Kyiv

Population: 2,820,000
Area: 839km²
Altitude: 168 m above sea level
Capital of Ukraine

Kharkiv

Population: 1,453,100
Area: 306km²
Altitude: 154 m above sea level

Donetsk

Population: 1,015,000
Area: 358km²
Altitude: 169 m above sea level
Motto: Opportunity is proved with business

Chernivtsi

Population: 240,600
Area: 153km²
Altitude: 248 m above sea level
Motto: Viribus unitis – by joint efforts

Press sunflower to activate a city.

“Ukraine is one of the fastest-changing places I know.
Every time I return there’s something new and different –
this is part of the attraction. Keeping information fresh
is a real challenge,and relying solely on one person’s version
of the country is impossible.”

Andrew Evans. Ukraine. The Bradt Travel Guide.

Ukraine (Ukrainian: Україна, Ukrayina):
There are two meanings of the name "Ukraine": 1. borderland or "on the edge," as "kray" means edge; 2. the word "krayinah" means country/nation, and the name could simply mean "the country."

                        

                             Flag                                             National emblem

Area:
603,550 km² (land – 579,330 km², water – 24,220 km²) Ukraine is the largest country on the European continent, and is slightly smaller than Texas. It is situated in the East of Europe and borders with Russia to the east, Belarus to the north, Poland to the northwest, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, and Romania to the south west and south, with Moldova in between.

Terrain:
most of Ukraine consists of fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus, mountains being found only in the west (the Carpathians), and in the Crimean Peninsula in the extreme south

Elevation extremes:
highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m

Natural resources:
iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land

Population:
45,415,596 (July 2010 est.) This is country comparison to the world: 28th position (for example South Africa – 49,109,107, South Korea – 48,636,068, Spain – 46,505,963, Colombia – 44,205,293)

Ethnic groups:
Ukrainian 77.8%, Russian 17.3%, Belarusian 0.6%, Moldovan 0.5%, Crimean Tatar 0.5%, Bulgarian 0.4%, Hungarian 0.3%, Romanian 0.3%, Polish 0.3%, Jewish 0.2%, other 1.8% (2001 census)

Languages:
Ukrainian (official) 67%, Russian 24%, other 9% (includes small Romanian-, Polish-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities)

Religions:
Ukrainian Orthodox – Kyiv Patriarchate 50.4%, Ukrainian Orthodox – Moscow Patriarchate 26.1%, Ukrainian Greek Catholic 8%, Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox 7.2%, Roman Catholic 2.2%, Protestant 2.2%, Jewish 0.6%, other 3.2% (2006 est.)

Currency:
Hryvnia (UAH)

Time zone:
GMT +2

National holidays:
New Year’s Day – 1 January
Orthodox Christmas – 7 January
International Women’s Day – 8 March
Easter – Varied
Labour Days – 1-2 May
Victory Day – 9 May
Holy Trinity Day (Triytsya) – Varied
Constitution Day – 28 June
Independence Day – 24 August

UNESCO world heritage list:
Kiev:Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kiev-Pechersk Lavra
Lviv – the Ensemble of the Historic Centre
Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians*
Struve Geodetic Arc*

* transboundary property

Famous sportsmen:
Andriy Shevchenko, Vitaliy and Volodymyr Klychko, Sergiy Bubka, Oksana Bayul, Yana Klochkova