Every morning Bohdan Semeliak opens his news feed to read stories from his war-ravaged home of Ukraine Home – where his parents still reside cousins and classmates from the medical school fight on the frontlines that separate his country from anarchy Even though I haven’t been there in eight years who is in the second year of Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry’s Internationally Trained Dentists (ITD) program “Many of my colleagues are at the frontline as a medical team saving the lives of our heroes The Russo-Ukraine War began nearly a decade before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation in February 2022 The years of conflict have been a constant influence on the choices Semeliak and his family have made Many of my colleagues are at the frontline as a medical team saving the lives of our heroes.—Bohdan Semeliak and friendly people in an environment that nurtured a love for both sports and academics “I learned from early years what it takes and how important it is to be surrounded by ambitious people,” he recalled A passion for biology and chemistry combined with a penchant for business drew him to dentistry “I thought dentistry was a great combination because it involved my areas of interest,” said Semeliak who began his schooling in 2010 at the Ternopil State Medical University With a desire to see the world and explore new opportunities for his professional development Semeliak came to Canada right after graduation in 2015 and lived with his sister Olga and her family in Mississauga I still got to work with ceramics,” he joked “I wouldn’t have believed this was possible to be working in construction But that’s why I love life; it’s unpredictable I was keeping in the back of my mind the idea that I had to do it “Dentistry gives me an amazing opportunity to become an entrepreneur because I will be able to open my own clinic – so basically I am part clinician and part businessman,” he said and preparing for dental school in Canada.” Still the challenges of living half a world away during the violence in his home country weighs on Semeliak’s mind “The things that Russia are doing is absolutely unacceptable,” said Semeliak who hopes to see an end to the hostilities very soon “President Putin is spending billions on an unnecessary war while his own citizens can’t afford the basic things I anticipate the Russian people will soon rise up to embrace such basic freedoms as democracy rather than be hostages of their own government.” The outbreak of war motivated Semeliak and his sister to bring their parents And while they stayed for more than a year “They live in the western part of Ukraine near the Polish border far from the frontlines,” Semeliak said They said Canada was beautiful but it was for young people ambitious people and they don’t speak English Semeliak feels positive about their safety “We couldn’t keep them here if they weren’t happy.” Now Semeliak takes another huge step on his dental journey moving from working on mannequins to serving patients in the School’s dental clinic We have professors from all over the world – from the United States the Middle East and Europe – and each of them brings something from their part of the world to the program we learn from all over the world.—Bohdan Semeliak “I’ve been assigned several patients that I will care for in all phases of treatment,” he said ‘A mannequin is the best patient you’ll ever have how are you planning to handle a real patient?’” While time spent in the Mississauga-Oakville area was “like my second home” to Semeliak his final destination is still some moves away “I have heard about the Northwest Territories Many students go there to practise dentistry I think it would be a nice experience for me,” he said and I haven’t explored it much because I was always busy with working I don’t like being in one place.” The multicultural experience of the dentistry program at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry has also given him a taste of the world “We have professors from all over the world – from the United States his home and former classmates still weigh on his mind “I’m going to go back to Ukraine after I graduate and see my classmates That will be in 2025 and 10 years after I graduated from dental school there,” said Semeliak “Do I think the war will be over by then and I will see my classmates in the new and peaceful country of Ukraine.” © 1878 - document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) Western University Current Students Faculty / Staff Professional Development Competency-based Medical Education Branded Templates Led by the Foundation for Jewish Heritage (headed by Michael Mail) the ‘Deep Dive’ Ukraine programme now aims to to create ‘the broadest possible educational work on Jewish cemeteries in Europe’ with project partners Centropa and the European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative (ESJF) “The idea is to use this platform to geolocate Tetiana’s research,” said Lichtenstein adding that the project “will be completed in June 2023” The work began with two pilot projects between 2018 and 2021 mapping 1,700 cemeteries in central and eastern Europe creating public outreach programmes and seminars on the life and contributions of former Jewish communities in these places exploring ‘best practices’ of cemetery preservation and sustainable heritage tourism as well as guides on how to use Jewish cemeteries in the classroom there will be parallel efforts in places such as Budapest in Hungary For more information see: https://jewishmanchestermemorymap.org/ and: https://www.jewishcemeteries.eu/deep-dives/ Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5 £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with 100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline removing any financial barriers to connecting people The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large We hope you agree all this is worth preserving Most Ukrainian castles have been preserved as ruins but some strongholds will amaze our descendants for centuries Castles are one of the most interesting objects left by Ukraine's turbulent history but some still look great and attract thousands of tourists and author of the Ukraine Incognita project tells in his column for RBC-Ukraine which castles are worth seeing first and what interesting stories they can tell The walls and towers that have protected Ukrainians from enemies for centuries now serve as museums but there are few left that correspond to the idea of a castle - the rest are in ruins Some of them fell in the course of military battles while others were spared by people and time How many foundations of rural houses in Podillia are made of rubble from majestic fortresses How many roads have been paved and fences built Some castles are so damaged that it is difficult to guess what they once looked like without a reconstructed image there are also castles and fortresses in Ukraine that one