used for security reasons because he contracts with the Ukrainian military watching barges motor up the Danube unimpeded People sit on a park bench watching boats motor up the Danube near the Izmail port "We are building a new berth that will be completed by autumn," he says Asked if Ukraine's Danube ports can handle the new surge in traffic gesturing toward a parking lot at the port's entrance crowded with parked trucks Between two of those closely parked semi-trucks Sergiy Belous and two other truckers cook a dinner of soup and grilled fish Cognac is served from a plastic liter bottle Belous pats the container on the back of his truck filled with grain from the Mykolaiv region and says he's been waiting at the port for a month to offload Fellow truckers at the Ukrainian port further upriver have been waiting to offload for two months Authorities promised they'd be able to load his grain into a container ship by mid-June Sergiy Belous walks between trucks laughing with other truckers where they wait to offload their rigs at the Izmail port removing dams and bringing back native species have restored ecosystems They have been hastily deployed in a desperate attempt to save an excavator from being swallowed by the squelching earth beside the obsolete Soviet dam it is trying to demolish 11 earth dams were built on the Sarata and Kogilnik rivers as a crude alternative to footbridges to access the area’s aquifers Ornithologist Maxim Yakovlev remembers that prior to the construction of the dams the local rivers slowly meandered through a rich wetland ecosystem which would store hold back and slowly release water after heavy rains when the ecosystem was functioning properly we had healthier soil and vegetation,” says Yakovlev as he skirts the edge of a reeking swamp near the tiny ancient town of Tatarbunary on the northern fringe of the reserve a 100-mile (160km) drive south-west of Odessa View image in fullscreenAn excavator sinking in degraded wetland near the Kogilnik river within the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve It had been working to remove an obsolete river dam Photograph: Vincent Mundy“My grandparents told me how different it was here and how so many more fish birds and other creatures lived here before the dams were made but the dams quickly devastated the ecosystem,” he adds According to Wetlands International, about 64% of the world’s wetlands have disappeared since 1900 and nearly 90% since the start of the industrial revolution Rewilding Europe is working to enhance wetlands all over the continent, but especially here, in Europe’s biggest wetland. Only 20% of the Danube Delta ecosystem lies within Ukraine but thanks to the Endangered Landscapes Programme and a modest crowdfunding grant raised by Rewilding Europe in conjunction with the Dam Removal Europe initiative “Without the dams,” Yakovlev explains, “former polders are being reflooded and the shallow waters and reedbeds will become new spawning grounds and nesting sites for many endangered fish and birds work is beginning to improve the river flow there too Yakovlev is part of a team of biologists and conservationists working for Rewilding Ukraine, a local branch of Rewilding Europe which is overseeing the dam removal scheme we have seen shoals of fish return and otters establishing new territories,” says Yakovlev “It’s amazing how quickly Mother Nature can recover – she just needs a helping hand sometimes.” View image in fullscreenAn overview of the dams being removed in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve in Ukraine Photograph: Maxim YakovlevSome 60 miles from Tatarbunary another Rewilding Ukraine project is taking shape on the island of Ermakov Biologists are studying how the introduction of large herbivores regulates and improves wetland ecosystems Rewilding Ukraine team leader Mykhailo Nesterenko points to the shoreline we get our first glimpse of some of the dozens of wild konik a breed of primitive Polish horse that was reintroduced to the island earlier this year “These large herbivores will play a very important role in the Ermakov ecosystem,” explains Nesterenko “and we will be bringing other creatures to the island soon a wooden bird-watching platform allows us to observe huge flocks of geese and other fowl landing and taking off from shallow waters teeming with noisy frogs “The viewing platform was built in the summer From up here you can see how much has changed since we removed some of the dams,” Nesterenko says View image in fullscreenA herd of wild konik on Ermakov island Photograph: Vincent MundyThe island is also home to 17 water buffalo The water buffalo are standing 100 metres away munching on hay from a wooden wagon near the soon-to-open building that will host rewilding tourists Nesterenko says they were gifted by a German eco-entrepreneur who reared the animals on his farm near Khust in Ukraine’s Carpathian region where he produces mozzarella cheese from the buffalo milk The buffalo arrived on a barge in the summer and have