UK relaxes travel advice for Ukraine due to ‘determination and resilience’

Previous advice had warned against travel to all parts of the country

UK Government advice has changed to no longer warn against all travel to the whole of Ukraine, citing the country’s “remarkable determination and resilience” in the face of the Russian invasion as the reason for the relaxation of the rules.

Instead, the official advice from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) now states that travel to the Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil and Chernivtsi regions – all in the west of the country – should be avoided unless travel is deemed “essential”. Meanwhile, a blanket ban on all travel, which previously applied to the whole of the country, now only applies to regions outside of these four areas.

The capital, Kyiv, is still under a travel ban. The FCDO states that travel insurance could be invalidated if a UK citizen travels against FCDO advice. Meanwhile, consular support is also severely limited where the FCDO advises against travel.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy poses for a photo before a meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during the European Political Community summit at the Palacio de Congreso in Granada, Spain, in October. Picture: Juan Medina - Pool/Getty Images

Issuing the update on Ukrainian Unity Day, which celebrates the unification of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the Western Ukrainian People’s Republic in 1919, the FCDO said: "The UK now advises against all, but essential travel to the Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil and Chernivtsi regions in Ukraine. This is a change from the previous advice against all travel to the whole of Ukraine.

“Ukraine continues to show remarkable determination and resilience in the face of Russia’s attacks. This is why the UK has changed its travel advice to four western regions of the country.”

The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the unification act was a “significant” milestone and represented “the embodiment of the eternal aspirations of Ukrainians to live in their own cathedral, independent and sovereign state”.

It added: “The unity and indivisibility of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders, along with the consolidation of the global Ukrainian community in the struggle for our state's independence and European future, remain the primary priorities of our foreign policy.

“Ukraine is defending these values today in the face of Russia's armed aggression against our country. The consolidation of efforts by all Ukrainians is the most powerful weapon that guarantees our inevitable victory and the restoration of territorial integrity.”