There is a war in Ukraine, so there is no such thing as a completely safe trip: the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against all travel, including to Lviv. At the same time, in 2026 tens of thousands of people cross the Polish–Ukrainian border every day, and the west of the country and Kyiv live normally, with air-raid alerts and a 00:00–05:00 curfew. The risk is real, but it differs between regions by orders of magnitude. Below is an honest assessment, zone by zone.
What exactly does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs say?
Ukraine is at the fourth, highest level of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs warnings: "advises against all travel", regardless of purpose or region. This is not a ban; a Polish citizen enters legally and faces no consequences for doing so. The warning does, however, have three effects worth knowing about before you leave: Polish travel insurance excludes Ukraine from cover, consular assistance is limited to information, replacement documents and contact with family (the embassy does not arrange individual evacuations or pay for treatment), and employers require a separate policy with war risk.
What is the situation in the individual regions?
| Region | Situation (as of September 2026) | Recommended insured sum |
|---|---|---|
| West: Lviv, Uzhhorod, Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lutsk | Normal life, restaurants and universities open. Air-raid alerts a few times a week, missile and drone attacks rare, aimed at energy infrastructure and factories. Curfew 00:00–05:00, none in Zakarpattia. | €3,000 (Basic) or €30,000 |
| Kyiv and Kyiv oblast | The capital is working. Massed missile and drone attacks a few times a month, usually at night; air defence active, shelters in the metro. Curfew 01:00–05:00 since 10 September 2026. | €30,000 (Extended) |
| Odesa, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, Kryvyi Rih | Attacks more frequent than in Kyiv, targeting ports and industry; in Odesa beaches are off-limits except designated ones. The cities function, but avoid hotels without a shelter. | €30,000 |
| Sumy, Chernihiv (cities) | Close to the Russian border, regular shelling and drones, extended curfew in the border communities. Only with a specific purpose. | €30,000 |
| Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and front-line regions | Glide bombs and artillery, daily in Kherson. Exclusively for professional purposes, with an organisation that knows the area and the procedures. In Zaporizhzhia there is the additional radiation risk (the power plant). | €30,000; in Zaporizhzhia consider the radiation option (premium ×3.5) |
| Occupied territories and Crimea | Entering from the Russian side is a criminal offence under Ukrainian law and ends with a ban on entering Ukraine. The policy does not cover these territories. | no cover |
The difference between €3,000 and €30,000 is a few euros of premium: the Basic plan costs from €3.56 for 3 days, the Extended from €5.75. In the west, €3,000 is enough for a doctor's visit, an X-ray, a few days in hospital and medication. East of the Dnipro, shrapnel injuries with surgery and transport to Poland are a realistic scenario, and that costs well over ten thousand euros.
Air-raid alerts: what to do when the siren sounds?
An alert is issued separately for each oblast and means that missiles or drones are heading towards the region, not that they will land on your street. Most Ukrainians ignore short alerts; the exceptions are warnings of ballistic missiles, which arrive in 2–4 minutes, and of massed night attacks. Then you go down to a shelter or, if there is none, to a room without windows between two load-bearing walls (the two-wall rule).
- Install the "Повітряна тривога" app (Air Alert, available in English) and select the oblast where you are staying. You can also see alerts on the map at alerts.in.ua.
- In Kyiv the default shelter is the metro, open during the curfew too. In hotels the shelter is signposted at reception; ask about it when you check in.
- During an alert some shops, banks and offices close, and trains may stop at the station. Factor this into your plans for the day.
Curfew, documents, photographs
- The curfew applies in every oblast except Zakarpattia, most often 00:00–05:00, in Kyiv 01:00–05:00, in Kherson 21:00–05:00. We describe the hours by city and the consequences of being late in the guide Curfew in Ukraine.
- Always carry your passport. Document checks on the street, at stations and at checkpoints are routine; a foreign national without a passport is taken to the police station for clarification.
- Do not photograph checkpoints, military and energy facilities, air defences or impact sites until the authorities have shown them. You risk detention and a search of your phone; publishing photos of an attack with a location is prosecuted. Photos of monuments, streets and people are fine.
- Drones may only be brought in with a permit; without one they will be held at the border.
- Mines are a real threat in the liberated districts of Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv and Mykolaiv oblasts. Do not leave the tarmac outside towns.
Odyseusz: register your trip with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Odyseusz (odyseusz.msz.gov.pl) is the free system of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in which you enter the country, the dates of your stay and a phone number. You log in with mObywatel or a trusted profile (profil zaufany). This lets the consul know how many Poles are in a given oblast, send warnings by text message and contact you in a crisis. Registration takes a few minutes, and with a level-four warning it is the simplest thing you can do for your own safety. We have gathered the contact details of the diplomatic posts in the guide on the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Kyiv.
Why must the insurance cover war risk?
Every Polish travel insurance policy, the EHIC and bank-card policies exclude damage caused by acts of war, and most additionally exclude countries with a level-four warning from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In Ukraine this means that a leg broken on an icy pavement in Lviv may not be covered simply because it happened in a country under a warning. That is why the Ukrainian Insurance Act (Article 7) requires foreign nationals to hold a policy from a domestic insurer, and the Border Guard Service checks it on entry.
The EUROINS Ukraine policy covers war risk in both plans, at no extra charge: treatment of injuries after shelling, accidents on the way to a shelter, hospitalisation and medical transport to Poland. The radiation option (premium ×3.5) only makes sense in Zaporizhzhia oblast. You buy the policy online in 5 minutes, for up to 10 people, for 3–180 days; the PDF arrives by e-mail and it is enough to show it on your phone. We explain why a Polish policy cannot replace a Ukrainian one in the guide Polish travel insurance does not cover Ukraine.
Before you leave: six things
- Passport (not an ID card) and the Ukrainian policy on your phone. The full list of documents is in the guide Entering Ukraine from Poland in 2026.
- Registration in Odyseusz.
- The Air Alert and Ukrzaliznytsia apps.
- The address of the nearest shelter at your hotel and at the station.
- A power bank and a torch: in winter power cuts last several hours a day.
- The emergency number 112 works throughout Ukraine; the Polish embassy in Kyiv has a 24-hour duty line.