can admire and be proud of whose powerful walls have withstood more than one century and will continue to amaze our descendants for centuries to come This rating is a kind of recommendation on which castles and fortresses in Ukraine are worth seeing in the first place No other region of Ukraine has more castles than Ternopil others have been rebuilt and do not look like castles at all: psychiatric hospitals The castle in Zbarazh is undoubtedly the best preserved and restored castle in the region Although the bastions of Zbarazh Castle are still mostly "headless," in addition to the moats and walls and the castle was designed by the world-famous Italian architect Vincenzo Scamozzi when the Hungarian horde defeated the local Slavic rulers Although it does not have tall walls and towers it remains one of the most visited tourist attractions in Zakarpattia People come here to feel the spirit of the centuries-old traditions of the white Croats What an incredible collection of Carpathian musical instruments is presented here The fabulous painting of the house church will also not leave anyone indifferent Photo: Uzhhorod Castle (facebook.com/Uzhhorodcastle) Berdychiv also has a spectacular fortification Medzhybizh Castle was included in the historical and cultural reserve although this did not help save the side wall of the castle palace multiplied by its color (perhaps due to the peeling walls) already made this historical stronghold between the Pivdennyi Buh and Buzhok rivers a great tourist attraction Photo: Medzhybizh Castle (courtesy of RBC-Ukraine) Especially given that Medzhybizh is a world center of Hasidism restoration work in the castle has gained momentum Every year the Medzhybizh stronghold becomes more beautiful and interesting it became a famous location for film shoots Many scenes from the movie D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers were filmed there and it was here that the unfortunate Constance Bonacieux Photo: Svirzh Castle (facebook.com/Yulia Kiryanova) and the bastion of Saint-Germain in La Rochelle - four roles were given to Svirzh Castle at once the current status of this fabulous building does not match its beauty and grandeur although they were going to open a rest home for the Union of Architects More than six centuries have passed since a castle appeared on a high hill in Olesko It was probably built by Prince Yuriy Danylovych What can be said for sure is that it is one of the most famous castles in the Lviv region and also one of the smallest but best maintained castles in Ukraine there is a very prestigious restaurant with recreated medieval interiors designed not only for Ukrainian but also for foreign guests A big bonus when visiting Olesko Castle is the Capuchin monastery with a sculpture park This stronghold was built on the site of the wooden fortifications of the Russian princes The construction was started by Lithuanian Prince Lubart (that is why the castle is named after him) and continued by Witold and Svydryhailo Perhaps the most striking representative of medieval defense architecture in Ukraine once consisted of two parts: Upper and Lower castles dissolved among the later buildings - only some sections of the walls and one tower remain But the Upper Castle is quite well preserved The towering towers and walls of Lubart's castle hide interesting museums and dungeons you can see two more impressive Lutsk sights - a Jesuit monastery and a church was founded by the Genoese in the 13th century and the castle that later served as a citadel remains The main part of the largest medieval fortress in Ukraine was built by Moldovans the city was called Chetiata Albă (White Fortress) and it was one of the main trading policies of the Northern Black Sea region The fortress then had thirty-four towers and was an impregnable stronghold but it still could not resist the huge army of Turks and Tatars they became the masters of the city and named it Akkerman (also the White Fortress It was during the Ottoman period that the fortress acquired an almost modern appearance which is the valley of the Latorytsia River a mountain rises in the southwestern part of Mukachevo Its top is crowned by the towers of an ancient castle There are few monuments in Ukraine like this one and other peoples shed sweat and blood within the fortress's mighty walls for almost a thousand years of its history Palanok has survived hundreds of assaults and sieges It changed hands many times and was completed and rebuilt Photo: Palanok Castle in Mukachevo (wikipedia.org) it is one of the most famous Ukrainian castles - well-maintained Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle (Kamianets-Podilskyi The most famous castle in Ukraine is located in the city that got its name from it - Kamianets-Podilskyi (although the second half of the name should have been dropped long ago given the absence of other "Kamianets" in Ukraine) located on a steep rocky hill above the Smotrych River canyon fascinates with its scale and fabulousness This is the standard of the castle we draw in our imagination And if you look at the castle and fortress from the Smotrych Canyon you won't believe that this is Ukraine at all Photo: Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle (pixabay.com) This is a movie star castle - the main medieval castle of Soviet films Soviet filmmaker Bortko decided to make it the Dubno Castle because the real Dubno Castle is not so cinematic That's why the Cossacks in Taras Bulba stormed a "Polish" castle The Cossacks never stormed Khotyn but defended it heroically Photo: Khotyn Fortress - a movie location (gettyimages.com) the Khotyn Fortress was built by Moldovans who used it as their residence for two centuries made Khotyn Fortress an incredibly impregnable stronghold Video: Top 10 castles in Ukraine (youtube.com/Ukraine Incognita) Services for Raising Capital & Sell a Business Get a monthly investment magazine in private equity and venture capital Zbarazh Vodka Distillery resumed works after absorbing UAH 350mln (USD 13mln) of investment at the former spirits producer Kalganoff. As of present, the distillery employs 48 people and the average paycheck amounts to UAH 6,400. The distillery suspended operations in 2013. Back in 2013, a commercial court in Ternopil region tried a bankruptcy case against the distillery.   Zbarazh vodka distillery is owned by Yaroslav Kryvulskiy, according to the United State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs of Ukraine. Join as a partner Advertising Team Vacancies Contacts Services for Raising Capital & Sell a Business Investment proposals Investment Projects and Startups Business for Sale Commercial Property Land Franchising Investor Offers Services for Raising Capital & Sell a Business Services for Investors Private Equity & M&A Venture Capital & Startups Government Investments Stock Market & IPO Real Estate Investments Investment digest Research Articles Investment interview We invest in Ukraine Investors