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
- 6 June 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- President of France Emmanuel Macron announces that the country will send Dassault Mirage 2000-5 fighter aircrafts to Ukraine and train its pilots by the end of 2024. (The Telegraph)
- 5 June 2024 – Pardubice train collision
- Four Slovaks and Ukrainians are killed and more than 20 others are injured when a passenger train collides with a freight train in Pardubice, Czech Republic. (CNN) (Reuters)
- 4 June 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russia–NATO relations
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warns that French military instructors will be "legitimate targets" if they are deployed to Ukraine. (France 24)
- 2 June 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russia–NATO relations, Russia–United States relations
- Russia accuses NATO and the United States of "provoking a new level of tension" after some allies agreed to let Ukraine's military use Western-supplied weapons to strike targets inside Russia. (BBC News)
- 1 June 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
- Russia launches missile and drone strikes across Ukraine, injuring at least four people and damaging critical infrastructure, including energy facilities. Ukraine says that it shot down 35 of 53 missiles and 46 of 47 drones. (Reuters)
- 31 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
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 the founder of the Guide to the Free World, helping people leave Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, said she was told: "It's good that you get out of Russia, but a pity that you won't be shot"?
- ... that Ukrainian museum director Horpyna Vatchenko forced the Hermitage Museum to abide by its agreement and return the Kernosovskiy idol after a loan?
- ... that in March 2022 Sonja van den Ende was the only Dutch journalist to report from the Russian-occupied Donbas on the war in Ukraine?
- ... that Ruslana Pysanka, who hosted a Ukrainian television program with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, died as a refugee in Germany?
- ... that the Temporary Protection Directive went unused until the Ukrainian refugee crisis?
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 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?
- ... that the married Western Ukrainian Clergy became a hereditary caste that dominated western Ukrainian society?
- ... that Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych (pictured), known for the "Carol of the Bells", was nicknamed "Ukrainian Bach" in France?
- ... that at its first years Kiev Zoo had to move its animals into the food storage of the main Kiev railway station for the winter?
- ... that Vasyl Avramenko is often referred as "The father of the Ukrainian dance"?
Selected article -
The Potemkin Stairs, Potemkin Steps (Ukrainian: Потьо́мкінські схо́ди, romanized: Potiomkinski skhody, Russian: Потёмкинская лестница), or, officially, Primorsky Stairs are a giant stairway in Odesa, Ukraine. They are considered a formal entrance into the city from the direction of the sea and are the best known symbol of Odesa.
The stairs were originally known as the Boulevard steps, the Giant Staircase, or the Richelieu steps. The top step is 12.5 meters (41 feet) wide, and the lowest step is 21.7 meters (70.8 feet) wide. The staircase extends for 142 meters, but it gives the illusion of greater length. (Full article...)In the news
- 6 June 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War
- President of France Emmanuel Macron announces that the country will send Dassault Mirage 2000-5 fighter aircrafts to Ukraine and train its pilots by the end of 2024. (The Telegraph)
- 5 June 2024 – Pardubice train collision
- Four Slovaks and Ukrainians are killed and more than 20 others are injured when a passenger train collides with a freight train in Pardubice, Czech Republic. (CNN) (Reuters)
- 4 June 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russia–NATO relations
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warns that French military instructors will be "legitimate targets" if they are deployed to Ukraine. (France 24)
- 2 June 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russia–NATO relations, Russia–United States relations
- Russia accuses NATO and the United States of "provoking a new level of tension" after some allies agreed to let Ukraine's military use Western-supplied weapons to strike targets inside Russia. (BBC News)
- 1 June 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
- Russia launches missile and drone strikes across Ukraine, injuring at least four people and damaging critical infrastructure, including energy facilities. Ukraine says that it shot down 35 of 53 missiles and 46 of 47 drones. (Reuters)
- 31 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
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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