The Ukraine Portal - Портал України

Ukraine
Україна (Ukrainian)
ISO 3166 codeUA

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

16 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken announces a $2 billion military aid package for Ukraine, aimed at investing in Ukraine's industrial base. (Al Jazeera)
15 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Southern Ukraine campaign, 2024 Kharkiv offensive
Russia says its forces have captured the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and several more villages in Kharkiv Oblast. Ukraine confirms it has pulled back its troops from Vovchansk to "preserve the lives of our servicemen and avoid losses". (BBC News)
14 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
2024 Kharkiv offensive, Kharkiv strikes
At least 20 people are injured when Russian airstrikes hit a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Reuters)
Ukraine pulls back from positions near Lukyantsi and Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast. (Reuters)
13 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
2024 Kharkiv offensive
Russia claims that its troops have entered the town of Vovchansk, 74 kilometres (46 mi) from Kharkiv. (BBC News)
13 May 2024 –
Indonesian police conducts a major drug raid on a lab hidden in a villa in Bali, Indonesia. They arrested one Indonesian, two Ukrainians, and one Russian. (AP)
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Kryvyi Rih (/ˈkrɪv ˈr/; Ukrainian: Кривий Ріг, IPA: [krɪˌwɪj ˈr⁽ʲ⁾iɦ] ), also transliterated as Krivoy Rog (Russian: Кривой Рог), is a city in central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Kryvyi Rih Raion and its subordinate Kryvyi Rih urban hromada in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The city is part of the Kryvyi Rih Metropolitan Region. Its population is estimated at 603,904 (2022 estimate),[1] making it the seventh-most populous city in Ukraine and the second largest by area. Kryvyi Rih is claimed to be the longest city in Europe.

Located at the confluence of the Saksahan and Inhulets rivers, Kryvyi Rih was founded as a military staging post in 1775. Urban-industrial growth followed Belgian, French and British investment in the exploitation of the area's rich iron-ore deposits, generally called Kryvbas, in the 1880s. Kryvyi Rih gained city status after the October Revolution in 1919. (Full article...)
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In the news

16 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken announces a $2 billion military aid package for Ukraine, aimed at investing in Ukraine's industrial base. (Al Jazeera)
15 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Southern Ukraine campaign, 2024 Kharkiv offensive
Russia says its forces have captured the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and several more villages in Kharkiv Oblast. Ukraine confirms it has pulled back its troops from Vovchansk to "preserve the lives of our servicemen and avoid losses". (BBC News)
14 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
2024 Kharkiv offensive, Kharkiv strikes
At least 20 people are injured when Russian airstrikes hit a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Reuters)
Ukraine pulls back from positions near Lukyantsi and Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast. (Reuters)
13 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
2024 Kharkiv offensive
Russia claims that its troops have entered the town of Vovchansk, 74 kilometres (46 mi) from Kharkiv. (BBC News)
13 May 2024 –
Indonesian police conducts a major drug raid on a lab hidden in a villa in Bali, Indonesia. They arrested one Indonesian, two Ukrainians, and one Russian. (AP)

Selected anniversaries for May

  • May 9, 2024Victory Day
  • May 28, 1916 — Ivan Franko, Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, economist, and political activist, died at 4 P.M. in poverty.

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  1. ^ 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.