It’s a great time to visit, says Ukraine’s tourism board

UKRAINE’S tourism board has urged holidaymakers to “keep calm and visit” as it reassured that the country was safe, despite the threat of a Russian invasion.

Some 100,000 Russian troops wait at the border, with blood supplies moved to the frontline. Moscow denies it plans to invade the former Soviet state.

Visit Ukraine said there was “no reason to panic” and the “situation on the border remains under control”.

“There is too little positive news in the information space today,” explains the press release, which exhorts people to visit “majestic Kyiv, sleepless Kharkiv, fragrant Lviv, cozy Chernivtsi, exciting Odessa”.

Kharkiv is just 15 miles away from the Russian border and has been cited as one of the first cities that could be invaded by Vladimir Putin’s forces.

“The country is open and safe for tourists,” the statement concludes.

The upbeat tone echoes similar messaging from the government, which has complained that the West is spreading hysteria about the crisis.

Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, this week said that Western governments and foreign media are overplaying the threat posed by Russia.

“There are signals even from respected leaders of states, they just say that tomorrow there will be war. This is panic – how much does it cost for our state?” he said on Friday.