Located in eastern Europe, Ukraine is a splendid place to travel even though it is also the most underrated country in Europe. The country is perfect for traveling due to the low prices, wide range of attractions, and friendly people.
The population of Ukraine is over 44.39 million, and it’s the second-largest country in Europe.
It’s also home to the old city of Kyiv, the capital, which is one of the oldest cities in Europe.
It is a safe country to visit. Its popular cities like Kyiv and Odesa are calm and safe from petty crimes.
Ukraine gained independence from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R), Poland-Lithuania, and Russia. Before this, it had a brief period of freedom during 1918-20, when the country was under Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia.
Geography
Belarus borders Ukraine to the north, whereas Russia bounds the country to the east, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to the south, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west.
The country is separated from Russia in the far southeast by the Kerch Strait.
The country occupies the southwestern region of the Russian Plain and comprises mainly level plains that range at an elevation of 574 feet above sea level.
You can find mountains such as the Ukrainian Carpathians and Crimean Mountains on Ukraine’s borders.
The country has highlands and lowlands. The mountains of the country range from about 2,000 feet to even 6,762 feet at Mount Hoverla.
Its soils are divided into three aggregations: the zone of podzolized soils, the central belt of black and highly fertile Ukrainian chernozems, and the zone of chestnut and salinized soils.
Climate
The country lies in the temperate climatic zone where the warm, humid air of the Atlantic Ocean influences the weather.
The west region of Ukraine has milder winters than the east. However, in terms of summer, the east has higher temperatures than the west.
January is the coldest month with about -3 degrees Celsius in the southwest and -8 degrees in the northwest, whereas July is the hottest month with 23 degrees in the southeast and 18 degrees in the northwest.
Snowfall starts in late November or early December.
In contrast, the southern shore of Crimea has a relatively warmer type of climate where winters are mild and rainy, and summers are dry and hot.
Nature and Wildlife
The country’s natural vegetation constitutes the Polissya, the forest steppe, and the steppe. However, much of Ukraine’s vegetation has been cleared for cultivation.
The Polissya zone has mixed woodland and has oak, elm, hornbeam, maple, pine, ash, linden, poplar, willow, alder, and beech trees.
The forest steppe’s two-thirds of the area has an agricultural region, and the forests only cover one-right of the area.
The steppe has treeless plains which are under cultivation.
Ukraine houses about 350 bird species, more than 100 mammals, and more than 200 fish species in terms of wild animals.
There are wolves, wildcats, martens, foxes, roe deers, elks, and wild pigs in the forests. You can also see amazing birds like black and hazel grouse, partridges, gulls, owls, and migrating birds like wild geese, storks, and ducks.
You will enjoy visiting the country’s first nature reserve called Askaniya-Nova, which protects a portion of the virgin steppe.
