Is Kyiv Safe to Visit? (and other travel questions)

Last updated: 29 July 2023

2022 Update
We are deeply saddened by what is happening across Ukraine at the moment and our hearts go out to everyone whom has been affected by this ongoing tragedy. Obviously, travel to Ukraine is not an option so please consult your local Government website for guidance and official charities on how to best donate.

This post was written in early 2017 following our visit in late 2016, we hope our Ukraine posts continue to provide some historical context about what travel to Ukraine was once like.

Before heading to Ukraine for the first time, we had some questions. Some might even call them silly questions. They say there are no silly questions but if that’s honestly the case why do I feel foolish about asking them?

So this post is a little different from my usual travel posts about new cities, the best things to explore when in an area, and yes, even my historical epics (I’m sure that Roma is breathing a sigh of relief)

In today’s post I wanted to share 3 silly questions I had when researching our visit to Kyiv. These questions made me feel foolish for thinking of them but I honestly didn’t have an answer for them at the time. Perhaps you’re in the same boat?

See also: 9 Fascinating Things to Experience in Kyiv

Question 1: Is it Safe to Visit Kyiv, Ukraine?   

The short answer is YES.

The Donbass Region

What about all the violence I hear about in Ukraine at the moment? Is that near the capital?

There are certainly areas in Ukraine which are dangerous and shouldn’t be visited. Most notably the Donbass Region in Ukraine’s east, where the volatility of the eastern region is well-known and doesn’t appear to be subsiding any time soon. But how far away is Kyiv from the current danger zones?

The good news is that Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv is located 723 km (450 miles) away from the current fighting between the Ukrainian Government and Pro-Russian insurgents. Kyiv is considered to be safe place to visit, as safe as any major city in the world where you would expect to exercise a degree of caution in your regular activities.

Many Governments have up-to-date travel advice, alerts and warnings for countries around globe.  Before travelling you can always check your Government’s travel advice:

UK Foreign Travel | US Department of State | Smart Traveller (Australia) 

Euromaidan Protests

What about the protests that happened in Ukraine? Is it safe to visit there?

We decided to visit Kyiv in November because we wanted to explore during the off-peak season. What we didn’t realise that our visit would coincide with the third anniversary of the Euromaidan protests.

The infamous Euromaidan protests began as a reaction to former President Viktor Yanukovych’s government who suspended preparations to sign the association agreement to bring Ukraine closer to EU membership. This sparked an immense protest in the centre of Independence Square which, over time evolved into anti-Government (anti-corruption) protests which led to extreme violence and the deaths of 130 protestors and 18 police officers. Countless images and videos of protesters clashing with police were shared across the entire world through social media and international news outlets.

Honestly,

We were concerned about the timing. We spent hours searching online for up to date information about Independence Square, Euromaidan, and any unrest in Kyiv. We did read about a smaller protest which took place on the evening of the third anniversary, and there were some scuffles so we did wonder if it was safe to visit.

In fact, when we did visit Independence Square during our visit it was the complete opposite of what was being portrayed in the media. There were no protests and no riot police. In fact, it was a lone police car and a couple of other tourists in the Square with us.

Question 2: Is it Kiev or Kyiv?

How do I spell Ukraine’s capital? Is it Kiev or Kyiv?

We both consumed ourselves with a whole of lot of reading in the lead up to our trip – countless blogs, magazines, Wikipedia, TripAdvisor reviews, the works.  The one thing that  kept coming up was two different spellings for Ukraine’s capital city. I had no idea what the difference meant, if one was more right than the other, or I was simply over thinking it (as I tend to do some days).

It turned out that the spelling of Kiev, which is how most of the western world writes it, is based on the Russian spelling of Ukraine’s capital city. The Ukrainians on the other hand spell their capital city as Kyiv.  One interesting fact is that in 1999, the Ukrainian government formally adopted the spelling of Kyiv for all official documents and government acts.

The Ukrainian people have made a conscious decision to write the name of the modern capital city of Kyiv, so shouldn’t the rest of the world follow? I’ve chosen to use Kyiv because that’s how the Ukrainians spell it. If the people of the country are requesting the world starts using Kyiv instead of Kiev then it makes sense to me.

Question 3: Is it The Ukraine or just Ukraine?

Short answer; Ukraine, drop the The

The country is called Ukraine. You don’t say I’m going to visit The Australia so why do we add it to the front of Ukraine? I don’t know why I’ve always added the The to the front of Ukraine, it’s just been something that I’ve always done. After doing a little reading it turns out, I’m not the only one.   

There’s an excellent article on Business Insider which explains the reasons and one of the main reasons behind is that the word for Ukraine comes from an old Slavic word which is loosely translated into the word borderland which seems to imply that use of THE Ukraine refers to the country as a part of Russia.

As discussed above, the history between Russia and Ukraine is long and complicated and if the Ukrainian people don’t refer to THE Ukraine then why should we?

See also: Food, Cocktails, & Coffee in Kyiv

We even asked one of our tour guides if we should say The Ukraine or just Ukraine and she gave us a look of bemusement and replied with “Just Ukraine”. Our guide’s look seemed to suggest that as if anyone would ever call her country The Ukraine.

Yup, we heard it direct from a local.

Final Thoughts

If you’re currently planning a visit to Kyiv or to other cities in Ukraine then I hope post has been helpful with answering some of the more simple (but frequently asked) questions. We absolutely loved visiting Kyiv and would definitely recommend that you add Ukraine to your next holiday destination.