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
- 31 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukraine launches missile and drone strikes across Krasnodar Krai, Russia, injuring two people and damaging several oil refineries. (Reuters)
- Kharkiv strikes
- At least three people are killed and 16 others are injured when Russian missiles hit civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv. (Reuters)
- Treatment of prisoners of war in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukraine and Russia announce their first exchange of prisoners of war in nearly four months, with 150 people freed following negotiations mediated by the United Arab Emirates. (Reuters)
- 30 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2024 Kharkiv offensive
- The United States gives Ukraine permission to strike Russian territory near Kharkiv Oblast with U.S.-supplied weapons, but not with long-range missiles. (Politico) (CNN)
- 29 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russia–NATO relations, Ukraine–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 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 in August 2022, Igor Mangushev spoke on a stage in a Russian nightclub with what he said was the skull of a Ukrainian soldier killed in the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works?
- ... that Halyna Kuzmenko promoted the Ukrainization of the Makhnovist movement, successfully increasing the use of the Ukrainian language by Russian speakers?
- ... that 30 Ukrainian anarchists defeated more than 500 Austrian imperial soldiers at the Battle of Dibrivka?
- ... that Ukrainian baritone Danylo Matviienko, who holds a master's degree in mathematics, appeared as Demetrius in Britten's opera A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Oper Frankfurt?
More did you know -
- ... 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 Khreschatyk is the main street of Ukrainian capital Kyiv on which Orange Revolution and other historical events mainly took place?
- ... that according to legend, a tunnel leads from the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle to the Khotyn Fortress which is 20 kilometres (12 mi) away?
- ... that Ukrainian naturalist, lecturer, artist and author John Lhotsky was credited as the first discoverer of gold in New South Wales?
- ... 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?
Selected article -
The history of Christianity in Ukraine dates back to the earliest centuries of the history of Christianity, to the Apostolic Age, with mission trips along the Black Sea and a legend of Andrew the Apostle even ascending the hills of Kiev. The first Christian community on territory of modern Ukraine is documented as early as the 9th century with the establishment of the Metropolitanate of Gothia, which was centered in the Crimean peninsula. However, on territory of the Old Rus in Kiev, Christianity became the dominant religion since its official acceptance in 989 by Vladimir the Great (Volodymyr the Great), who brought it from Byzantine Crimea and installed it as the state religion of medieval Kievan Rus (Ruthenia), with the metropolitan see in Kiev.
Although separated into various Christian denominations, most Ukrainian Christians share a common faith based on Eastern Christianity. This tradition is represented in Ukraine by the Byzantine Rite, the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches, which have been at various historic times closely aligned with Ukrainian national self-identity and Byzantine culture. (Full article...)In the news
- 31 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukraine launches missile and drone strikes across Krasnodar Krai, Russia, injuring two people and damaging several oil refineries. (Reuters)
- Kharkiv strikes
- At least three people are killed and 16 others are injured when Russian missiles hit civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv. (Reuters)
- Treatment of prisoners of war in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukraine and Russia announce their first exchange of prisoners of war in nearly four months, with 150 people freed following negotiations mediated by the United Arab Emirates. (Reuters)
- 30 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2024 Kharkiv offensive
- The United States gives Ukraine permission to strike Russian territory near Kharkiv Oblast with U.S.-supplied weapons, but not with long-range missiles. (Politico) (CNN)
- 29 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russia–NATO relations, Ukraine–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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