We visited this museum in 2017.
It was great.
Looking at the cold war era atomic rockets, visiting the command silo and seeing the actual red button.
The English speaking guide explained everything very well.
Highly recommended !!!!
I visited museums from both sides of the Cold War – this one, and Titan Missile
Museum in Arizona. (see my profile for the review of that one)
The location is not the greatest for obvious reasons. But it totally worth it, be ready to spend here at least four hours.
I’d say this museum is way crazier than the one in Arizona. First of of all, they have a lot of various military vehicles, including Satan missile, and nuclear missile train. Secondly, the Soviet government was insane about their nuclear missiles — silo has three mechanisms to guarantee that retaliation strike happens even if everyone who makes the decision about this dies.
Unfortunately you won’t be able to see the silo, because it was buried. But they left a couple of meters of it for demonstration proposes.
People who used to serve here at the time of the Cold War are making excursions nowadays, and they allow you to press the button and “begin a Third World War”. Unfortunately missile control center only allows three people to be inside, so if your group is big, you may end up spending an hour or so while waiting for your turn to “launch the missile”.
Other unfortunate thing, that people who work here seem to be unhappy about the fact, that this facility with insane weapons of mass destruction was shut down.
The museum is quite impressive but if you don't understand Russian/Ukranian you'll need to book an English guide.
I wouldn't miss this museum. It's worth it!
A must visit place if you travel South , just few kilometres off the highway and you’ll be excited to visit this amazing ex military base to latch atomic missiles
Not many people can say they have been inside a nuclear missile silo and pressed the infamous launch button that could cause so much havoc!
This is a long drive out from Kiev however, very much worth it. A disused soviet era nuclear missile silo converted into a museum and open to the public. The guided tour is fantastic and offers a huge insight into how the base was run and also the lengths and training the soldiers had to go through to ensure they were mentally fit to live inside the silo and conditioned to press the launch button without hesitation! The tour is very relaxed and the guide we had spoke english and was happy to answer any questions that we asked her. She also took the tour at the pace we wanted, not trying to rush you from one point to the next.
There is plenty to see and learn and you don't leave feeling was that it. I would highly recommend visiting this place for an opportunity that most don't get. There are plenty of decommissioned vehicles and weapons to look at and explore.
There is a small gift shop at the end with a few souvenirs that are reasonably priced.
Overall this is a must go see when in Ukraine!
Fantastic place where you can get to know the history of Ukraine in context of cold war reality. There is a lot of military exhibits, tanks, airplanes and engineering vehicles. The best part of the trip is visiting nuclear command center deep underground. It is the best museum I have ever been!
Really helpful guide, book direct and save a lot if money. A lot if placed in Kiev will try to rip you off. It is possible to ride IN a soviet heavy tank here IS-3
notice how I said IN and not Drive.
A lot go company’s in Kiev will claim you can ‘Drive the IS-3 tank’ this is not possible.
Worth the day trip for Kiev, even if it’s a lot if time driving. You will need a car/driver to get here if you are planning on doing it as a day trip
Amazing place!!! Can be expensive to get to, but worth it if you're interested in military history. How many places can you see a fully functional ICBM command post?? Minus the missiles of course. Plenty of other great militaria to see too.
I went with Solo East Tours & it was one of the best day trips I've ever done. They provided a top driver, Constantine & an amazing guide Elena (who has the best job in the world!). They made my day super memorable!
Very interesting excursion if you can get there. It is quite a long trip from Kyiv, but worth the effort. How many places in the world can you visit an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Base? The guide was extremely knowledgeable, informative, and friendly. Having an opportunity to sit in the launch control officers chairs and simulate the release of 10 ICBMs was a sobering experience that brought the reality of the Cold War to life.
