Portal:Ukraine
The Ukraine Portal - Портал України
Ukraine Україна (Ukrainian) | |
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ISO 3166 code | UA |
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which borders it to the east and northeast. It also borders Belarus to the north; Poland and Slovakia to the west; Hungary, Romania and Moldova to the southwest; with a coastline along the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to the south and southeast. Kyiv is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Odesa. Ukraine's official language is Ukrainian.
During the Middle Ages, Ukraine was the site of early Slavic expansion and the area later became a key centre of East Slavic culture under the state of Kievan Rus', which emerged in the 9th century. The state eventually disintegrated into rival regional powers and was destroyed by the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. The area was then contested, divided, and ruled by a variety of external powers for the next 600 years, including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austrian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Tsardom of Russia. The Cossack Hetmanate emerged in central Ukraine in the 17th century, but was partitioned between Russia and Poland, and absorbed by the Russian Empire. Ukrainian nationalism developed and, following the Russian Revolution in 1917, the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic was formed. The Bolsheviks consolidated control over much of the former empire and established the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union when it was formed in 1922. In the early 1930s, millions of Ukrainians died in the Holodomor, a human-made famine. The German occupation during World War II in Ukraine was devastating, with 7 million Ukrainian civilians killed, including most Ukrainian Jews.
Ukraine gained independence in 1991 as the Soviet Union dissolved, and declared itself neutral. A new constitution was adopted in 1996. A series of mass demonstrations, known as the Euromaidan, led to the establishment of a new government in 2014 after a revolution. Russia then unilaterally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and pro-Russian unrest culminated in a war in the Donbas between Russian-backed separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since the outbreak of war with Russia, Ukraine has continued to seek closer ties with the United States, European Union, and NATO.
Ukraine is a unitary state and its system of government is a semi-presidential republic. A developing country, it is the poorest country in Europe by nominal GDP per capita and corruption remains a significant issue. However, due to its extensive fertile land, pre-war Ukraine was one of the largest grain exporters in the world. Ukraine is considered a middle power in global affairs, and the Ukrainian Armed Force is the fifth largest armed force in the world in terms of both active personnel as well as total number of personnel with the eighth largest defence budget in the world. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also operates one of the largest and most diverse drone fleets in the world. It is a founding member of the United Nations, as well as a member of the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization, and the OSCE. It is in the process of joining the European Union and has applied to join NATO. (Full article...)
In the news
- 28 October 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- At least 21 people are injured when Russian guided bombs and rocket artillery hit Kharkiv and its region in Ukraine. (Reuters)
- 25 October 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2024 Kursk offensive, Foreign involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukraine reports that the first North Korean units have entered the active "warzones" in Russia's Kursk Oblast. The North Korean soldiers are reportedly under the command of Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov. (Yonhap News Agency)
- Dnipro strikes
- A Russian missile attack on a residential area in Dnipro, central Ukraine, kills five people and injures 21 others. (AP)
- Kyiv strikes, Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- One person is killed and five others are injured when a Russian drone strikes a residential building in Solomianskyi District, Kyiv, Ukraine. (Reuters)
- 24 October 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
- The Armed Forces of Ukraine reports that Russian Armed Forces have made significant advances in the strategic city of Selydove, predicting that it could be captured in a few days. (Euronews)
- 23 October 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
Featured pictures
Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that the Malyuk rifle was originally developed as a private venture under a contract with the Security Service of Ukraine?
- ... that more than 200 Nobel Prize laureates have signed a letter against the war in Ukraine?
- ... that Ukrainian parties obtained only a fifth of the votes in the 1917 Kiev City Duma election?
- ... that the first film written and directed by Marysia Nikitiuk has been called one of the "most iconic" works of modern Ukrainian cinema?
- ... that Volodymyr Kozhukhar, the chief conductor of the National Opera of Ukraine in Kyiv, led Lysenko's opera Taras Bulba and Shchedrin's ballet Carmen Suite?
- ... that Ruslana Pysanka, who hosted a Ukrainian television program with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, died as a refugee in Germany?
More did you know -
- ... that the Privat Group is one of the few Ukrainian companies that own industries in the United States?
- ... that the married Western Ukrainian Clergy became a hereditary caste that dominated western Ukrainian society?
- ... that Vasyl Avramenko is often referred as "The father of the Ukrainian dance"?
- ... that the Kryvbas economic region in Ukraine is one of the largest iron ore and steel industry centers in Europe?
- ... that the Khreschatyk is the main street of Ukrainian capital Kyiv on which Orange Revolution and other historical events mainly took place?
- ... that Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych (pictured), known for the "Carol of the Bells", was nicknamed "Ukrainian Bach" in France?
Selected article -
Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, 391 km (243 mi) southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnipro River, after which its name is derived. Dnipro is the administrative centre of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. It hosts the administration of Dnipro urban hromada. Dnipro has a population of 968,502 (2022 estimate).[1]
Archeological evidence suggests the site of the present city was settled by Cossack communities from at least 1524. Yekaterinoslav ("glory of Catherine") was established by decree of the Russian Empress Catherine the Great in 1787 as the administrative center of Novorossiya. From the end of the 19th century, the town attracted foreign capital and an international, multi-ethnic workforce exploiting Kryvbas iron ore and Donbas coal. (Full article...)
In the news
- 28 October 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- At least 21 people are injured when Russian guided bombs and rocket artillery hit Kharkiv and its region in Ukraine. (Reuters)
- 25 October 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- 2024 Kursk offensive, Foreign involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukraine reports that the first North Korean units have entered the active "warzones" in Russia's Kursk Oblast. The North Korean soldiers are reportedly under the command of Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov. (Yonhap News Agency)
- Dnipro strikes
- A Russian missile attack on a residential area in Dnipro, central Ukraine, kills five people and injures 21 others. (AP)
- Kyiv strikes, Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- One person is killed and five others are injured when a Russian drone strikes a residential building in Solomianskyi District, Kyiv, Ukraine. (Reuters)
- 24 October 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
- The Armed Forces of Ukraine reports that Russian Armed Forces have made significant advances in the strategic city of Selydove, predicting that it could be captured in a few days. (Euronews)
- 23 October 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
Selected anniversaries for October
- October 4, 2006 — Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 crashed over the Black Sea en route from Tel Aviv (Israel) to Novosibirsk (Russia).
- October 25, 1854 — Battle of Balaclava was fought during the Crimean War, fought between the allied forces of the United Kingdom, French Empire and the Ottoman Empire on one side and Russia on the other.
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Notes
- ^ In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Sergeyevich and the family name is Khrushchev.
- ^ Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2022 [Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2022] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022.