On Saturday, 21 June 2025, employees of the Media Center Directorate conducted an exciting one-day trip to Medvino, Ukraine’s first safari park.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Indonesia to Ukraine Arief Muhammad Basalamah, his wife and colleagues, and representatives of the Embassies of Denmark and Mexico and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees joined the new tourist journey.
The Medvino Safari Park is a picturesque location near the Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve. The park’s wild animals live in harmony with the environment in conditions as close to their natural habitat as possible. In addition to observing the local fauna, visitors to this wonderful place have a unique opportunity to feed and take pictures with the animals.
During the visit, diplomats were happy to meet local inhabitants, including fallow deer and reindeer, whose number in the park includes almost a thousand across three species. The animals originated from Lithuania, Byriuchyi Island, and Zalissia, and are now happy to share their grace and beauty with visitors.
Foreign guests were also fascinated by the sight of camels, bison, llamas, buffaloes, Przewalski’s horses, Turkmen kulans, Carpathian wolves, rare cows, and marmots.
During the thrilling journey by open-top jeeps, the guide told the diplomats interesting stories about the animals they saw at arm’s length and showed them the most spectacular spots of the park. The tour participants also fed and petted the animals and took many memorable photos. The fresh air, extremely picturesque landscapes, and wonderful animals in a relaxed environment left no participant of this exotic trip unimpressed.
During the tour, the employees of the diplomatic missions also visited a small sturgeon farm, where they tasted freshly cooked sturgeon and strawberries picked straight from the garden. In addition, they enjoyed a delicious lunch with a tasting of cheeses: suluguni, brynza, Adygea, and hard cheese with fenugreek, made at a local eco-farm. The foreign guests also tasted interesting alcoholic drinks: nalivkas made from lemon, cherry, rowan, mead, and horseradish.
The trip proved to be an unforgettable experience for the diplomats, as it is a great way to relax from the urban bustle and enjoy real wildlife and observe animals.
