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. Ukraine has a transition economy and remains one of the poorest countries in Europe, while corruption remains a significant issue. Due to its extensive fertile land, the country is an important exporter of grain. Ukraine is considered a middle power in global affairs. Its military is the sixth largest armed force in the world with the eighth largest defence budget, significantly boosted by international support following Russia's invasion in 2022, and operates one of the world's largest and most diverse drone fleets. A founding member of the United Nations, it is also in the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organisation, and the OSCE. It is in the process of joining the European Union and has applied to join NATO. (Full article...)
In the news
- 8 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Zaporizhzhia strikes, Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russian forces attack an industrial facility in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, killing 13 people and injuring 18 others. Further strikes on Zaporizhzhia with guided aerial bombs kill 13 more people and injure 32 others. (Ukrainska Pravda) (Ukrainska Pravda 2)
- 6 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Kherson strikes, Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- A Russian drone attacks a civilian passenger bus in Kherson, Ukraine, reportedly killing at least one person and injuring at least nine others. (Reuters)
- 6 January 2025 – 2022–2023 Russia–European Union gas dispute
- According to Slovakia, a planned meeting between Slovak, Ukrainian, and European Commission officials over gas supplies scheduled for Tuesday has been cancelled due to Ukraine's refusal to participate in the meeting. (Reuters)
- 5 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Kursk offensive
- The Ukrainian Army launches a new offensive in Kursk Oblast, Russia. (BBC News)
- 4 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine campaign, Journalists killed during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- A war correspondent for the Russian newspaper Izvestia is killed in a Ukrainian drone strike in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Reuters)
- The Russian Armed Forces claims to have shot down eight American ATACMS missiles fired by Ukraine and vows retaliation. (CNN)
Featured pictures
Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that after the Ukrainian soprano Olga Bezsmertna won the Neue Stimmen competition in 2011, she was engaged at the Vienna State Opera?
- ... that Vladyslav Buialskyi, a 24-year-old bass-baritone from Berdiansk, sang the State Anthem of Ukraine on the night of his debut with the Metropolitan Opera?
- ... that Ukrainian Sheriffs went to summer school after being shot?
- ... that Ukrainian science fiction and fantasy is written both in Ukrainian and Russian?
- ... that the historian and political journalist Lancelot Lawton addressed a House of Commons committee in London in 1935, beginning: "The chief problem in Europe to-day is the Ukrainian problem"?
- ... that Inna Derusova was the first woman to be posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine?
More did you know -
- ... that Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych (pictured), known for the "Carol of the Bells", was nicknamed "Ukrainian Bach" in France?
- ... 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 although the secular music of Mykola Leontovych was well known in the twentieth century, the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom was little known because of a ban on sacred music in the Soviet Union?
- ... that the Privat Group is one of the few Ukrainian companies that own industries in the United States?
- ... 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 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?
Selected article -
The COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Ukraine is an ongoing mass immunization campaign for the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine.
Ukraine's vaccination program started on 24 February 2021 and from that day to 12 September 2021 18% of the adult population of Ukraine had been vaccinated against COVID-19. (About 44% of those vaccinated had been fully vaccinated.) On 7 January 2022 the Ministry of Health announced that 44.9% of the adult population had undergone a full course of vaccination. By 2022, the Ministry of Health plans to vaccinate 70% of the country's adult population, including 80% of the elderly. (Full article...)
In the news
- 8 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Zaporizhzhia strikes, Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russian forces attack an industrial facility in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, killing 13 people and injuring 18 others. Further strikes on Zaporizhzhia with guided aerial bombs kill 13 more people and injure 32 others. (Ukrainska Pravda) (Ukrainska Pravda 2)
- 6 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Kherson strikes, Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- A Russian drone attacks a civilian passenger bus in Kherson, Ukraine, reportedly killing at least one person and injuring at least nine others. (Reuters)
- 6 January 2025 – 2022–2023 Russia–European Union gas dispute
- According to Slovakia, a planned meeting between Slovak, Ukrainian, and European Commission officials over gas supplies scheduled for Tuesday has been cancelled due to Ukraine's refusal to participate in the meeting. (Reuters)
- 5 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Kursk offensive
- The Ukrainian Army launches a new offensive in Kursk Oblast, Russia. (BBC News)
- 4 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine campaign, Journalists killed during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- A war correspondent for the Russian newspaper Izvestia is killed in a Ukrainian drone strike in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Reuters)
- The Russian Armed Forces claims to have shot down eight American ATACMS missiles fired by Ukraine and vows retaliation. (CNN)
Selected anniversaries for January
- January 3, 1681 — Treaty of Bakhchisarai was signed by Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and the Crimean Khanate at the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War (1676–1681).
- January 10, 1992 — the Ukrainian karbovanets replaced the Soviet ruble at par, with the ISO 4217 code being
UAK
. - January 15, 1967 — David Burliuk, an avant-garde artist, died in Long Island, New York.
- January 22, 1919 — The Act Zluky was signed, unifying the Ukrainian People's Republic and the West Ukrainian National Republic.
- January 23, 2005 — Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko was inaugurated into office after winning the second run-off elections in late 2004.
- January 29, 1918 — Battle of Kruty takes place between the Ukrainian People's Republic and Bolshevik forces.
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