settled in well but with winter beginning they are being given extra food and carefully monitored they are still able to live in the wild and their wallowing habits will improve the wetlands immensely “These animals are one of nature’s great engineers and they open up the scrub and reedbeds creating pools and puddles which are home to many insects View image in fullscreenA water buffalo released on Ermakov Island by Rewilding Ukraine Photograph: Andrey NekrasovNesterenko is hopeful for the future of wetlands the value of wetlands and large herbivores and how to withstand and thrive in a watery world Ukraine ranked second in the number of uploaded photos among all 57 participating countries in the "Wiki Loves Earth" competition The organizers of the photo competition "Wiki Loves Earth" selected the ten best photos of Ukraine's natural heritage in 2024. These photos represent various protected areas across Ukraine’s regions and showcase the beauty of Ukraine's nature, according to the press service of the NGO Wikimedia Ukraine. Olesya Lukaniuk, a member of the national competition's organizing committee and the manager of the international part of "Wiki Loves Earth," shared that the nature landmarks competition began in Ukraine in 2013 and has been held globally since 2014 to collect photographs of Ukraine's protected areas for illustrating Wikipedia articles. "To date, nearly 60% of the sites from the competition list have been covered. This means the project continues to be relevant and significant in expanding this list, especially in the current context—when we see the substantial losses to natural landmarks," Olesya Lukaniuk noted. This year, the competition was held for the second time during Russia’s full-scale invasion, but despite safety restrictions, Ukraine secured second place for the number of photos uploaded among all 57 participating countries. A total of 106 participants uploaded 6,437 photos of Ukraine's protected objects. The ten best photos from Ukraine included images taken in the Odessa, Lviv, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Zakarpattia, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Zhytomyr regions, and the currently occupied part of the Kherson region. © 2024, odessa-journal.com | Created by WIBE Sinéad Cranna .css-1acn4d0{font-family:var(--chakra-fonts-body);font-weight:400;margin:var(--chakra-space-0);padding:var(--chakra-space-0);font-size:0.6875rem;letter-spacing:0.1em;line-height:1.454545454545;text-transform:uppercase;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray50);}@media screen and (min-width: 37.5rem){.css-1acn4d0{letter-spacing:0.12em;}}video credit: Sinéad Cranna At first glance Tatar Bunar looks like a polished, aspirational homeware store with a penchant for earthy ceramics and scatter cushions. But Tatar Bunar still manages to have a “what, this old thing?” laid-back feel to it. Which is a lot like the crowd here: perfectly coiffed, seemingly untouched by the Northern line, relaxing into cushion-covered banquettes and cheersing with sweet glasses of Konolist Riesling. She spends her time eating tacos and Guinness cake and explaining that she is not named after Sinéad O'Connor are getting ready to open their first London restaurant, Tatar Bunar The duo have multiple restaurants in Ukraine and throughout the war they've been using these as food distribution points to help those most affected by the conflict Alex has had to stay in Ukraine to manage this effort and the restaurants there while his partner Anna has relocated to London She'll be running the restaurant here solo as Alex is unable to leave.  The restaurant itself is inspired by Alex’s hometown Head chef Kate Tkachuk is in the kitchen and she'll be working on dishes that celebrate the produce of the Bessarabia region but expect dishes like chicken Kyiv and borscht to make an appearance.  The restaurant is taking over the space that was once the Shoreditch outpost of Brindisa It will be decorated with materials from the Carpathian region with the plan to showcase Ukrainian artists and craftsmen So there will be ceramics from local artist Svetlana Sholomitska who has been hand making tiles cups and vases during the blackouts in Kyiv It also benefits from having a hidden courtyard at the back and they'll be putting that to use in Summer.  the restaurateurs say "We believe there is still work to be done in showing London how wonderful Ukraine food is which is why we have decided to open Tatar Bunar and we can’t wait to show London what Ukraine cuisine has to offer.” Find out more: Follow them on Instagram @tatarbunar.london Subscribe to be the first to get the news from Hot Dinners Please enable the javascript to submit this form By signing up you agree to our privacy policy View on Google maps About us  |  Contact Us  |  RSS Feed  |  Site directory  |  Privacy policy  |  Log in/out Join 50,000 other Londoners getting exclusive news and restaurant offers from Hot Dinners. 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