About Ukraine

Climate

The climate of the country is largely temperate, with a subtropical region in the Crimea in the South. Winter sees regular snowfalls everywhere except this Southern region. The rivers and lakes freeze in winter. The average winter temperature varies from -20 Centigrade in the north to -3-5 in the south. Summer is quite hot and dry, with occasional showers and thunderstorms. The fertile black soil is well watered in spring and autumn and gets plenty of sunshine in summer. The average temperature in January is about .8 C in the North-East and +4 C in the South of the Crimea. July temperature varies from +18 C to +24 C.

There is 600-700 mm of the annual precipitation in the North-West, 300 mm . in the South-East, 1000-1200 mm in the Crimean Mountains and about 1600 mm in the Carpathian Mountains. The Southern and mountain climates are particularly beneficial for human cardiovascular and respiratory health.

Geography

The largest country in Europe, Ukraine is situated in the south-eastern part of Central Europe and has its own democratic government, national emblem, flag and anthem. It borders Russia, Byelorussia, Moldova, Slovakia, Roumania, Hungary and Poland on land and Russia, Georgia, Bulgaria, Roumania and Turkey by sea.

The territory of Ukraine is mostly a level, treeless plain, calls "steppe". There are the Crimean Mountains in the Crimean peninsula and the Carpathians in the west, but they are not very high. Mixed forests of pine and fir-trees, beeches, limes, oaks and elms cover the mountains, but the thickest woods can still be found in the northern part of the republic, in Volyn. Kiev and Cherkassy. The main Ukrainian river is the Dnieper. It is one of the longest European rivers and one of the republic's main source of hydroelectric power. The Dnieper and its tributary the Ross, have been the cradle of the Ukrainian and Russian people in time immemorial.

Due to its favorable climatic conditions, Ukraine is traditionally an agricultural area – the “breadbasket of Europe”. It grows wheat, maize, buckwheat and other corn, red and green vegetables, all kinds of fruit, melons and berries. Ukraine is one of the world's main centers of sugar production. It produces sugar both for her own needs and for export.

The country is rich in natural resources, such as iron ore, coal, color metal, oil, gas, mineral salts, clay and potential water power. It has developed a varied industry, concentrated mostly in and around big cities, such as Kiev, Zaporozhye, Dnepropetrovsk, Dnyeprodzerzhinsk, Odessa, Kharkov, Lviv, Nickolayev and other. It produces planes and ships, lorries and buses, motorcars and locomotives, computer and electronic equipment, precision instruments and agricultural machines, TV and radios, chemicals and textiles and various consumer goods. Odessa, Sebastopol, Nickolayev, Kherson and Kerch are main ukrainian ports.

The capital, Kiev, is described as the “Mother of Russian cities”. It is one of the oldest cities in the East Europe (founded in the V century) with numerous museums, historical and cultural memorials. Much modern development is taking place there, such as building construction, metro development and roads. With the place acting as a magnet to the rest of the country and abroad, this growth is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

Increasingly, with democracy and opening of its markets, tourism will be a fast growing part of the economy.

Customs information

Custom rules: Things that cost less than 200 Euro (as well as excise goods) or a single undivided object that costs less than 300 Euro (excluding excise goods) can be imported without any taxes.
Import of the following goods is forbidden:
Vehicles with age more than 5 years, poisons, radioactive and explosive substances, printed and imaged materials which propagandize the ideas of war, racism, violence, food-stuffs without certificate.

Goods whose price reaches 100.000 Euro are permitted for export. If you want to export any masterpieces, cultural and historical values, you should get an agreement from the Ministry of the Ukrainian culture.

It is permitted to import sums to 10 000$ without any additional documents, or an equivalent in any national currency. The single condition is that all imported currency is to be declared. When importing from 10 000 $ to 50 000 $ an application has to be made. Any currency, which was earlier imported to Ukraine (during 1 year), is allowed for export.

Please note that the above is for guidance only and you should check the up to date situation with the relevant authorities.

Cuisine

National cuisine. Certain Ukrainian dishes are well known in foreign countries. Different pastries (pampushkas, galushkas, boiled pieces of paste enclosing curd or fruit and so on), meat dishes (Ukrainian sausages, cold snacks, wild fowl and others ), plant and dairy-produce (kefir, cheese cake), and various fruit or honey drinks are popular.
Also widespread in Ukraine, are different porridges, pieces of paste with curd, potato, cabbage, and a wide range of fruit
From ancient times fish dishes have taken a really valuable place in the Ukrainian cuisine. For example, crucian baked in a sour cream, salmon stuffed with mushrooms and buckwheat porridge, salmon stewed with onion and sour cream, pike perch stewed with mushrooms and crayfish and others.

In the major towns and resort areas, Western style food, such as pizzas, is increasingly available.

The Crimea – a special place

The Crimea has much to offer the modern holidaymaker and holiday home owner. It has historically been is one of the most popular tourist centers not only in Ukraine, but also in all East Europe. This attraction is sure to spread.

Geographical position.

The autonomous Republic of the Crimea (the Crimean region from 1954 to 1991) is a part of Ukraine. It is connected with the continent by a narrow (about 8 km) Perekopskiy isthmus. From this place to the lower spot of the peninsula . Sarich cape - 195 km. From East to West . from Priboyniy cape on the Tarhankute peninsula to the Fonar cape on the Kerch peninsula is 325 km.

The Crimea is surrounded by the Black Sea in the West and in the South by the Azov Sea and its lagoon Sivash in the East and North-East. Sivash is separated from the Azov Sea by a long sandy spit , Arabatskaya strelka.
The northern part of the Crimea is a level plain, which in the South raises to 200m. On the western side is the Tarhankute sublimity (up to 179 m). In the West the plain becomes a hilly territory of the Kerch peninsula (up to
189 m), which has an alternation of circular limestone crests, flat falls, mud holes and lake basins.

There are the Crimean Mountains on the south side of the country. They lie from South-West (from Sevastopol city) to North-East (up to Pheodosia city) for 180 km. The mountains consist of three ridges and have steep southern and flat northern slopes. The highest Crimean ridge has the height of 1545 m (Roman-Kosh Mountain). There are 1657 rivers and temporal water reservoirs in the Crimea. Their general length is 5996 km.
There are 50 salty lakes in the Crimea that are used as a source of salt and medical mud.

It is evident what a rich range of ecological diversity there is in a relatively small area. Visit the Crimea and you will be amazed at the natural surroundings.

Weather in Crimea.

Climate in the Crimea ranges from the continental to the Mediterranean. In the typical winter it’s mild and moderately cold on the Main ridge. An average temperature of the coldest month is from .1C (Simferopol city) to .4C (Ay-Petry). Summer is moderately hot (plain) and warm (in the mountains). An average temperature of July is +21,2 C (plain), +15.6 C (yayla).
The highest temperature reaches +36 C in the plain and +32 C at the yayla.

There is 350-500 mm of precipitation in the plain and 1220 mm on the Main ridge. Snow precipitation prevails in the mountains: at the yayla it doesn’t melt for 100-105 days.
Climate of the southern coast of the Crimea is Mediterranean, close to subtropical. It characterizes its mild winter and hot dry summer. An average temperature of February is from +2 C in the East and in the South to +4C in
the West. Absolute minimum is .15 C in Yalta and .23C in Sudak. Low index of humidity, especially in the South of the Crimea, in the regions with subtropical climate, is optimal for Europeans and those used to moderate climates.

In short, a perfect summer holiday climate.

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