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
- 2 December 2024 – Russo-Ukrainian War
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announces that the United States will provide Ukraine with a $725 million weapons package. (Reuters)
- 1 December 2024 – Ukraine–United States relations
- U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says that the United States will not return to Ukraine the nuclear weapons that they dismantled. (Reuters)
- 29 November 2024 – Russo-Ukrainian War
- Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine–NATO relations
- Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that his country is ready to agree to a ceasefire if NATO protects parts of Ukraine. (Kyiv Post)
- 28 November 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern front of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The Russian Defence Ministry claims that Russian forces have taken the village of Nova Illinka in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Reuters)
- Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure, Ukrainian energy crisis
- Russia launches a massive missile and drone attack on civilian and critical infrastructure in Ukraine, injuring at least five people and causing blackouts for more than a million households. (CNN)
Featured pictures
Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that in 2014 the European Theatre Convention started a programme known as Dialogue of Cultures to support exchanges with theatres in Ukraine and other Eastern European countries?
- ... that a recent cyberattack on Ukrainian websites was disguised as ransomware?
- ... that in the history of opera in Ukraine, Mykola Lysenko's historical Taras Bulba was the first grand opera, but not performed during his lifetime because he refused a performance in Russian?
- ... that Ukrainian artist Kateryna Antonovych worked at Prague's Museum of Ukraine's Struggle for Independence before the US Army Air Forces bombed it?
- ... that Ukrainian activists squatted Viktor Yanukovych's opulent clubhouse at the Mezhyhirya Residence?
- ... that the first film written and directed by Marysia Nikitiuk has been called one of the "most iconic" works of modern Ukrainian cinema?
More did you know -
- ... that according to legend, a tunnel leads from the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle to the Khotyn Fortress which is 20 kilometres (12 mi) away?
- ... that Ukrainian naturalist, lecturer, artist and author John Lhotsky was credited as the first discoverer of gold in New South Wales?
- ... that at its first years Kiev Zoo had to move its animals into the food storage of the main Kiev railway station for the winter?
- ... that among many historic landmarks at the Andrew's Descent in Kyiv, there is a medieval Gothic style castle that locals call the "Castle of Richard the Lion Heart" due to the legend the 12th century King of England had visited the building?
- ... that the married Western Ukrainian Clergy became a hereditary caste that dominated western Ukrainian society?
- ... that Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych (pictured), known for the "Carol of the Bells", was nicknamed "Ukrainian Bach" in France?
Selected article -
The official language of Ukraine is Ukrainian, an East Slavic language of the Indo-European languages family. It is spoken regularly by 88% of Ukraine's population at home in their personal life, and as high as 87% at work or study. It is followed by Russian which is spoken by 34% in their personal life. (Full article...)
In the news
- 2 December 2024 – Russo-Ukrainian War
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announces that the United States will provide Ukraine with a $725 million weapons package. (Reuters)
- 1 December 2024 – Ukraine–United States relations
- U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says that the United States will not return to Ukraine the nuclear weapons that they dismantled. (Reuters)
- 29 November 2024 – Russo-Ukrainian War
- Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine–NATO relations
- Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that his country is ready to agree to a ceasefire if NATO protects parts of Ukraine. (Kyiv Post)
- 28 November 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern front of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The Russian Defence Ministry claims that Russian forces have taken the village of Nova Illinka in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Reuters)
- Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure, Ukrainian energy crisis
- Russia launches a massive missile and drone attack on civilian and critical infrastructure in Ukraine, injuring at least five people and causing blackouts for more than a million households. (CNN)
Selected anniversaries for December
- December 1, 1991 — Ukraine's first presidential election takes place.
Photo gallery
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Religions in Ukraine
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Notes
- ^ In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Ilyich and the family name is Brezhnev.