I'm also from Norway, Glenn
And I have been driving in Russia, but mostly in Ukraine every year since 1998, summer and winter.
Mostly with my own cars, driving all the way from Norway, but also a lot with rental cars (when it became possible to rent after 2004)
I was married to my first Ukraine wife for almost 15 years, and driving there at least one time a year.
During the period when I was searching for my second Ukraine wife, in 2013 - 14,,,
I drove more than 40.000 km back and forth, criss - cross all parts of Ukraine,
meeting with a large amount of women, that I had been writing and skyping with.
Then married with my second Ukraine wife a year ago.
Driving there is absolutely no problem, if you are reasonably experienced driver.
Nothing special to worry about, except for having flats on bad roads with a lot of potholes.
In my opinion, (many reasons),,,,
forget about Russia, go to Ukraine,,,, you will never regret...
If driving there with your own car, take at least one extra spare wheel.
And from 2014 they started asking for "green insurance card" for car again (in Ukraine),
so having one will save you a lot of discussions at the border, or later with their friendly policemen.
I could have written a book, about all my "crazy" experiences from driving in the FSU (former soviet union),
especially from the early years.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Below is a copy of my answer to a similar question at another forum earlier this year.
Don't worry about the driving.
When renting a car, you have insurance, and nothing to worry about.
Police / militia are nice and friendly with foreigners, at the most, they want a little cash in US dollars for your alleged offense.
I have 15 years of driving experience, in every part of Ukraine.
40.000 km (25.000 miles) in the last two years alone, for finding my present wife.
Even with all the crazy drivers having a minimum of driving experience, Ukraine is a relatively safe place to drive.
Outside the cities, there is in general very little traffic on the roads, especially now with the economic crisis.
Sparse traffic can tolerate a lot of crazy driving without much in the way of accidents.
I have been stopped a 100++ times by the police for speeding and other traffic violations.
(In Ukraine my driving style is similar to the "crazy ones" but with a lifetime of driving experience behind me.)
Paid a few five-dollar notes in the first couples of years, before I learned how to avoid paying.
Have enough funny stories about my meetings with the "Police Men of Ukraine" to write a book.
Roads are from very good to absolutely terrible.
From Odessa to Zap, go the following route, Nikolav - Kherson - Melitopol - Zap
Moderate to small amount of potholes, but still preferable to drive in daytime, expect 7-8 hours going non-stop.
(Drove that route a few months ago)
Alternate route from Nikolav - Krivoy Rog --- had absolutely terrible roads in this part, summer of 2013.
And talking about potholes and flats,,,,
Oh Boy, do I have some experience with that,, smile
(But driving slower will of course avoid more "flats" when hitting potholes.)
I posted this a year ago, about a trip to Ukraine in early March 2013 to meet with a woman for 2 days in Khmelnytski.
She was a very nice woman, but I didn't want to tie the knot so early in the game, without executing all of my plan.....
The photo is from a rental car at the end of the winter in Western Ukraine,,,
driving much too fast in heavy rain/snow conditions on smaller roads in terrible condition.
And being in the middle of the night it was impossible to see even large potholes in the roads,
as they were all filled with water,, I had two flats fixed on gas stations already before midnight.
After that I kept driving too fast for as long as it was possible,, in the end on three flat tyres...
and four rims like the one on the photo.
Most here or any sensible person wouldn't have been driving like that,,,,
But I didn't care, I wanted to get to my destination before the morning,
even if I had to leave my car with luggage, at five o'clock that Sunday morning in March,
and start walking in a blowing mix of rain and snow, without clothing for being outside at all.
I almost made it through all of the 400 km (250 miles) distance, but had to start walking for the last 15 km (10 miles)
This one is from Ukraine in January this year,, with my trusty Peugeot...
Sometimes it is possible to shed the tire, and continue driving slowly on the rubber bead without damaging the wheel itself.
This was the second flat this night and I only had a single spare wheel on this trip.
I drove slowly like this for an hour in the middle of the night, to get to a gas station, and wait for the morning,,
and then find someone to help me..... smile
And I have been driving in Russia, but mostly in Ukraine every year since 1998, summer and winter.
