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 a journalist dubbed Olena Shevchenko as "probably the most famous lesbian in Ukraine"?
- ... that the Zunda Towers in Riga, Latvia, changed their name from "Z-Towers" to avoid being associated with Russia's invasion of Ukraine?
- ... that Sofia Halechko's first language was Polish, but she fought in World War One to create a country for Ukrainian-speaking people?
- ... that Vladyslav Buialskyi, a 24-year-old bass-baritone from Berdiansk, sang the State Anthem of Ukraine on the night of his debut with the Metropolitan Opera?
- ... that Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine, said that Ukrainians care less about her being transgender than Americans do?
- ... that the Jihadist Burkinabè rebels' ongoing siege of Djibo has been described as a "Ukrainian death"?
More did you know -
- ... that Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych (pictured), known for the "Carol of the Bells", was nicknamed "Ukrainian Bach" in France?
- ... that the Khreschatyk is the main street of Ukrainian capital Kyiv on which Orange Revolution and other historical events mainly took place?
- ... that the Kryvbas economic region in Ukraine is one of the largest iron ore and steel industry centers in Europe?
- ... that the married Western Ukrainian Clergy became a hereditary caste that dominated western Ukrainian society?
- ... that although the secular music of Mykola Leontovych was well known in the twentieth century, the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom was little known because of a ban on sacred music in the Soviet Union?
- ... 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?
Selected article -
The history of Ukraine spans back for over thousands of years. Prehistoric Ukraine, as a part of the Pontic steppe in Eastern Europe, played an important role in Eurasian cultural events, including the spread of the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages, Indo-European migrations, and the domestication of the horse.
A part of Scythia in antiquity, Ukraine was largely settled by Greuthungi, Getae, Goths, and Huns in the Migration Period, while southern parts of Ukraine were previously colonized by Greeks and then Romans. In the Early Middle Ages it was also a site of early Slavic expansion. (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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