Ukraine trivia: 45 questions and answers

Kyiv. Kyiv is the capital and largest city, on both banks of the Dnipro river in the north of the country.

Hryvnia. The hryvnia (₴) has been Ukraine's currency since 1996. The zloty is Polish, the forint Hungarian and the leu Romanian and Moldovan.

True. True. Ukraine is the second-largest country in Europe after Russia, and the largest one that lies entirely within Europe.

Hoverla. Hoverla, 2,061 m, in the Carpathian Mountains, is the highest mountain in Ukraine. Triglav is in Slovenia, Musala in Bulgaria and Gerlach in Slovakia.

Oleg. According to the Primary Chronicle, Prince Oleg took Kyiv in 882 and made it the capital of Rus.

Taras Shevchenko. Taras Shevchenko, a poet and painter born into a family of serfs, published Kobzar in 1840. Mykola Leontovych was a composer.

True. True. More than 92% of voters approved the declaration of independence in the referendum of 1 December 1991.

False. False. It was agreed in the town of Bender, in Moldavia. It is sometimes called the first constitution of Ukraine.

The Orange Revolution. The Orange Revolution took its name from the colour of the protesters. The Supreme Court ordered the vote to be repeated.

True. True. As of September 2026 the war continues.

1986. A reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded on 26 April 1986. It is the most destructive nuclear accident in history.

Beetroot. Beetroot gives borscht its red colour. Tomatoes are often added too, but the colour comes from the beetroot.

True. True. UNESCO listed it in 2022, noting that the war threatened the tradition.

Boiled filled dumplings. Varenyky are boiled filled dumplings, with fillings such as potato, cabbage, curd cheese or sour cherries. The name comes from the verb for "to boil".

Kutia. Kutia, made of wheat berries, poppy seeds and honey, is tasted first at the Christmas Eve supper.

Pampushky. Savoury pampushky are seasoned with garlic sauce and served with borscht. Syrnyky are curd cheese pancakes and nalysnyky filled thin pancakes.

Salt-cured pork fat. Salo is salt-cured pork fat, sliced thin and eaten on dark bread with onion or garlic.

False. False. Kyiv cake has been made by a confectionery factory in Kyiv since 6 December 1956 and has become a symbol of the city.

Lviv. Lviv was named after Lev, the eldest son of King Danylo of Galicia.

Dnipro. The city was called Yekaterinoslav from 1787, became Dnipropetrovsk in 1926 and was renamed Dnipro in 2016.

True. True. Kharkiv was the capital of Soviet Ukraine from December 1919 to January 1934, before the capital moved to Kyiv.

Cave. 'Pechera' means cave. The Lavra began as a cave monastery in the 11th century.

Odesa. The Potemkin Stairs, built between 1837 and 1841, lead down towards the harbour in Odesa.

True. True. The Soviet hammer and sickle on the shield was replaced with the trident, Ukraine's coat of arms.

True. True. It was inscribed in January 2023 and placed at once on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Smotrych. The winding Smotrych river carved out the peninsula on which the castle stands.

Carol of the Bells. 'Carol of the Bells' is based on 'Shchedryk', arranged by Mykola Leontovych and sung at Carnegie Hall in 1922.

True. True. Sikorsky was born in Kyiv in 1889 and in 1939, in the United States, designed and flew the VS-300.

It is the second-deepest metro station in the world. It is the second-deepest metro station in the world. Arsenalna lies 105.5 metres below ground and was the deepest until Hongyancun station in Chongqing, China, opened in 2022. Its escalators are the deepest descent in Kyiv.

True. True. The single An-225 was destroyed at Antonov Airport near Kyiv in February 2022.

33. The Ukrainian Cyrillic alphabet has 33 letters, including ї, є, і and ґ, which Russian does not have.

Ukrainian. 'Kyiv' comes from the Ukrainian Київ. The older spelling 'Kiev' comes from Russian.

Thank you. Dyakuyu means thank you. Please is 'bud laska'.

False. False. 'Ni' means no. Yes is 'tak'.

rakhunok. Rakhunok is the bill. Kvytok is a ticket, vulytsia a street and potyah a train.

Smachnoho!. Smachnoho means 'enjoy your meal'. Budmo is a toast, dobranich means good night and pryvit means hi.

Cheers!. Budmo, 'let us be', is a common Ukrainian toast used like 'cheers'.

False. False. Dobranich means good night. Good morning is 'Dobroho ranku'.

Skilky tse koshtuie?. Skilky tse koshtuie? means 'How much is it?'. Yak spravy? means 'How are you?'.

Take shelter. Take shelter as soon as an air alert sounds. Find your nearest shelter in advance and follow local officials.

True. True. Visitors arrive overland, for example by train from Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova or Austria.

103. Call 103 for an ambulance. 101 is the fire service and 102 the police.

True. True. The UK advice is to carry it at all times, as the police may ask to see it.

Near government or military buildings. Official travel advice says not to take photographs near government or military buildings.

About 6 to 10%, or rounding up. About 6 to 10%, or rounding up, is normal in restaurants. Tipping has become more common in recent years.