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
- 15 November 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz holds a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine, their first contact since 2022. Putin tells Scholz that any negotiated settlement to end the war must recognize the territories that Russia has occupied as part of Russia and that Ukraine must abandon its aspiration to join NATO. (AP) (The New York Times)
- 14 November 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
- The Russian Defence Ministry claims that Russian forces have captured the village of Voznesenka in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Anadolu Agency)
- Odesa strikes, Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
- One person is killed and ten others are injured in Russian airstrikes on an apartment building and energy facilities in Odesa, Ukraine. (Reuters)
- 11 November 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Mykolaiv strikes, Zaporizhzhia strikes
- Five people are killed and 18 others, including five children, are injured in Russian air strikes on Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. (DW) (Arab News)
- 10 November 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- November 2024 Moscow drone attack
- One person is injured and at least 36 flights are diverted when 34 Ukrainian drones strike Moscow, Russia. (CBC News)
Featured pictures
Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that Mali and Niger broke off diplomatic relations with Ukraine over the country's alleged support for rebel groups in the Battle of Tinzaouaten?
- ... that Ukrainian parties obtained only a fifth of the votes in the 1917 Kiev City Duma election?
- ... that the Temporary Protection Directive went unused until the Ukrainian refugee crisis?
- ... that the Russian airstrike on Kyiv TV Tower (video featured) killed Yevhenii Sakun, one of at least 14 civilian journalists killed in the line of duty during the Russo-Ukrainian War?
- ... that Zinkiv, Ukraine, was a center of Hasidic Judaism until almost the entirety of the city's 2,300-strong Jewish population was murdered during the Holocaust?
- ... that Italian Jacopo Tissi became one of the few foreign principal dancers in Bolshoi Ballet's history, only to leave two months later due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
More did you know -
- ... 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 Kryvbas economic region in Ukraine is one of the largest iron ore and steel industry centers in Europe?
- ... that Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych (pictured), known for the "Carol of the Bells", was nicknamed "Ukrainian Bach" in France?
- ... that Ukrainian naturalist, lecturer, artist and author John Lhotsky was credited as the first discoverer of gold in New South Wales?
- ... that journalist Savik Shuster who used to work for Russian TV channels now prefers to work for the Ukrainian TV because he felt the Russian Government was limiting his journalistic freedom?
- ... that Vasyl Avramenko is often referred as "The father of the Ukrainian dance"?
Selected article -
Kharkiv (/ˈkɑːrkɪv/ KAR-kiv; Ukrainian: Харків, IPA: [ˈxɑrkiu̯] ), Russian: Харьков, IPA: [ˈxarʲkəf] ), is the second-largest city in Ukraine. Located in the northeast of the country, it is the largest city of the historic region of Sloboda Ukraine. Kharkiv is the administrative centre of Kharkiv Oblast and Kharkiv Raion. It had a population, before the Russian invasion, of 1,421,125 (2022 estimate).[1]
Kharkiv was founded in 1654 as a fortress, and grew to become a major centre of industry, trade, and Ukrainian culture in Sloboda Ukraine in the multiethnic Russian Empire. At the beginning of the 20th century the city had a predominantly Ukrainian and Russian population, but as industrial expansion drew in further labor from the distressed countryside, and as the Soviet Union moderated previous restrictions on Ukrainian cultural expression, Ukrainians became the largest ethnic group in the city by the eve of World War II. From December 1919 to January 1934, Kharkiv was the capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. (Full article...)
In the news
- 15 November 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz holds a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine, their first contact since 2022. Putin tells Scholz that any negotiated settlement to end the war must recognize the territories that Russia has occupied as part of Russia and that Ukraine must abandon its aspiration to join NATO. (AP) (The New York Times)
- 14 November 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
- The Russian Defence Ministry claims that Russian forces have captured the village of Voznesenka in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Anadolu Agency)
- Odesa strikes, Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
- One person is killed and ten others are injured in Russian airstrikes on an apartment building and energy facilities in Odesa, Ukraine. (Reuters)
- 11 November 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Mykolaiv strikes, Zaporizhzhia strikes
- Five people are killed and 18 others, including five children, are injured in Russian air strikes on Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. (DW) (Arab News)
- 10 November 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- November 2024 Moscow drone attack
- One person is injured and at least 36 flights are diverted when 34 Ukrainian drones strike Moscow, Russia. (CBC News)
Selected anniversaries for November
- November 11—November 12, 1918 — Battle of Przemyśl was fought between Polish and Ukrainian forces.
- November 24, 2007 - the official day of remembrance for people who died as a result of Holodomor and political repression.
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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.