About Ukraine

General information

Ukraine is a state in Eastern Europe bounded on the west by Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, on the south-west by Romania and Moldova and on the north and east by Russia. On the south it is washed by the Black sea and the Sea of Azov. Ukraine is the second biggest country of Europe after Russia.

The total area of Ukraine

is 603,700 sq. km. The area spans in a west-east direction for 1300 km; from north to south - 900 km. Present population of Ukraine is 45,800 people. About 80% are Ukrainians, the remaining ones are Russians, Byelorussians, Jews, Moldavians, Hungarians, Poles, Crimean Tatars, Rumanians, Greeks and representatives of other nationalities. The Urban population is about 66% of total population. The largest religious denomination is Christian: Orthodox and Greek-Catholicism.

State language

is Ukrainian. Most of Ukrainians are bilingual and speak Russian as well. Rather few people speak foreign languages, English is the most popular one.

Money

Ukrainian national currency is Hryvnya (UAH). 1hryvnya = 100 kopecks (small change). Present exchange rate is about 8,05 UAH for 1 US dollar. Travellers checks (Thomas Cook, American Express) can be easily converted into cash in most of the Ukrainian banks. The bank charge is usually 2-3%. VISA, MasterCard and EuroCard are accepted only in major hotels, supermarkets, restaurants, casinos, in the main cities of Ukraine.

Visa regulations

Citizens of most countries need Ukrainian visa for entering Ukraine. The visa can be obtained in any of the Consulates of Ukraine in the world. It is NOT possible to obtain the Ukrainian visa in airports and Customs' Offices at the border, therefore it's necessary to take care of the visa in advance. For more information about visa requirements, please, visit the official web-site of Ukrainian Embassy in the USA http://www.ukremb.com

Medical insurance

According to Ukrainian law every traveller must have obligatory Ukrainian Medical Insurance. Even if you have some health insurance bought in your country at the border you will be asked to purchase an insurance policy provided by State company Ukrinmedstrakh. The cost depends on the duration of your stay, for short terms it is about 3-6 US dollars.

Customs formalities

If you bring any valuables (money, travelers checks, jewelry, expensive technical equipment, etc.) You must keep the customs declaration until your departure because if you don't you may have problems taking the mentioned above valuables back from Ukraine. For now foreigners are allowed to take from Ukraine not more than 85 UAH, so be sure to spend all the spare UAH or exchange it for another currency.