Sometimes Kharkiv can look quite beautiful!

The two padlocked doors of a public toilet in Kharkiv.

The two padlocked doors of a public toilet in Kharkiv.

Sunlight reflected off windows. 

Sunlight reflected off windows. 

Mother and son on the metro. 

Mother and son on the metro. 

Buying apples on the street. 

Buying apples on the street. 

Radion’s favorite place at the window in his living room. 

Radion’s favorite place at the window in his living room. 

Hare Krishnas dancing in the streets of Kharkiv.

Hare Krishnas dancing in the streets of Kharkiv.

At least 300 people gathered in downtown Kharkiv today to protest the treatment of cats and dogs before the upcoming EURO 2012 championship. Organized by the Animal Help League, the protest promoted the sterilization of stray animals rather than killing them, the sterilization of pets to avoid creating new stray animals, and decrying the cruelty of poisoning stray animals to get them off the streets before the tourists arrive for the football championships. 

Participants chanted “Stop Killing Animals” as they marched from Constitution Square to Freedom Square. 

The glamorous style of many young Ukrainian women stands in stark contrast to the hard lives of the elderly women who sell berries and vegetables on every street corner. Weren’t these elderly pensioners once the glamorous young women of Ukraine? 

Woman selling candles on Sumskaya Street. 

Woman selling candles on Sumskaya Street.