Ukraine is a large, varied and colorful country. In the west, the beautiful city of Lviv is stamped with the Central European elegance, while to the South is the exotic and intriguing port of Odessa. The ancestral Tatar homeland of Crimea is the semi-autonomous peninsula famed for its spectacular palaces, castles, mountains and resorts such as Yalta. The capital, Kiev (Kyiv) is energetic and cosmopolitan.
Ukraine is located in Eastern Europe. It occupies southwest part of the Eastern European Plato and parts of the Carpathian and Crimean mountains. Southern Ukrainian cities located on the cost of the Black Sea offer ancient architecture and relaxing beaches in the Summer. Beautiful slopes of the Crimean mountains are great for skiing in the winter.
Ukrainians are deeply affected by the country's long history that predates the independent state by some 1,500 years. The march of successive civilizations from prehistoric times, the Scythians, Greeks, Varaungian, Slavic, and Turkic peoples have all left their mark.
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