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, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; and 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; Russian is also widely spoken, especially in the east and south.
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 ultimately 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 marked on maps as "Ukraine, land of the Cossacks", but was partitioned between Russia and Poland, and ultimately 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. Nonetheless, Ukraine is a major middle power and possesses the sixth largest and one of the best-funded armed forces in the world. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also operates one of the largest and most diverse drone fleet 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
- 31 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukraine launches missile and drone strikes across Krasnodar Krai, Russia, injuring two people and damaging several oil refineries. (Reuters)
- Kharkiv strikes
- At least three people are killed and 16 others are injured when Russian missiles hit civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv. (Reuters)
- Treatment of prisoners of war in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukraine and Russia announce their first exchange of prisoners of war in nearly four months, with 150 people freed following negotiations mediated by the United Arab Emirates. (Reuters)
- 30 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2024 Kharkiv offensive
- The United States gives Ukraine permission to strike Russian territory near Kharkiv Oblast with U.S.-supplied weapons, but not with long-range missiles. (Politico) (CNN)
- 29 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russia–NATO relations, Ukraine–NATO relations
Featured pictures
Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that Major-General Andriy Kovalchuk, commander of the 2022 Ukrainian southern counteroffensive, met his wife, a fellow officer, when she chastised him for wearing an unpolished belt buckle?
- ... that Oksana Lyniv founded the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine in 2016 and conducted them in thirty concerts across ten music festivals in 2022?
- ... that the founder of the Guide to the Free World, helping people leave Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, said she was told: "It's good that you get out of Russia, but a pity that you won't be shot"?
- ... that after the liberation of towns in Ukraine during the Ukrainian Kharkiv counteroffensive, authorities found evidence of numerous Russian torture chambers?
- ... that in August 2022, Igor Mangushev spoke on a stage in a Russian nightclub with what he said was the skull of a Ukrainian soldier killed in the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works?
- ... that 30 Ukrainian anarchists defeated more than 500 Austrian imperial soldiers at the Battle of Dibrivka?
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 Kryvbas economic region in Ukraine is one of the largest iron ore and steel industry centers in Europe?
- ... that the neo-classical Verkhovna Rada building in Kyiv features a hundred-tonne glass dome over the chamber where the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine convenes to enact legislation?
- ... that according to legend, a tunnel leads from the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle to the Khotyn Fortress which is 20 kilometres (12 mi) away?
- ... 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 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?
Selected article -
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.[dead link]
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. The hinterland entered into written history with the establishment of the medieval state of Kievan Rus', which emerged as a powerful nation but disintegrated during the High Middle Ages, and was destroyed by the Mongol Empire in the 13th century. (Full article...)In the news
- 31 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukraine launches missile and drone strikes across Krasnodar Krai, Russia, injuring two people and damaging several oil refineries. (Reuters)
- Kharkiv strikes
- At least three people are killed and 16 others are injured when Russian missiles hit civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv. (Reuters)
- Treatment of prisoners of war in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukraine and Russia announce their first exchange of prisoners of war in nearly four months, with 150 people freed following negotiations mediated by the United Arab Emirates. (Reuters)
- 30 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2024 Kharkiv offensive
- The United States gives Ukraine permission to strike Russian territory near Kharkiv Oblast with U.S.-supplied weapons, but not with long-range missiles. (Politico) (CNN)
- 29 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russia–NATO relations, Ukraine–NATO relations
Selected anniversaries for June
- June 4, 1920 — Treaty of Trianon was signed between the Allied and Associated Powers and Hungary signed at the Grand Trianon Palace at Versailles, France.
- June 28, 1996 - is a public holiday honoring the adoption of the Constitution in Ukraine by the Verkhovna Rada
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