Roads in Ukraine

However, high-speed highways, locally known as avtomahistrali (motorways) or shvydkisni dorohy (expressways), are rare and only exist on certain segments of major routes.

These efforts fell short of expectations in some areas, and the road network at-large is still in need of significant renovation.

[4] The Russian invasion of Ukraine has also heavily impacted infrastructure work in the country, leading to billions of dollars (USD) in construction costs.

In 2023 alone, the Government of Ukraine reported making more than 2,000 kilometers of emergency repairs on motorways, highways, and other national roads.

[5] More than 25,000 km (16,000 mi) of state and local roads, and 344 bridges and overpasses, were destroyed or damaged as a result of the invasion.

[10] In 2015, the World Bank Group approved a US$560 million loan to improve road conditions in Ukraine, particularly along the M03 route between Poltava and Kharkiv.

[11] In 2016, many of Ukraine's major provincial highways were in very poor condition, with Ukravtodor reporting that 97% of the country's roads needed repair.

This high figure was attributed mostly to corruption-driven budget allocations and to lackluster enforcement of weight restrictions on trucks.

In the late 2000's, two of the first improved avtomahistral motorways were opened: the Kyiv – Boryspil route (Ukrainian: Автомагістраль Київ - Бориспіль), which takes up the segment of the M03 road connecting the capital with Boryspil International Airport; and the M29 which connects Kharkiv and Dnipro by running parallel with the M18.

Beyond classification by geographic levels, the roads in Ukraine are also categorized by their ability to handle varying degrees of traffic.

Since around 2010, the two major avtomahistrals, Kyiv – Boryspil and Kharkiv – Dnipro, have been deemed the top roads of category IA.

Ten Pan-European corridors for transport were defined in 1994 with the goal of improving connectivity in Central and Eastern Europe.

The largest construction site is located in the Poltava region, where a 7-kilometre section of concrete-surface highway is being built from scratch.

The project aims to relieve heavy transit traffic in the city centre[24] and includes a 280-metre-long overpass above a ravine.