Ukraine - Ukraina

	Ukraine; Україна
	Flag
	location
	Information
Capital city	Kiev
System	presidential-parliamentary republic
Currency	hryvnia (UAH, ₴); 1 ₴ = 100 kopecks
Time zone	UTC 2 - winter; UTC 3 - summer
Surface	603,700 km²
Population	42 558 328
Official language	Ukrainian
Dominant religion	Orthodoxy
Telephone code	380
Electric voltage	220 V / 50 Hz
Socket type	C.
Car code	UA
Car traffic	right hand
Internet domain	.ua

Ukraine

Ukraine (ukr. Україна) - the second largest country in Europe. It is a place worth paying attention to, especially for Poles, it is a country that is very close because of its shared centuries of history. Cities like Lviv, Kamyanets-Podilskyi if Khotyn they entered into the pages of Polish history for good.

Characteristic

Geography

Ukraine is a country located in Eastern Europe. The state borders with Poland, Belarus, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Transnistria and Russia. It is situated on the Black and Azov seas. It covers an area of 603,700 km². It is the capital of the state Kiev. The country is generally geographically diverse, there are swamps (mainly in Polesie), forests (north), arable fields, meadows, steppes and forest steps (center and east), Carpathians and the Crimean Mountains to the west and south. Apart from the mountains, the surface of Ukraine is rather flat and flat, there is no depression, and the highest point is Hoverla (2061 m above sea level). The fauna does not differ much from the Polish fauna.

Climate

Ukraine is located in the area of a temperate continental climate (apart from the coast - there is a maritime climate and the western extremity, where the climate can be considered as transitional). The further east you go, the less rainfall and the greater the temperature variation.

History

Culture and art

Policy

The democratic system, the legislative power belongs to the unicameral parliament - the Supreme Council. The organs of executive power are the president and the government.

Economy

Ukraine's economy is low. It is mainly based on the metallurgical, food and machinery industries. Revenues from exports account for approx. 70% of budget revenues. In Ukraine, inflation is quite high and unemployment is around 7%.

Society

Society is poor - around 40% of people are below the legal poverty line. Russians are a large minority (approx. 17%), Ukrainians constitute 78% of the population. Orthodoxy is the dominant religion.

Traditions

Habits are very developed and so is culture.

Preparations

Travel time selection

Due to the similar climate, the travel time can be selected in the same way as in Polish conditions. In the south of Ukraine, however, summer is hotter than in other parts of the country, throughout Ukraine - winter is usually colder than in Poland.

Visas

Citizens European Union, countries Commonwealth of Independent States (except Turkmenistan), Canada, Japan, Liechtenstein, Mongolia, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Switzerland, Norway, Of the United States do not need visas for stays of no more than 90 days. The only document required when crossing the border is a passport with a validity period of at least 6 months. From 01/01/2006 a visa-free entry to the territory of Ukraine was introduced (up to 90 days, on the basis of a valid passport) also for citizens of: Andorra, Iceland, Monaco, Norway, San Marino and The Vatican.

If we intend to go to Ukraine for purposes other than tourism or visiting (e.g. for work, study), even if the period of stay is shorter than 90 days, an appropriate visa is required.

Customs regulations

Foreigners can freely bring to Ukraine and export from its territory an amount of up to EUR 10,000 by declaring it orally. An amount greater than EUR 10,000 must be declared in writing, and when exporting it, documents from the bank must be provided confirming the payment of an amount exceeding EUR 10,000. Similarly, the Ukrainian currency (hryvnia) can be brought in and out of up to 15,000 hryvnia by declaring verbally. The amount between 15,000 and 50,000 UAH must be declared in writing. The amount above 50,000 hryvnia can only be exported with a permit from the National Bank of Ukraine.

At the border, customs officials often interpret customs regulations in any way, so you can encounter confiscation of imported or exported goods. In each of these cases, it is necessary to request the presentation of the legal basis and a receipt for items seized for customs control (source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Currency exchange

The currency of Ukraine is hryvnia. 1 hryvnia = 100 kopecks. You can freely exchange US dollars, euros and Russian rubles in exchange offices. The exchange of zlotys into hryvnia is possible at some points in the neighboring cities and oblasts Poland. There is no problem with the exchange of PLN into other currencies in virtually every exchange office located in cities in the west of Ukraine.

