Our expert answers your questions about Ukraine

As of April 2024, the closest front line to Dnipro is about 110 km south of the city.

The closest distance from the center of Kyiv to the border with Russia in a straight line is about 200 km in the northeast direction to Chernihiv.

If it is about a Ukrainian international passport, you should get a new one via the embassy of Ukraine to the UK, check this official information with all the details. I don't recommend you to extend the validity of your expired international passport, even if you have this option, because Ukrainians with such extended passports often have issues crossing borders. Getting a new international passport will take more time, but you won't have these problems when traveling with it.

Based on information that I have found, your father still needs to have a valid document proving his identity and Ukrainian citizenship. But to return to Ukraine, it is not necessary to issue a new international passport. He can receive a so-called certificate of return (also known as identity card, white passport).

This can be done within one day. Official information on getting it is available on the site of the Ukrainian Embassy in the UK. I think you should try to contact the embassy directly to clarify all the details and perhaps, due to your urgent circumstances, they will be able to provide you with this service in a faster manner, avoiding online queue, which can take weeks.

As of March, 2024, anyone who says that it is possible to travel from Donetsk directly to Lviv by taxi, bus, etc. is lying. There is no civilian transport connection across the front line. Over the past few weeks, we have begun to receive a lot of similar requests (taxi from Donetsk to Lviv or Poland). This is probably the work of the same scammers.

As of March 2024, Donetsk is controlled by Russia. This means that there are no direct transport links between this city and other Ukrainian cities controlled by the Ukrainian government and Poland as well. The frontline can't be crossed by civilians, there are no checkpoints.

Anyone who says that there are buses, taxis, private cars running from Donetsk across the frontline directly to, for example, Lviv or Poland is lying. The only way to leave Donetsk for a real person is to go to Russia at first, for example, to Rostov-on-Don. There are regular buses available.

From Russia, it is possible to fly to Istanbul, Turkey or enter the Baltic countries or even return to Ukraine via the Kolotylivka - Pokrovka checkpoint on the border between Sumy Oblast, Ukraine and Belgorod Oblast, Russia, the only border checkpoint, which is open.

Our advice is not to send any help to a person in Ukraine, especially in parts of Ukraine controlled by Russia (in this case, in our experience, the chance that this "person" is a scammer is close to 100%), before you are absolutely sure that this person is real.

The coastal climate of Odesa (humid continental, close to subtropical) is more suitable for treating the cardiovascular system, skin diseases, musculoskeletal system, nervous and endocrine systems. In the case of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, the dry climate of semi-deserts and deserts, as well as mountain climate, are better.

As of February 2024, there are regular buses running from Donetsk to Rostov-on-Don, Russia (1,250 Rubles or 14 USD). From Rostov-on-Don, there are regular trains and buses running to Sochi (2,000-3,000 Rubles or 22-35 USD). From Sochi, there are regular flights to Istanbul - 10,000-14,000 Rubles (108-150 USD). Of course, we strongly recommend not to send any help before you meet the person. The costs are not high, especially if you are going to reimburse these expenses after the meeting.

Otherwise, you will most likely be scammed. This is especially true for contacts with those who claim to be living on Russian-controlled territory of Ukraine. In this case, according to our experience, the chance that you are dealing with scammers is close to 100%.

As of February 2024, Kostyantynivka is controlled by the Ukrainian officials, although it is located very close to the frontline. It means that there are regular buses running from this city to other parts of Ukraine. Infobus site is fine, here is its schedule of Kostyantynivka-Warsaw buses (1-2 transfers).

Our advice is not to send any help before you actually meet the person. As you can see the ticket price is relatively low (50+ Euro), a Polish visa is not required, if the person has a valid bio-metric international passport (20-40 USD to get one). So it should not be a problem for a real person to meet you in Poland, especially if you help afterwards.

A fake person (scammer) will try to get as much money out of you as possible under the pretext of buying tickets, passport, insurance, bribes, etc. and of course the scammer is not going to go anywhere, but will provide reasons why it hasn't worked out and why a little more help is needed for one reason or another.

As of February, 2024, the state fees to issue a Ukrainian biometric international passport are 856 UAH (Ukrainian Hryvnias) or about 23 USD (20 working days) or 1,496 UAH or 40 USD (7 working days).