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. 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. Ukraine is considered a middle power in global affairs, and the Ukrainian Armed Force is the fifth largest armed force in the world in terms of both active personnel as well as total number of personnel with the eighth largest defence budget in the world. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also operates one of the largest and most diverse drone fleets 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
- 19 November 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukraine launches ATACMS ballistic missiles at targets in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, according to the Russian Defence Ministry. It is the first time that Ukraine has used the American-supplied missiles to strike targets inside Russia. (BBC News)
- Nuclear risk during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia and weapons of mass destruction
- Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a decree that allows his country to use nuclear weapons in response to conventional attacks by a non-nuclear state supported by a nuclear power. (Reuters)
- 18 November 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
- Odesa strikes
- Russian forces launch a missile attack on the city of Odesa, Ukraine, for the second consecutive day, killing at least ten civilians, injuring dozens of others and damaging civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings. (Ukrainska Pravda)
- Ukrainian energy crisis, 17 November 2024 Russian strikes on Ukraine
- Ukraine re-implements nationwide rolling blackouts primarily due to yesterday's destruction of energy infrastructure by Russian airstrikes. (Reuters)
- A submarine data communications cable across the Baltic Sea between Finland and Germany has been damaged in what German officials suspect is sabotage. (The Guardian)
Featured pictures
Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra brought music by three Ukrainian composers to concert halls in Poland and Germany in April 2022, including the Berlin Philharmonie and the Kurhaus Wiesbaden?
- ... 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 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 the Ukrainian Holodomor Memorial Day, commemorating the victims of the 1932–33 famine, is also observed in Canada?
- ... 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 the history of opera in Ukraine, Mykola Lysenko's historical Taras Bulba was the first grand opera, but not performed during his lifetime because he refused a performance in Russian?
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 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 the Privat Group is one of the few Ukrainian companies that own industries in the United States?
- ... that Vasyl Avramenko is often referred as "The father of the Ukrainian dance"?
- ... that Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych (pictured), known for the "Carol of the Bells", was nicknamed "Ukrainian Bach" in France?
- ... 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?
Selected article -
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy[a] (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who is serving as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019, most notably during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, ongoing since 2022.
Born to a Ukrainian Jewish family, Zelenskyy grew up as a native Russian speaker in Kryvyi Rih, a major city of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in central Ukraine. He obtained a degree in law from the Kryvyi Rih Institute of Economics, but never practised law and pursued a career in comedy and entertainment. He created the production company Kvartal 95, which produced films, cartoons, and TV shows including the TV series Servant of the People, in which Zelenskyy played a fictional Ukrainian president. The series aired from 2015 to 2019 and was immensely popular. A political party with the same name as the TV show was created in March 2018 by employees of Kvartal 95. (Full article...)
In the news
- 19 November 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Ukraine launches ATACMS ballistic missiles at targets in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, according to the Russian Defence Ministry. It is the first time that Ukraine has used the American-supplied missiles to strike targets inside Russia. (BBC News)
- Nuclear risk during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia and weapons of mass destruction
- Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a decree that allows his country to use nuclear weapons in response to conventional attacks by a non-nuclear state supported by a nuclear power. (Reuters)
- 18 November 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
- Odesa strikes
- Russian forces launch a missile attack on the city of Odesa, Ukraine, for the second consecutive day, killing at least ten civilians, injuring dozens of others and damaging civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings. (Ukrainska Pravda)
- Ukrainian energy crisis, 17 November 2024 Russian strikes on Ukraine
- Ukraine re-implements nationwide rolling blackouts primarily due to yesterday's destruction of energy infrastructure by Russian airstrikes. (Reuters)
- A submarine data communications cable across the Baltic Sea between Finland and Germany has been damaged in what German officials suspect is sabotage. (The Guardian)
Selected anniversaries for November
- November 11—November 12, 1918 — Battle of Przemyśl was fought between Polish and Ukrainian forces.
- November 24, 2007 - the official day of remembrance for people who died as a result of Holodomor and political repression.
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Notes
- ^ In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Oleksandrovych and the family name is Zelenskyy.