Insurance

It is recommended to take out accident insurance and KL, because the costs of treatment are high and medical care is at the basic level.

Drive

In the vast majority of cases, getting to Ukraine requires getting to Lviv, which for Poles is a gateway through which they can reach other regions of Ukraine.

By plane

You can fly from Warsaw-Okecie to Kiev with Ukraine International Airlines. The prices are not the lowest - about PLN 600 ^{(as of: 2014)}PLN 100 from the airport in Lublin

By train

Trains in Ukraine are quite cheap. On fast trains you can buy a ticket with a sleeping place in a car with open compartments (ukr. плацкарт, плацкартний вагон – plackart / płackart / Płatzkart, plackart / płackartnyj / Płatzkartnyj wahon) or closed (ukr. купе, купейний вагон – kupe, kupejnyj wahon). Please note that long-distance trains (most run at night) are usually 100% full, so it is not possible to buy a ticket just before departure. Of course, the wagons plackartnyj they are much cheaper, but still not inconvenient. As with buses, international connections to Ukraine are expensive, so it's best to cross the border on foot and take the Ukrainian train on the other side.

By car

When going to Ukraine by car, you must have bought it green card. Right-hand traffic applies. The road traffic regulations are basically the same as in Poland (with slight differences, e.g. with regard to traffic lights). Polish driving license is honored.

Traveling in Ukraine by car requires good knowledge of local roads. Avoid driving in the dark. Often, the lack of signposts, town and road markings, and bad street markings make it very difficult to find your way around cities. The condition of the roads is very bad. Large holes are not uncommon in city streets (e.g. in Lviv and Odessa), and a moment of inattention by the driver may result in serious damage to the car (there are very few repair shops near access routes and international roads). A very common cause of accidents and bumps is bad road surface, especially in winter and spring (a lot of stones and gravel that can break car windows and headlights). Drivers should be especially careful, especially at dusk and at night, of pedestrians and cyclists moving without adequate roadside lighting or entering the road to stop passing cars. It is therefore recommended that you strictly adhere to the speed limits.

Polish citizens entering the territory of Ukraine by someone else's car should have a loan agreement translated into Ukrainian, drawn up by a Polish notary.

Owners of cars with legal substitute nameplates, installed by diagnostic stations on the basis of the registration authority's decision, should have appropriate certificates translated into Ukrainian. However, even such a certificate is not always honored. If the plates are illegible, show signs of alteration or self-fixing, the vehicle may be detained and criminal proceedings may be initiated against the owner. In extreme cases, the car may even be forfeited.

In the event of a car crash, accident, etc. you should call the police and do not leave the scene, do not change the position of the cars, do not go to the side of the road. After completing the activities, the police do not issue any documents, protocols etc. to drivers. Therefore, you should ask for the possibility of photographing the police report and photographing the location of the vehicle, damage, etc. In practice, when writing the report, the traffic police adjudicate on the guilt of the party that participated in the collision and submit the case files to the competent court. When a foreigner is found guilty, the police retain the driving license and issue a temporary one, which only entitles him to move around the territory of Ukraine. In the case of the fault of the Polish driver and the claims of the aggrieved citizen of Ukraine, proceedings should be initiated based on the Green Card and AC insurance.

In order to avoid detention and lengthy court hearings, foreigners draw up agreements with the aggrieved parties about the lack of material and moral claims - after prior agreement on the amount that the perpetrator of the collision will pay to the aggrieved party.

In Ukraine, there is roadside assistance, but its network is very limited (it works only within large cities, using different telephone numbers).

It should also be noted that the Ukrainian police warn against representatives of Cossack organizations, the so-called environmental patrols stop drivers (usually foreigners) and demand fees from them. It is not obligatory to stop the vehicle at the request of the Cossack patrols. Representatives of such formations have no right to inspect ecological vehicles, write down administrative protocols, and impose any penalties. Cossack patrols carry out their activities using private means of transport, in uniforms resembling police uniforms.

The problem is the theft of Polish car license plates, primarily in order to extort money for their return. It is recommended to use guarded car parks (source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

The car may legally stay in Ukraine for up to 2 months after crossing the border.

