is a country in Eastern Europe. Excluding Crimea, Ukraine has a population of about 42.5 million, making it the 32nd most populous country in the world. Its capital and largest city is Kiev. Ukrainian is the official language and its alphabet is Cyrillic. The dominant religions in the country are Eastern Orthodoxy and Greek Catholicism.
Ukraine has a mostly temperate climate, with the exception of the southern coast of Crimea which has a subtropical climate. The climate is influenced by moderately warm, humid air coming from the Atlantic Ocean.
Languages : According to the constitution, the state language of Ukraine is Ukrainian.Russian is widely spoken, especially in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Location: Ukraine is situated in the central part of Eastern Europe, on the crossroads of major transportation routes from Europe to Asia and from the Scandinavian states to the Mediterranean region.
Most of Ukraine is located south-west of the Eastern European plain. Mountains occupy only 5% of Ukrainian territory: the Ukrainian Carpathian mountains in the west and the Crimean mountains in the south. The highest peak in Ukraine, Goverla Mountain (2,061 m), is situated in the Carpathians. Roman-Kosh peak (1,545 m) is the highest mountain in Crimea.
Climate: Ukraine has a temperate continental climate with cold, snowy winters and warm summers. Summer is generally the best time to visit (between June and September), although it can occasionally be uncomfortably hot and many hotels do not have air conditioning.
Religions: According to the Ukrainian law “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations”, religious organizations in Ukraine are presented to the state and secular law through their religious centers and offices registered in accordance with this law, which means that religious organizations themselves are not subjects to state registration and are not legal entities.
According to the survey conducted on request of the International Center for Advanced Studies in 2014-2015, the distribution of religious beliefs in the regions of Ukraine (with the exception of the Lugansk region and Crimea) looks like this:
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate) - 44.2%,
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) - 20.8%,
Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church - 11%,
Protestants - 2.5%,
Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church - 2.4%,
Roman Catholic Church - 1%,
Buddhism - 0.2%,
Paganism - 0.2%,
Islam - 0.1%,
Judaism - 0.1%,
Others - 8%.
Ukrainian cuisine:
is the collection of the various cooking traditions of the Ukrainian people accumulated over many years. The cuisine is heavily influenced by the rich dark soil (chornozem) from which its ingredients come and often involves many components.
The national dish of Ukraine that undeniably originates from the country is borsch. However varenyky and holubtsi are also considered national favourites of the Ukrainian people and are common meal in traditional Ukrainian restaurants.
Often referred to as the “breadbasket of Europe” the Ukrainian cuisine emphasises the importance of wheat and grain to the Ukrainian people and its often tumultuous history with it. The majority of Ukrainian dishes descend from ancient peasant dishes based on plentiful grain resources such as rye as well as staple vegetables such as potato, cabbages, mushrooms and beetroots. Ukrainian dishes incorporate both traditional Slavic techniques as well as other European techniques, a by product of years of foreign jurisdiction and influence.
The Ukrainian cuisine incorporates a variety of different food branches (carbohydrates, fats, protein, fruits and vegetables) due to the large size of the country and the plentiful edible resources. Traditional Ukrainian dishes often experience a complex heating process - "at first they are fried or boiled, and then stewed or baked. This is the most distinctive feature of Ukrainian cuisine".