Ukraine to bid for 2022 Winter Olympics

KIEV - Ukraine will make a bid to stage the Olympic Winter Games of 2022 in western Lvov region, Deputy Prime Minister Olexandr Vilkul announced here Tuesday.

"We believe that our application will be one of the strongest. Ukraine showed that it can carry out large-scale sporting events, and Lvov is a major tourist center and a city with a long history, " Vilkul told the news briefing.

Ukraine knows its potential contenders and is ready to compete with them for the right to host the games, Vilkul added.

The Chinese capital Beijing jointly with northern city Zhangjiakou as well as Kazakhstan's Almaty have officially announced plans to bid for 2022 Winter Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee is also expecting bids from Poland, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Spain.

Ukraine has participated in hosting the Games during the 1980 Summer Olympics in former Soviet Union.