The National Bank of Ukraine updated official exchange rates for Friday, August 21, 2026. The key event of the day was the update of the historical maximum for the European currency: the euro rose to 52.13 hryvnias, while the US dollar, conversely, continued to decline, dropping to 44.61 hryvnias. Thus, at the official level, diverging dynamics of the two main currencies were fixed: the euro is strengthening, the dollar is weakening.
Dollar and Euro exchange rate on August 21
According to the NBU, the official dollar rate on August 21 was set at 44.61 UAH. The previous day, August 20, the American currency cost 44.70 UAH, which means a daily drop of 9 kopecks. The European currency, conversely, increased: the euro rate was 52.13 UAH against 51.86 UAH on Thursday, that is, a growth of 27 kopecks in a day. It was precisely this movement that pushed the euro to a new mark of the historical maximum according to the regulator's official rate.
Euro historical maximum and context of currency movement
The update of the euro record against the background of the dollar's decline reflects the redistribution of exchange positions of the two currencies relative to the hryvnia. For euro holders, this means that when cashing in and exchanging at the official rate, the European currency brings more hryvnias than before, while the dollar gradually loses positions. Expert and news materials, citing NBU data, unanimously emphasize that it is the euro that became the leader in growth among major currencies on this day.
What to do with damaged foreign banknotes
In addition to exchange rate data, the NBU reminded of the procedure for handling worn and damaged foreign banknotes. If the banknote has inscriptions, stains, tears or cuts, it can be submitted for cashing. To do this, it is enough to contact any Ukrainian bank that performs operations with the corresponding foreign currency. Banks accept such damaged banknotes, after which they transfer them to the country of origin, where they are exchanged for valid banknotes. This is important to consider for those who keep foreign currency in cash and plan to exchange it.
Contradictory data
When comparing the headlines of various publications, an inconsistency was found in the wording regarding the date of reaching the maximum. The main text and a number of sources indicate that the euro rate of 52.13 UAH has already been set by the NBU on Friday, August 21, as a fact. At the same time, headlines of some publications use the future tense — 'tomorrow it will already reach 52.13 UAH' and 'will reach 52.13 hryvnias', which creates the impression of a forecast for the subsequent date, rather than a fixed value. Essentially, it is about the same figure of 52.13 UAH, however, the discrepancy in grammatical tense and date attachment may mislead the reader as to whether the maximum is an established fact or an expected event. In this material, the figure of 52.13 UAH is given as the official rate set by the NBU on August 21, 2026.
The result of the day on the Ukrainian currency market was the consolidation of the euro at a historical maximum of 52.13 UAH against a simultaneous decline of the dollar to 44.61 UAH. The regulator also drew attention to the mechanism of cashing damaged foreign banknotes, which is particularly relevant for citizens who keep cash currency and plan to exchange it in Ukrainian banks.