Mostly with my own cars, driving all the way from Norway, but also a lot with rental cars (when it became possible to rent after 2004)
I was married to my first Ukraine wife for almost 15 years, and driving there at least one time a year.
During the period when I was searching for my second Ukraine wife, in 2013 - 14,,,
I drove more than 40.000 km back and forth, criss - cross all parts of Ukraine,
meeting with a large amount of women, that I had been writing and skyping with.
Then married with my second Ukraine wife a year ago.
Driving there is absolutely no problem, if you are reasonably experienced driver.
Nothing special to worry about, except for having flats on bad roads with a lot of potholes.
In my opinion, (many reasons),,,,
forget about Russia, go to Ukraine,,,, you will never regret...
If driving there with your own car, take at least one extra spare wheel.
And from 2014 they started asking for "green insurance card" for car again (in Ukraine),
so having one will save you a lot of discussions at the border, or later with their friendly policemen.
I could have written a book, about all my "crazy" experiences from driving in the FSU (former soviet union),
especially from the early years.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Below is a copy of my answer to a similar question at another forum earlier this year.
Don't worry about the driving.
When renting a car, you have insurance, and nothing to worry about.
Police / militia are nice and friendly with foreigners, at the most, they want a little cash in US dollars for your alleged offense.
I have 15 years of driving experience, in every part of Ukraine.
40.000 km (25.000 miles) in the last two years alone, for finding my present wife.
Even with all the crazy drivers having a minimum of driving experience, Ukraine is a relatively safe place to drive.
Outside the cities, there is in general very little traffic on the roads, especially now with the economic crisis.
Sparse traffic can tolerate a lot of crazy driving without much in the way of accidents.
I have been stopped a 100++ times by the police for speeding and other traffic violations.
(In Ukraine my driving style is similar to the "crazy ones" but with a lifetime of driving experience behind me.)
Paid a few five-dollar notes in the first couples of years, before I learned how to avoid paying.
Have enough funny stories about my meetings with the "Police Men of Ukraine" to write a book.
Roads are from very good to absolutely terrible.
From Odessa to Zap, go the following route, Nikolav - Kherson - Melitopol - Zap
Moderate to small amount of potholes, but still preferable to drive in daytime, expect 7-8 hours going non-stop.
(Drove that route a few months ago)
Alternate route from Nikolav - Krivoy Rog --- had absolutely terrible roads in this part, summer of 2013.
And talking about potholes and flats,,,,
Oh Boy, do I have some experience with that,, smile
(But driving slower will of course avoid more "flats" when hitting potholes.)
I posted this a year ago, about a trip to Ukraine in early March 2013 to meet with a woman for 2 days in Khmelnytski.
She was a very nice woman, but I didn't want to tie the knot so early in the game, without executing all of my plan.....
The photo is from a rental car at the end of the winter in Western Ukraine,,,
driving much too fast in heavy rain/snow conditions on smaller roads in terrible condition.
And being in the middle of the night it was impossible to see even large potholes in the roads,
as they were all filled with water,, I had two flats fixed on gas stations already before midnight.
After that I kept driving too fast for as long as it was possible,, in the end on three flat tyres...
and four rims like the one on the photo.
Most here or any sensible person wouldn't have been driving like that,,,,
But I didn't care, I wanted to get to my destination before the morning,
even if I had to leave my car with luggage, at five o'clock that Sunday morning in March,
and start walking in a blowing mix of rain and snow, without clothing for being outside at all.
I almost made it through all of the 400 km (250 miles) distance, but had to start walking for the last 15 km (10 miles)
This one is from Ukraine in January this year,, with my trusty Peugeot...
Sometimes it is possible to shed the tire, and continue driving slowly on the rubber bead without damaging the wheel itself.
This was the second flat this night and I only had a single spare wheel on this trip.
I drove slowly like this for an hour in the middle of the night, to get to a gas station, and wait for the morning,,
and then find someone to help me..... smile
30.12.15
