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
- 20 December 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 2024 Kursk offensive
- A Ukrainian missile strike kills six people and injures 10 others in Rylsk, Kursk Oblast, Russia, according to acting Kursk Oblast governor Alexander Khinshtein. Russia says that it will raise the issue of the missile strike at the United Nations Security Council. (Reuters)
- Kryvyi Rih strikes, Kyiv strikes
- At least one person is killed and eight others are injured in Russian missile strikes on civilian infrastructure in Kryvyi Rih and Kyiv, Ukraine. (The Kyiv Independent) (Reuters)
- 19 December 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aids during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, United Kingdom and the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- British defence secretary John Healey announces a proposal to send military advisors to train Ukrainian forces. (BBC News)
- 17 December 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the NBC Protection Troops, and his assistant are assassinated by an IED hidden inside of an e-scooter in Moscow, Russia. A Ukrainian source claims that the Security Service of Ukraine is responsible for the killings, after Kirilov was charged in absentia yesterday for the use of chemical weapons, which made him a "legitimate target". Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, says that the Ukrainian leadership would face an "imminent revenge" for the killings. (BBC News) (Deccan Herald)
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russia–NATO relations
- NATO's Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine command center in Wiesbaden, Germany, takes over coordination of Western military support to Ukraine from the United States. (Reuters)
Featured pictures
Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that the Zunda Towers in Riga, Latvia, changed their name from "Z-Towers" to avoid being associated with Russia's invasion of Ukraine?
- ... that Ukrainian designer Anna October showed her collection during Paris Fashion Week after escaping the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine?
- ... that Artem Datsyshyn, the National Opera of Ukraine's principal dancer in ballets such as Swan Lake and La Bayadère, is said to have danced with "romantic sublimity" and "psychological depth"?
- ... that Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchyna's car was once fired on by Russian tanks?
- ... that the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra brought music by three Ukrainian composers to concert halls in Poland and Germany in April 2022, including the Berlin Philharmonie and the Kurhaus Wiesbaden?
- ... that J. T. Blatty was a tennis star and US Army captain before photographing military volunteers in Ukraine?
More did you know -
- ... that the married Western Ukrainian Clergy became a hereditary caste that dominated western Ukrainian society?
- ... 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 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 Vasyl Avramenko is often referred as "The father of the Ukrainian dance"?
- ... 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?
Selected article -
Donetsk (UK: /dɒnˈjɛtsk/ don-YETSK, US: /dən-/ dən-; Ukrainian: Донецьк [doˈnɛtsʲk] ; Russian: Донецк [dɐˈnʲetsk] ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capital of the Donetsk People's Republic. The population was estimated at 901,645 (2022 estimate)[1] in the city core, with over 2 million in the metropolitan area (2011). According to the 2001 census, Donetsk was the fifth-largest city in Ukraine.
Administratively, Donetsk has been the centre of Donetsk Oblast, while historically, it is the unofficial capital and largest city of the larger economic and cultural Donets Basin (Donbas) region. Donetsk is adjacent to another major city, Makiivka, and along with other surrounding cities forms a major urban sprawl and conurbation in the region. Donetsk has been a major economic, industrial and scientific centre of Ukraine with a high concentration of heavy industries and a skilled workforce. The density of heavy industries (predominantly steel production, chemical industry, and coal mining) determined the city's challenging ecological situation. In 2012, a UN report ranked Donetsk among the world's fastest depopulating cities. (Full article...)
In the news
- 20 December 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, 2024 Kursk offensive
- A Ukrainian missile strike kills six people and injures 10 others in Rylsk, Kursk Oblast, Russia, according to acting Kursk Oblast governor Alexander Khinshtein. Russia says that it will raise the issue of the missile strike at the United Nations Security Council. (Reuters)
- Kryvyi Rih strikes, Kyiv strikes
- At least one person is killed and eight others are injured in Russian missile strikes on civilian infrastructure in Kryvyi Rih and Kyiv, Ukraine. (The Kyiv Independent) (Reuters)
- 19 December 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aids during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, United Kingdom and the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- British defence secretary John Healey announces a proposal to send military advisors to train Ukrainian forces. (BBC News)
- 17 December 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the NBC Protection Troops, and his assistant are assassinated by an IED hidden inside of an e-scooter in Moscow, Russia. A Ukrainian source claims that the Security Service of Ukraine is responsible for the killings, after Kirilov was charged in absentia yesterday for the use of chemical weapons, which made him a "legitimate target". Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, says that the Ukrainian leadership would face an "imminent revenge" for the killings. (BBC News) (Deccan Herald)
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russia–NATO relations
- NATO's Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine command center in Wiesbaden, Germany, takes over coordination of Western military support to Ukraine from the United States. (Reuters)
Selected anniversaries for December
- December 1, 1991 — Ukraine's first presidential election takes place.
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Notes
- ^ 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.