Is Surrogacy in Ukraine safe in the political climate?

Hey Bill, Will the conflict in Russia affect surrogacy in Ukraine? Do you think it’s still safe for our surrogate in Kiev? –Dana and Alex

Of course we follow all the news in Ukraine closely, and my opinion is that this event will not have any bearing on surrogacy in the Ukrainian capital.  The straights that under dispute in Crimea (and where the recent dispute took place) are about 800 kilometers from Kiev.  Even if there were a full-blown invasion of Ukraine by the Russians (which could never happen and has not even been suggested!), the impact on daily life in Kiev would be minimal.

One of our recent parents returned to the US after spending three weeks in Kiev… this is what they wrote to us:
Kiev is perfectly safe and the media blow things out of proportion. It’s the fear of the Ukraine that prevent people from jumping in. Most of that fear comes from the mainstream media bull**it.

Most Ukrainians we’ve contacted believe the “crisis” declared by the government is a political stunt to build political support in advance of the upcoming elections. One MP publicly stated that “Poroshenko wanted to use the situation in Kerch to grow his rating, to follow the example of Margaret Thatcher, who strengthened her position with the Falklands War of 1982,” as reported by local media. And even the Washington Post has acknowledged that for Kiev residents, the dispute with Russia “might as well be in another universe”.

Whether a political stunt or not, the political situation in the eastern provinces is scheduled to end in late December. At that time life will certainly go back to normal. The entire episode is likely to become a distant memory… at least for people in Kiev.

One thing that we do watch is the impact of the financial markets.  The Ukrainian currency (the Hryvnia) lost some value because of the recent politics, but fortunately our services are all priced in US Dollars.  So any lowering of the Hryvnia only adds value to the surrogate’s compensation. To avoid fluctuations in the local currently, we have always asked that payments to the surrogate be made via cash transfer systems like Western Union. 

I hope this is helpful.
— Bill