About Ukraine

Location: Eastern Europe;
Population: 48 million;
Area: 603,000 km2 (slightly larger than France and slightly smaller than Texas);
Capital: Kyiv (Kiev);
Climate: temperate continental, except for a small strip of Crimea's southern coast, which has a mediterranean climate;
Geography: 95% of Ukraine is flat or nearly flat, with small rolling hills.
In the west the Carpathians rise to 2061 m (Hoverla), and in the south the Crimean Mountains reach 1545 m;
Currency: Hryvnia (grivna), abbreviation = UAH; Exchange rate since 2008 hovers around 5 UAH to 1 USD;
Government structure: Republic;
National holidays:
     January 1 - New Year's Day,
     January 7 - Christmas (Orthodox calendar),
     March 8 - International Women's Day,
     May 1 and 2 - International Workers' Solidarity Day,
     May 9 - Victory Day,
    June 28 - Constitution Day,
    August 24 - Independence Day;

    Ukraine is a state in Eastern Europe, bounded on the north by Belarus (952 km), on the northeast by the Russian Federation (2,484 km), on the west by Poland (542 km) and Slovakia (98 km), and on the southwest by Hungary (135 km), Romania (608 km), and Moldova (1,194 km).  The total area of Ukraine is 603,700 sq. km (compare the area of France - 551,000 sq. km, Germany - 356,000 sq. km, Great Britain - 244,000 sq. km, Italy - 301,000 sq. km, Spain - 505,000 sq. km).  Ukraine is the biggest country in Europe (after Russia). It is divided into 24 regions (oblasts) and an Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The country has an access to the Black Sea and the Azov Sea and two mountainsides: Carpathians in the West and the Crimean Mountains in the South.
      Ukraine climate is temperate continental, and subtropical at the southern coast of the Crimea. The mean temperature in January is 5o C (+ 23 F) and + 20o C (68 F) in July.