The fuel is labeled differently, e.g. 95 octane unleaded gasoline is A-95 (regardless of the color of the dispenser) and Diesel ДП - 'fuel'. Fuel prices are currently similar to those in Poland. Autogas is available only at selected stations. There is no fuel with an octane rating greater than 95, both 92- and 85-octane gasoline are available. The quality of the fuel varies a lot - for safety it is recommended to buy small amounts at different stations. Gas stations are densely distributed.

Car maintenance and repair stations are usually marked with an abbreviation CTO, tire repair and replacement points are most often named after the Ukrainian name Шиномонтаж – Rail mounted. Watch out for poor auto services, car repair costs pennies. Better to go to a good auto service.

By bus

Western Ukrainian cities can be reached by regular buses from south-eastern cities Polish. There are long-distance bus connections in Ukraine. Shorter routes, e.g. between neighboring cities, are usually served by minibuses, the so-called marshrutkas. The cheapest option is z Przemyśl reach by bus to Medic, cross the border on foot and take a marshrutka on the Ukrainian side, because international bus connections are not cheap in this case.

By ship

To Ukraine (to Illichivska, wheel Odessa) can be reached by ferry from:

Border crossings

From Poland

Dorohusk/ Jahodyn
Zosin / Ustyluh
Hrebenne / Rawa Ruska
Korczowa / Krakowiec
Medyka / Szeginie
Krościenko / Chyrów

An administrative division

Ukraine - administrative division

Administratively, Ukraine is divided into 24 regions (oblast’i):

Kharkiv region (ukr. Харківська область) with the capital v Kharkov
Kherson region (ukr. Херсонська область)
Khmelnytskyi region (ukr. Хмельницька область)
Cherkasy region (ukr. Черкаська область)
Chernihiv region (ukr. Чернігівська область)
Chernivtsi region (ukr. Чернівецька область)
Dnipropetrovsk region (ukr. Дніпропетровська область)
Donetsk region (ukr. Донецька область)
Ivano-Frankivsk region (ukr. Івано-Франківська область)
Kiev region (ukr. Київська область)
Kirovohrad region (ukr. Кіровоградська область)
Lviv region (ukr. Львівська область) with the capital we Lviv
Luhansk region (ukr. Луганська область)
Mykolaiv region (ukr. Миколаївська область)
Odessa region (ukr. Одеська область) with the capital v Odessa
Poltava region (ukr. Полтавська область)
Rivne region (ukr. Рівненська область)
Sumy region (ukr. умська область)
Ternopil region (ukr. Тернопільська область)
Vinnytsia region (ukr. Вінницька область)
Volyn region (ukr. Волинська область)
Zakarpattia region (ukr. Закарпатська область)
Zaporizhia region (ukr. Запорізька область)
Zhytomyr region (ukr. Житомирська область)

two cities with their own rules:

Kiev (ukr. Київ)
Sevastopol (ukr. Севастополь)

Territories outside the control of the Ukrainian authorities

(Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol - due to annexation by Russia
part of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and areas adjacent to the demarcation line

Cities

Interesting places

As a tourist destination, Ukraine offers many attractions. Lovers of mountain hikes can go in Gorgany, people who like visiting cities will certainly not be disappointed Kiev, Odessa if Lviv.

Objects from the UNESCO World Heritage List

Pechersk Lavra and Cathedral of Divine Wisdom (Sofia) in Kiev
Carpathian beech forests (cross-border entry with Slovakia)
Old Town in Lviv
The so-called Struve Meridian (cross-border entry with Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Moldova, Norway, Russia and Sweden)

Transport

Rail

Traveling by rail in Ukraine it is very cheap. For example, a train ticket from Mariupol down Lviv with sleeping places (flap card) costs approx. PLN 50 (distance approx. 1,300 km). The trouble is that the railway is a very popular means of transport in Ukraine. For this reason, tickets should be purchased in advance (especially for longer routes). There are three types of tickets:

the first group includes trains for which tickets can be purchased only on the same day as the departure of the train,
the second group consists of trains for which tickets are available 7 days in advance,
the third group consists of trains for the longest routes - tickets for them can be purchased 45 days in advance.

