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
- 23 October 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
- The Russian Defense Ministry claims that Russian forces have captured the city of Mykolaivka and the village of Serebrianka in Donetsk Oblast, while Ukrainian military newspage DeepState reports heavy conflict surrounding Selydove. (Reuters)
- Foreign involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The United States says that it has seen evidence that North Korean troops are now in Russia and are preparing to travel to the battlefield in Ukraine. South Korea says that Pyongyang has promised to send up to 10,000 troops to support the war effort. (The Guardian)
- United States and the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The United States finalizes a US$20 billion loan to Ukraine for military and economic support as part of a collective US$50 billion loan between G7 members. (Reuters)
- 23 October 2024 – Demographics of Germany, German economic crisis
- The Ifo Institute for Economic Research reports that Germany experienced a 13% birth rate decline nationally and up to a 17.5% birth rate decline in eastern Germany between 2021 and 2023, with the institute attributing the decline to several reasons including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russo-Ukrainian war, and high inflation. (DW)
- 23 October 2024 –
- A court in Munich, Germany, charges a Russian man for stabbing two Ukrainian soldiers at a shopping center in Murnau am Staffelsee, Bavaria, Germany, in April. (DW)
- 18 October 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Foreign involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, North Korea–Ukraine relations
- The South Korean National Intelligence Service says that North Korea has started sending troops to fight with Russia in Ukraine. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol calls for a security meeting and says the international community must respond with "all available means". (BBC)
Featured pictures
Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that Ukrainian Sheriffs went to summer school after being shot?
- ... that the Jihadist Burkinabè rebels' ongoing siege of Djibo has been described as a "Ukrainian death"?
- ... that Serhiy Kot was the editor of Ukrainian Question, a collection of articles on the status of Ukraine in the 1930s?
- ... that Halyna Kuzmenko promoted the Ukrainization of the Makhnovist movement, successfully increasing the use of the Ukrainian language by Russian speakers?
- ... that in March 2022 Sonja van den Ende was the only Dutch journalist to report from the Russian-occupied Donbas on the war in Ukraine?
- ... that Inna Derusova was the first woman to be posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine?
More did you know -
- ... that the Khreschatyk is the main street of Ukrainian capital Kyiv on which Orange Revolution and other historical events mainly took place?
- ... 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 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?
- ... that the Privat Group is one of the few Ukrainian companies that own industries in the United States?
Selected article -
The wildlife of Ukraine consists of its diverse fauna, flora and funga. The reported fauna consists of 45,000 species when including the areas of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Ukraine's protected environments consist of 33 Ramsar sites covering an area of 7,446.51 square kilometres (2,875.11 sq mi). Biosphere nature reserves and three national parks are all part of the GEF projects portfolio of conservation of biodiversity in the Danube Delta. Their vegetation pattern is mixed forest area, forest-steppe area, steppe area, Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains and Crimean Mountains. Some of the protected areas that were reserves or parks are subsumed under the biosphere reserves.
The isolated or abandoned zone caused by the Chornobyl nuclear power station disaster around the city of Chornobyl, while evacuated of all human habitation, has an abundance of wildlife which is reported to be increasing. However, reports indicate that bird's brains are 5% smaller, and the insect and spider population is in decline. (Full article...)
In the news
- 23 October 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
- The Russian Defense Ministry claims that Russian forces have captured the city of Mykolaivka and the village of Serebrianka in Donetsk Oblast, while Ukrainian military newspage DeepState reports heavy conflict surrounding Selydove. (Reuters)
- Foreign involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The United States says that it has seen evidence that North Korean troops are now in Russia and are preparing to travel to the battlefield in Ukraine. South Korea says that Pyongyang has promised to send up to 10,000 troops to support the war effort. (The Guardian)
- United States and the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The United States finalizes a US$20 billion loan to Ukraine for military and economic support as part of a collective US$50 billion loan between G7 members. (Reuters)
- 23 October 2024 – Demographics of Germany, German economic crisis
- The Ifo Institute for Economic Research reports that Germany experienced a 13% birth rate decline nationally and up to a 17.5% birth rate decline in eastern Germany between 2021 and 2023, with the institute attributing the decline to several reasons including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russo-Ukrainian war, and high inflation. (DW)
- 23 October 2024 –
- A court in Munich, Germany, charges a Russian man for stabbing two Ukrainian soldiers at a shopping center in Murnau am Staffelsee, Bavaria, Germany, in April. (DW)
- 18 October 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Foreign involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, North Korea–Ukraine relations
- The South Korean National Intelligence Service says that North Korea has started sending troops to fight with Russia in Ukraine. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol calls for a security meeting and says the international community must respond with "all available means". (BBC)
Selected anniversaries for October
- October 4, 2006 — Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 crashed over the Black Sea en route from Tel Aviv (Israel) to Novosibirsk (Russia).
- October 25, 1854 — Battle of Balaclava was fought during the Crimean War, fought between the allied forces of the United Kingdom, French Empire and the Ottoman Empire on one side and Russia on the other.
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Notes
- ^ In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Sergeyevich and the family name is Khrushchev.