Eastern Ukraine

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all travel to Donetsk and Lugansk regions. Please check with your relevant national government.

In many ways a continent away from the folkloric west of Ukraine, the predominantly Russian-speaking territory east of the Dnipro River is often dismissed as 'not Ukrainian enough'. But, from an economic and political standpoint, this vast region is the country's power source.

The region was hit hardest by the crisis precipitated by the 2014 revolution. A part of it (fortunately not a very big one) has been occupied by Russian-backed rebels who proclaimed two 'people's republics', putting Donetsk and Luhansk on the front line of a simmering conflict. We can't overemphasise the danger of coming anywhere close to rebel-held areas.

That said, the rest of eastern Ukraine is safe to travel in, provided that you watch the news. The area includes places that are key to understanding Ukraine, such as the Zaporizhska Sich, Gogol’s Poltava region and Unesco-listed Chernihiv. Kharkiv and Dnipro are large industrial cities with intriguing cultural dynamics.

Explore Eastern Ukraine

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Kharkiv Art Museum
Kharkiv's most famous museum owns one of many versions of Ilya Repin's Zaporizhsky Cossacks Writing a Letter to the Turkish Sultan, which is found in a…
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Ploshcha Svobody
Locals claim that this enormous expanse of cobbles is the second largest in the world after Beijing's Tiananmen Sq. At 750m long it's indisputably huge…
M
Menorah Center
Vaguely reminiscent of MI6 headquarters in Vauxhall, this giant structure looming over the remains of the Old Town is the slick new heart of the city's…
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Korpusny Park
The focal point of the city centre is the circular Korpusny Park, laid out in the early 19th century in an attempt to emulate the grand planning ideals of…
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Poltava Museum of Local Lore
Located on the southeast edge of Zhovtnevy Park, the museum exhibits random archaeological and cultural artefacts, its collection almost overshadowed by…
K
Khortytsya Island
The Zaporizhska Sich on Khortytsya Island was the cradle of Ukrainian Cossackdom, where Hetman (chieftain) Dmytro Baida united disparate groups of…
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Dytynets
From Krasna pl it's a three-minute walk southeast along pr Myru to the old historic core, known as the Dytynets ('citadel' in old Russian). Today it's an…
A
Antoniy Caves
The Antoniy Caves, Chernihiv's answer to Kyiv's Kyevo-Pecherska Lavra, lurk beneath the ground a short walk north of the Trinity Monastery, under the…
K
Kharkiv History Museum
The city's history museum found itself encased in a giant glassy structure as the result of an unfinished reconstruction, which hasn't touched upon the…

K
Kharkiv Art Museum
Kharkiv's most famous museum owns one of many versions of Ilya Repin's Zaporizhsky Cossacks Writing a Letter to the Turkish Sultan, which is found in a…
P
Ploshcha Svobody
Locals claim that this enormous expanse of cobbles is the second largest in the world after Beijing's Tiananmen Sq. At 750m long it's indisputably huge…
M
Menorah Center
Vaguely reminiscent of MI6 headquarters in Vauxhall, this giant structure looming over the remains of the Old Town is the slick new heart of the city's…
K
Korpusny Park
The focal point of the city centre is the circular Korpusny Park, laid out in the early 19th century in an attempt to emulate the grand planning ideals of…
P
Poltava Museum of Local Lore
Located on the southeast edge of Zhovtnevy Park, the museum exhibits random archaeological and cultural artefacts, its collection almost overshadowed by…
K
Khortytsya Island
The Zaporizhska Sich on Khortytsya Island was the cradle of Ukrainian Cossackdom, where Hetman (chieftain) Dmytro Baida united disparate groups of…
D
Dytynets
From Krasna pl it's a three-minute walk southeast along pr Myru to the old historic core, known as the Dytynets ('citadel' in old Russian). Today it's an…
A
Antoniy Caves
The Antoniy Caves, Chernihiv's answer to Kyiv's Kyevo-Pecherska Lavra, lurk beneath the ground a short walk north of the Trinity Monastery, under the…
K
Kharkiv History Museum
The city's history museum found itself encased in a giant glassy structure as the result of an unfinished reconstruction, which hasn't touched upon the…

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Eastern Ukraine.

See
Kharkiv Art Museum
Kharkiv's most famous museum owns one of many versions of Ilya Repin's Zaporizhsky Cossacks Writing a Letter to the Turkish Sultan, which is found in a…
See
Ploshcha Svobody
Locals claim that this enormous expanse of cobbles is the second largest in the world after Beijing's Tiananmen Sq. At 750m long it's indisputably huge…
See
Menorah Center
Vaguely reminiscent of MI6 headquarters in Vauxhall, this giant structure looming over the remains of the Old Town is the slick new heart of the city's…
See
Korpusny Park
The focal point of the city centre is the circular Korpusny Park, laid out in the early 19th century in an attempt to emulate the grand planning ideals of…
See
Poltava Museum of Local Lore
Located on the southeast edge of Zhovtnevy Park, the museum exhibits random archaeological and cultural artefacts, its collection almost overshadowed by…
See
Khortytsya Island
The Zaporizhska Sich on Khortytsya Island was the cradle of Ukrainian Cossackdom, where Hetman (chieftain) Dmytro Baida united disparate groups of…
See
Dytynets
From Krasna pl it's a three-minute walk southeast along pr Myru to the old historic core, known as the Dytynets ('citadel' in old Russian). Today it's an…
See
Antoniy Caves
The Antoniy Caves, Chernihiv's answer to Kyiv's Kyevo-Pecherska Lavra, lurk beneath the ground a short walk north of the Trinity Monastery, under the…
See
Kharkiv History Museum
The city's history museum found itself encased in a giant glassy structure as the result of an unfinished reconstruction, which hasn't touched upon the…