Buying tickets for the same day as the departure of the train should not be a problem, as long as the tickets are still available. However, to buy a ticket for a train that does not depart on the same day, you usually have to stand in long lines, and you must present your ticket when boarding the train.

Due to the standard, three types of tickets for long-distance trains can be distinguished:

Płackart - the cheapest and, at the same time, the lowest standard - carriages with sleeping beds (they are comfortable),
bought - a little more expensive than Płackart, but most of all, allowing for greater privacy - they have four beds in each compartment, it is possible to close, e.g. during sleep,
burn - the most expensive tickets, there are two beds in the compartment, as in bought the compartment door can be locked, which makes the journey more safe.

The timetable can be found on the pages Ukrainian Railways.

subway

There are also metro stations in Kiev, Dnipro (formerly Dnipropetrovsk) and Kharkiv. The fare in any direction and time until leaving the metro station, i.e. outside the area of the gates at the entrance, is 5 UAH. The metro network is fairly well marked and trains run on time. The metro is open from 5.40 to 0.10 (source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Trip

Tongue

The official language in Ukraine is Ukrainian. Offices conduct correspondence in this language and official documents are issued. It is the official language of instruction in schools and universities, but many residents, especially in eastern Ukraine, use Russian on a daily basis. You can, in principle, freely communicate in Russian in shops, offices and public places throughout Ukraine. Some radio and television programs are also broadcast in Russian. The daily press is also available in this language (source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Shopping

Food

Food prices are definitely lower than Polish ones ^{(as of: 2015)}. Cheaper bread is cheaper, meat is more expensive. Buying cold meats should be avoided, they are of low quality, and the cheaper ones have a high content of soy and preservatives. Water is best bought in bottles, as it is usually taps it is not potable. You can buy cheap alcohol and cigarettes, but you can transport 2 packs of cigarettes (up to 40) and 1l of high-alcohol alcohol duty-free.

Gastronomy

Accommodation

Accommodation is cheap, a good standard is in motels (eg TV, swimming pool and bathroom) - for such a motel price ^{(as of: Dec 2014)} was PLN 20 / person.

When booking accommodation, use proven offers and always ask if there is hot water and a toilet. When choosing accommodation outside the big cities, it is worth remembering to stock up on cleaning products, toiletries, towels. When traveling in winter, make sure that the building or apartment has autonomous heating. District heating is turned on in late autumn (from October 15), and power and water outages are common. Sanitary conditions in hotels (theaters, opera houses, etc.) vary greatly. Do not drink tap water (source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Science

Education in Ukraine begins at the age of 6–7 and lasts eleven years. At the age of 18, young people take an exam, after which they can continue their studies. After 11 years of education, it can be continued in high school, which lasts 5 years, in a technical school for 3–4 years or at university.

work

Security

Overall, the security situation in Ukraine is fairly good, and in large cities it is good. There is always security in expensive shops, banks and exchange offices. After dark, you should not visit districts far from city centers and drink alcohol with people you meet by chance. Currently, there is a political crisis, and in eastern Ukraine (especially in the Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia oblasts, which are controlled by pro-Russian separatists), hostilities are underway, therefore, until the situation in the region stabilizes or the armed conflict ends, trips to these regions.

Health

The sanitary condition of the country is not the best. Tourists are advised to bring stomach medication. Do not drink tap water. Every year there is an increase in the incidence of tuberculosis and AIDS. The number of people suffering from measles is also increasing, with the greatest number of outbreaks of this disease occurring in western Ukraine and in Kiev. Periodically, mainly in summer, especially in the southern regions of Ukraine, there are outbreaks of jaundice and typhoid fever. In the northern regions, elevated levels of radiation persist after the catastrophe in Chernobyl. The equipment of state hospitals is very bad. Each patient has to pay for drugs himself, and the foreigner also has to pay for medical care (source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

contact

Telephone

Area code for Ukraine: 380

Internet

There is no problem with getting WiFi in large cities (in McDonald's it is fast, in various pubs and sometimes hostels / motels / hotels).

post

Useful information

Offices are open 5 days a week (Monday-Friday), usually from 8.00 a.m. or 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. or 6.00 p.m. There is a lunch break in offices between 12.00-13.00 or 13.00-14.00. The trade usually also works on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays (source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs).