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. Nonetheless, Ukraine is a major middle power and possesses the fifth 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
- 21 July 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
- Russian forces capture the villages of Andriivka in Luhansk Oblast and Pishchane in Kharkiv Oblast. (Anatolia Agency) (RTL)
- 20 July 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Southern Ukraine campaign
- Five people, including a child, are killed in Russian missile strikes on Mykolaiv and Kherson, Ukraine. (Euronews) (The Moscow Times)
- 19 July 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
- Ukrainian forces retreat from Urozhaine in Donetsk Oblast. (The Independent)
- The Russian Ministry of Defence announces that its troops captured the village of Yuryivka in Donetsk Oblast. (Al Arabiya)
- 19 July 2024 –
- Ukrainian linguist, nationalist politician, and former People's Deputy Iryna Farion is shot and killed in Lviv, Ukraine by an unknown assailant. (Reuters)
- 18 July 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Southern Ukraine campaign
- Dnieper campaign
Featured pictures
Did you know (auto-generated)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/44/Nuvola_apps_filetypes.svg/47px-Nuvola_apps_filetypes.svg.png)
- ... that Olga Onuch is believed to be the first professor of Ukrainian politics in the English-speaking world?
- ... that Yulia Tolopa, a single mother from Russia, has fought for Ukraine in the war in Donbas since she was 18 years old?
- ... that the Ukrainian composer Borys Lyatoshynsky composed his second opera, Shchors in 1937–38, about a military figure from Ukraine who fought for the Soviet Red Army in the Ukrainian–Soviet War?
- ... that in 2020, Ukrainian association football referee Maryna Striletska was part of the first all-woman officiating team for a men's international football match?
- ... that Ukrainian museum director Horpyna Vatchenko forced the Hermitage Museum to abide by its agreement and return the Kernosovskiy idol after a loan?
- ... that the Ukrainian Holodomor Memorial Day, commemorating the victims of the 1932–33 famine, is also observed in Canada?
More did you know -
- ... 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 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 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 the married Western Ukrainian Clergy became a hereditary caste that dominated western Ukrainian society?
- ... that according to legend, a tunnel leads from the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle to the Khotyn Fortress which is 20 kilometres (12 mi) away?
- ... that the Khreschatyk is the main street of Ukrainian capital Kyiv on which Orange Revolution and other historical events mainly took place?
Selected article -
St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery (Ukrainian: Михайлівський золотоверхий монастир, romanized: Mykhailivskyi zolotoverkhyi monastyr) is a monastery in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel. It is located on the edge of the bank of the Dnipro river, to the northeast of the St Sophia Cathedral. The site is in the historical administrative neighbourhood of Uppertown and overlooks Podil, the city's historical commercial and merchant quarter. The monastery has been the headquarters of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine since December 2018.
Built in the Middle Ages by the Kievan Rus' ruler Sviatopolk II Iziaslavych, the monastery comprises the cathedral church, the Refectory Church of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, constructed in 1713, the Economic Gate, constructed in 1760, and the bell tower, which was added in the 1710s. The exterior of the structure was remodelled in the Ukrainian Baroque style during the 18th century; the interior retained its original Byzantine architecture. (Full article...)In the news
- 21 July 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
- Russian forces capture the villages of Andriivka in Luhansk Oblast and Pishchane in Kharkiv Oblast. (Anatolia Agency) (RTL)
- 20 July 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Southern Ukraine campaign
- Five people, including a child, are killed in Russian missile strikes on Mykolaiv and Kherson, Ukraine. (Euronews) (The Moscow Times)
- 19 July 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine campaign
- Ukrainian forces retreat from Urozhaine in Donetsk Oblast. (The Independent)
- The Russian Ministry of Defence announces that its troops captured the village of Yuryivka in Donetsk Oblast. (Al Arabiya)
- 19 July 2024 –
- Ukrainian linguist, nationalist politician, and former People's Deputy Iryna Farion is shot and killed in Lviv, Ukraine by an unknown assailant. (Reuters)
- 18 July 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Southern Ukraine campaign
- Dnieper campaign
Selected anniversaries for July
![A 1943 Soviet stamp commemorating Lyudmila Pavlichenko.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Pav-Stamp.jpg/100px-Pav-Stamp.jpg)
- July 12, 1916 — Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a Soviet sniper during World War II, was born in Bila Tserkva.
- July 21, 1774 — Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca was signed between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire after the Ottoman Empire was defeated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774.
- July 24, 1990 — The first ceremonial raising of the Ukrainian national flag took place on Khreschatyk, on the large flagstaff of the Kiev City Council.
- July 27, 2002 — An airplane crashed at the Sknyliv airshow; 84 people were killed and over 100 injured.
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