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
- 10 June 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Crimea attacks
- Ukraine's military says that its missile strikes near Yevpatoriya and Chornomorske in Russian-occupied Crimea damaged three Russian air defense systems. (Reuters)
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
- The Russian Defence Ministry says that its forces have recaptured the village of Staromaiorske in Donetsk Oblast. (Fakti) (Reuters)
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- The United States lifts a ban on sending U.S. weaponry to Ukraine's Azov Brigade. (The Washington Post)
- 6 June 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- President of France Emmanuel Macron announces that the country will send Dassault Mirage 2000-5 fighter aircrafts to Ukraine and train its pilots by the end of 2024. (The Telegraph)
- 5 June 2024 – Pardubice train collision
- Four Slovaks and Ukrainians are killed and more than 20 others are injured when a passenger train collides with a freight train in Pardubice, Czech Republic. (CNN) (Reuters)
- 4 June 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russia–NATO relations
Featured pictures
Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that Ukrainian actress Oksana Shvets, who was killed in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, starred in the 2013 joint Ukrainian–Russian television family saga House with Lilies alongside Russian actors?
- ... that the Jihadist Burkinabè rebels' ongoing siege of Djibo has been described as a "Ukrainian death"?
- ... 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 some severe environmental impacts of the invasion of Ukraine can be seen from space?
- ... that the Temporary Protection Directive went unused until the Ukrainian refugee crisis?
- ... that in 1919, Ukrainians were using regular-issue paper money issued in denominations of 0.30, 0.40, 0.90, 1.80, 3.60 and 18 hryvnias?
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 at its first years Kiev Zoo had to move its animals into the food storage of the main Kiev railway station for the winter?
- ... that the longest of the Kiev bridges, the 1,543 metres long Paton Bridge over the Dnieper River, constructed in 1953 was the first fully welded steel construction of such length at that time?
- ... 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 according to legend, a tunnel leads from the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle to the Khotyn Fortress which is 20 kilometres (12 mi) away?
Selected article -
Hero of Ukraine (HOU; Ukrainian: Герой України, romanized: Heroi Ukrainy) is the highest national decoration that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the President of Ukraine.
The decoration was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma. As of 8 May 2024, the total number of recipients had been 889. Additionally, at least 22 decrees assigning it have not been published. (Full article...)In the news
- 10 June 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Crimea attacks
- Ukraine's military says that its missile strikes near Yevpatoriya and Chornomorske in Russian-occupied Crimea damaged three Russian air defense systems. (Reuters)
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
- The Russian Defence Ministry says that its forces have recaptured the village of Staromaiorske in Donetsk Oblast. (Fakti) (Reuters)
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- The United States lifts a ban on sending U.S. weaponry to Ukraine's Azov Brigade. (The Washington Post)
- 6 June 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- President of France Emmanuel Macron announces that the country will send Dassault Mirage 2000-5 fighter aircrafts to Ukraine and train its pilots by the end of 2024. (The Telegraph)
- 5 June 2024 – Pardubice train collision
- Four Slovaks and Ukrainians are killed and more than 20 others are injured when a passenger train collides with a freight train in Pardubice, Czech Republic. (CNN) (Reuters)
- 4 June 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russia–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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