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
- 14 December 2024 –
- One police officer is killed and at least two others are injured in an explosion in Dnipro, Ukraine. (Ukrinform)
- 13 December 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Moldova and the Russo-Ukrainian War
- The Parliament of Moldova votes in favor of declaring a 60-day national state of emergency beginning on December 16 due to Ukraine not renewing its transit contract with Gazprom to deliver Russian gas to Moldova. (Reuters)
- Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
- Russia launches one of its largest attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure since the conflict began, with about 290 missiles fired and drones striking multiple regions. The Russian Defense Ministry claims that the attack was in response to a recent Ukrainian ATACMS attack on Taganrog-Central air base in Rostov Oblast, Russia. (The Kyiv Independent) (UNN)
- 13 December 2024 – Syria–Ukraine relations
- Humanitarian aid during the Syrian civil war
- The Ukrainian government says that it is ready to supply food to Syria after Russia suspended wheat supplies to Syria amid uncertainty about the new government and payment delays. (Reuters)
- 12 December 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Four police officers are injured in a drone attack on the barracks of a police regiment building in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia. (Kyiv Independent)
- 11 December 2024 – Russo-Ukrainian War
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
Featured pictures
Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that German violinist and professor Aleksey Semenenko was stranded in Ukraine for a month because Russia invaded the country the day after his performance?
- ... 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 Inna Derusova was the first woman to be posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine?
- ... that a young Ukrainian photographer, Valeria Shashenok, posts satirical TikTok videos about the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine?
- ... that a Ukrainian soldier has written a song dedicated to the Turkish combat drone Bayraktar TB2?
More did you know -
- ... that Ukrainian naturalist, lecturer, artist and author John Lhotsky was credited as the first discoverer of gold in New South Wales?
- ... that the Privat Group is one of the few Ukrainian companies that own industries in the United States?
- ... that Vasyl Avramenko is often referred as "The father of the Ukrainian dance"?
- ... 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 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 the married Western Ukrainian Clergy became a hereditary caste that dominated western Ukrainian society?
Selected article -
Ukraine emerged as the concept of a nation, and Ukrainians as a nationality, with the Ukrainian National Revival which began in the late 18th and early 19th century. The first wave of national revival is traditionally connected with the publication of the first part of "Eneyida" by Ivan Kotlyarevsky (1798). In 1846, in Moscow the "Istoriya Rusov ili Maloi Rossii" (History of Ruthenians or Little Russia) was published. During the Spring of Nations, in 1848 in Lemberg (Lviv) the Supreme Ruthenian Council was created which declared that Galician Ruthenians were part of the bigger Ukrainian nation. The council adopted the yellow and blue flag, the current Ukrainian flag.
Ukraine first declared its independence with the invasion of Bolsheviks in late 1917. Following the conclusion of World War I and with the Peace of Riga, Ukraine was partitioned once again between Poland and the Bolshevik Russia. The Bolshevik-occupied portion of the territory became the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, with some boundary adjustments. (Full article...)
In the news
- 14 December 2024 –
- One police officer is killed and at least two others are injured in an explosion in Dnipro, Ukraine. (Ukrinform)
- 13 December 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Moldova and the Russo-Ukrainian War
- The Parliament of Moldova votes in favor of declaring a 60-day national state of emergency beginning on December 16 due to Ukraine not renewing its transit contract with Gazprom to deliver Russian gas to Moldova. (Reuters)
- Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
- Russia launches one of its largest attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure since the conflict began, with about 290 missiles fired and drones striking multiple regions. The Russian Defense Ministry claims that the attack was in response to a recent Ukrainian ATACMS attack on Taganrog-Central air base in Rostov Oblast, Russia. (The Kyiv Independent) (UNN)
- 13 December 2024 – Syria–Ukraine relations
- Humanitarian aid during the Syrian civil war
- The Ukrainian government says that it is ready to supply food to Syria after Russia suspended wheat supplies to Syria amid uncertainty about the new government and payment delays. (Reuters)
- 12 December 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Four police officers are injured in a drone attack on the barracks of a police regiment building in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia. (Kyiv Independent)
- 11 December 2024 – Russo-Ukrainian War
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
Selected anniversaries for December
- December 1, 1991 — Ukraine's first presidential election takes place.
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