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Ukraine is the largest, but one of the least-known countries entirely within
Europe. With great natural beauty, a rich culture and warm and hospitable people,
it's a wonderful country to visit. However, many visitors to this newly independent,
developing country come for business, educational and medical exchanges, charitable
works and missionary activities rather than to sightsee.
Ukraine is situated in the south-eastern part of Central Europe and has its own
territory, government, national emblem, flag and anthem. It borders on Russia,
Byelorussia, Moldova, Slovakia, Roumania, Hungary and Poland on land and Russia,
Georgia, Bulgaria, Roumania and Turkey on 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 lie in the midst
of Ukrainian southernmost pine forest. 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 had been the cradle of
the Ukrainian and Russian people in time immemorial.
The climate of the country is moderate. Winter is rather mild, with no severe
frosts but with regular snowfalls everywhere except the south. The rivers and lakes
freeze in winter.Summer is quite hot and dry, with occasional showers and thunderstorms.
Due to favorable climatic conditions, Ukraine is traditionally an agricultural area.
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 radioset, chemicals and textiles and
various consumer goods. Odessa, Sebastopol, Nickolayev, Kherson and Kerch are
main ukrainian ports.
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