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. 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
- 24 April 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- The United States announces a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine as part of a bill that was recently approved after being stalled in the US Congress for months. The package includes ammunition for artillery and air defense systems, along with armoured fighting vehicles. (CNN)
- 22 April 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
- The Russian Ministry of Defence claims control over the village of Novomykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast. (Reuters)
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- The United Kingdom announces its largest ever military support package for the Ukrainian military, pledging 400 vehicles, including 162 MXT-MVs, 60 boats, 1,600 air defence missiles, 4 million rounds of firearm ammunition, and an additional £500 million in funding. (The Guardian)
- Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
- Russia strikes the Kharkiv TV Tower with a Kh-59 cruise missile, causing the upper half of the tower to collapse and disrupting the broadcasting signal in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Reuters)
- 20 April 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The Governor of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, says that a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at a fuel depot in Kardymovsky. (Reuters)
- 20 April 2024 – Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War, United States support for Israel in the Israel–Hamas war
- The U.S. House of Representatives passes a series of bills that would provide $95 billion in military aid to countries including Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. (ABC News)
Featured pictures
Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that during a German charity concert for Ukraine, Slovakian singer Judita Nagyová performed a solo in the finale of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony?
- ... that Italian Jacopo Tissi became one of the few foreign principal dancers in Bolshoi Ballet's history, only to leave two months later due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
- ... that the 1885 spiritual anthem Prayer for Ukraine was performed by a choir from New York on Saturday Night Live?
- ... that a Ukrainian soldier has written a song dedicated to the Turkish combat drone Bayraktar TB2?
- ... that the first film written and directed by Marysia Nikitiuk has been called one of the "most iconic" works of modern Ukrainian cinema?
- ... 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?
More did you know -
- ... that the Privat Group is one of the few Ukrainian companies that own industries in the United States?
- ... that the married Western Ukrainian Clergy became a hereditary caste that dominated western Ukrainian society?
- ... that Ukrainian naturalist, lecturer, artist and author John Lhotsky was credited as the first discoverer of gold in New South Wales?
- ... that according to legend, a tunnel leads from the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle to the Khotyn Fortress which is 20 kilometres (12 mi) away?
- ... 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?
Selected article -
Donetsk (UK: /dɒnˈjɛtsk/ don-YETSK, US: /dən-/; Ukrainian: Донецьк [doˈnɛt͡sʲk] ⓘ; 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
- 24 April 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- The United States announces a $61 billion aid package for Ukraine as part of a bill that was recently approved after being stalled in the US Congress for months. The package includes ammunition for artillery and air defense systems, along with armoured fighting vehicles. (CNN)
- 22 April 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
- The Russian Ministry of Defence claims control over the village of Novomykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast. (Reuters)
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- The United Kingdom announces its largest ever military support package for the Ukrainian military, pledging 400 vehicles, including 162 MXT-MVs, 60 boats, 1,600 air defence missiles, 4 million rounds of firearm ammunition, and an additional £500 million in funding. (The Guardian)
- Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
- Russia strikes the Kharkiv TV Tower with a Kh-59 cruise missile, causing the upper half of the tower to collapse and disrupting the broadcasting signal in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Reuters)
- 20 April 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- The Governor of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, says that a Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at a fuel depot in Kardymovsky. (Reuters)
- 20 April 2024 – Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War, United States support for Israel in the Israel–Hamas war
- The U.S. House of Representatives passes a series of bills that would provide $95 billion in military aid to countries including Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. (ABC News)
Selected anniversaries for April
- April 16, 2000 — Ukraine's national referendum takes place on the issue of reformation the governing system of Ukraine.
- April 22, 2006 — Two homemade bombs exploded in different supermarkets in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
- April 26, 1986 — Reactor No. 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded at 01:23 A.M.
- April 29, 1918 — Constitution of the Ukrainian People's Republic, a constitutional document, was approved by the Central Rada, but never announced.
- April 29, 1918 — The Holiday of Ukrainian Sea. On this day the main parts of Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol hoisted ukrainian flags.
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- ^ 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.