The territory of Ukraine

Ukraine is one of the largest countries of Eastern Europe Ukraine is one of the largest countries of Eastern Europe. Ukraine occupies an area of 603,7 sq km. It borders on Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to the south.

Ukraine is a unitary state composed of 24 oblasts (provinces), one autonomous republic (Crimea), and two cities with special status: Kiev, its capital, and Sevastopol.

Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnipro River. Kyiv is an important industrial, scientific, educational and cultural centre of Eastern Europe and the largest ancient centre of national Ukrainian culture.

The largest mountain system – the Ukrainian Carpathians - lies in the form of a range, 260 km long and 100 - 110 km wide. The Carpathians form a major mountain system in southeastern Europe, curving 900 miles along the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Poland and Ukraine.

The Hoverla mountain at 2,061 m, is the highest mountain in Ukraine and a part of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountain is located in the Eastern Beskides, in the so-called Chornohora region.

The Crimean Mountains are the mountain system on the south of the Crimean peninsula. Stretched out on 180 km from the cape of Fiolent near-by Sevastopol to the cape of Illya near Feodosiya. Roman Kosh it is the greatest top of the Crimean mountains, located in the array of Babugan-yaila. Its height is 1545 m.

The largest river of the country – the Dnipro (the third longest river in Europe) with the length of 2285 km, from which 1205 kilometers are within the territory of Ukraine, flows into the Black Sea. The Dnipro basin covers almost a half of the territory of the country.

The Black Sea is an inland sea bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects it to the Aegean Sea region of the Mediterranean. These waters separate eastern Europe and western Asia. The Black Sea also connects to the Sea of Azov by the Strait of Kerch.

The Sea of Azov is a shallow branch of the Black Sea, connected to it by the Kerch Strait. It covers a part of the Black Sea Depression lying between the Donets Ridge and the Azov Upland in the north and the foothills of the Crimean Mountains and the Caucasus Mountains in the south. The Sea of Azov is located between mainland Ukraine in the north, the Crimea in the west, and the Kuban region in the east. In the northeast it is bordered by the Don region. The large rivers that flow into the Sea of Azov - the Don and the Kuban River - connect it with the continental heartland. The Sea of Azov now lies within the borders of Ukraine and the Russian Federation