Photo taken on Dec. 11, 2017 shows EU flags in front of European Commission headquarters during a heavy snowfall in Brussels, Belgium. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)

KIEV, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- The number of Ukrainians traveling to European Union (EU) countries has significantly increased after the introduction of a visa-free measure, a press release issued by the EU said Monday.

In the first six months since the measure was implemented on June 11 this year, Ukrainians visited EU member states 11 million times, up 15 percent from the same period a year ago.

According to Ukraine's State Border Service, 355,000 Ukrainians entered the EU under the eased border control rules.

The visa-free mechanism between Ukraine and the EU allows Ukrainian biometric passport holders to stay in the EU for 90 days without a visa in any 180-day period except for Ireland and Britain.

Ukrainians can also enter the non-EU countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland without a visa.