{"id":612121,"date":"2026-09-05T09:13:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T06:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/korabelov.info\/2026\/09\/612121\/hryvnia-30-years-how-the-first-money-from-canada-secretly-arrived-in-the-korabelnyi-district\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T09:13:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T06:13:37","slug":"hryvnia-30-years-how-the-first-money-from-canada-secretly-arrived-in-the-korabelnyi-district","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/korabelov.info\/en\/2026\/09\/612121\/hryvnia-30-years-how-the-first-money-from-canada-secretly-arrived-in-the-korabelnyi-district\/","title":{"rendered":"Hryvnia \u2014 30 years: how the first money from Canada secretly arrived in the Korabelnyi District"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 2 September 2026<\/strong> the Ukrainian hryvnia turned 30 years old<\/strong>. However, the first banknotes of the future national currency appeared in Ukraine much earlier \u2014 back in 1992<\/strong>. They were shipped across the Atlantic and unloaded at the special port “Oktyabrsk” in the Korabelnyi District of Mykolaiv<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The hryvnias were printed abroad<\/h2>\n

After the declaration of Independence, Ukraine still did not have its own equipment for producing secure banknotes and banknote paper. The design of the new money was developed by Ukrainian artists Vasyl Ivanovych Lopata<\/strong> and Borys Ivanovych Maksymov<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Banknotes with denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 hryvnias<\/strong> were ordered from the Canadian Bank Note Company in Canada<\/strong>. Notes of 50 and 100 hryvnias<\/strong> were produced by the British company Thomas De La Rue at its factory in Malta<\/strong>. Some of the small change coins were minted in Italy<\/strong>, and some at the Luhansk Machine-Building Plant. According to the National Bank of Ukraine, the young state did not have enough funds, so the first hryvnias were effectively printed on credit. History of the Ukrainian hryvnia \u2014 NBU<\/a><\/p>\n

Secret voyage across the Atlantic<\/h2>\n

Shipping the entire print run by air would have been too expensive, so the money was sent by sea. The operation received the code name “Shield of Ukraine”. A civilian cargo ship, “Petr Aleynikov”, was chosen for it. Part of the crew was replaced by special unit members who were officially enrolled as seamen.<\/p>\n

On 19 August 1992<\/strong> the vessel departed from the port of Illichivsk<\/strong>, now called Chornomorsk<\/strong>, and set course for Montreal<\/strong>. Only the state leadership, the ship\u2019s captain and the participants of the special operation knew the true purpose of the voyage.<\/p>\n

On 9 September 1992<\/strong> the ship arrived in Canada<\/strong>. The banknotes were taken from the factory near Ottawa<\/strong> to the port by trucks under armed escort from the Canadian police. Already on 13 September<\/strong> the ship\u2019s holds were loaded with 105 maritime containers<\/strong> of hryvnias.<\/p>\n

After that the ship called at Malta<\/strong>, where it took on more than 20 containers<\/strong> of 50 and 100 hryvnia<\/strong> notes. Anniversary publications in 2026<\/strong> specify the exact number \u2014 23 containers<\/strong>. Thus, a total of 128 containers<\/strong> with the future currency of Ukraine ended up on board. Detailed history of the special operation \u2014 ZN.UA<\/a><\/p>\n

The money arrived in the Korabelnyi District<\/h2>\n

The final maritime destination was kept secret. The ship did not go to Odesa<\/strong>, but to the special port “Oktyabrsk” near Mykolaiv<\/strong>. Today this is the seaport “Olvia”, whose checkpoint officially belongs to the Korabelnyi District.<\/p>\n

Open sources differ on the arrival date. The former head of the operation, Vasyl Vasyliovych Krutov<\/strong>, in memoirs published in 2003<\/strong> named 30 September 1992<\/strong>. However, a number of more recent anniversary materials indicate 2 October 1992<\/strong>. The main fact remains indisputable: it was “Oktyabrsk” that became the maritime gateway through which the first hryvnias entered Ukraine. Vasyl Krutov\u2019s recollections about the operation<\/a><\/p>\n

At the port the secret cargo was met by special forces and representatives of the National Bank. The completion of the seaborne part of the operation was reported to the then head of the SBU, Yevhen Kyrylovych Marchuk<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The containers were transshipped onto three vessels<\/strong> of the “river-sea” class. The money was then taken up the Dnipro to Kyiv<\/strong>, where it was loaded into special vehicles and placed in several vaults. Security of the cargo along the entire route was the responsibility of the Security Service of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Why the hryvnias waited another four years<\/h2>\n

Despite the fact that the banknotes were already in Ukraine, they were not put into circulation immediately. In 1992\u20131994<\/strong> the country experienced hyperinflation, so the hryvnia could quickly have suffered the same fate as the devalued coupon-karbovanets.<\/p>\n

Only on 25 August 1996<\/strong> did the President of Ukraine sign a decree to carry out a monetary reform. It took place from 2 to 16 September 1996<\/strong>. Coupon-karbovanets notes were exchanged at a rate of 100,000 karbovantsiv for 1 hryvnia<\/strong>. From 17 September<\/strong> the hryvnia became the sole legal means of payment in Ukraine. Data from the National Bank<\/a><\/p>\n

At the time of the reform, more than 338 trillion karbovantsiv<\/strong> were in circulation. Within two weeks it was possible to withdraw about 97%<\/strong> of that amount and issue more than 3.1 billion hryvnias<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Thus the Korabelnyi District of Mykolaiv<\/strong> became part of one of the most important operations of the early years of Independence. Ukrainian money was not just printed overseas \u2014 it literally sailed into the country through the local port.<\/p>\n

Previously we wrote:<\/p>\n