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 country in Europe after Russia, which borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the north; Poland and Slovakia to the west; Hungary, Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and 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.
Humans have inhabited Ukraine since 32,000 BC. During the Middle Ages, it was the site of early Slavic expansion and later became a key centre of East Slavic culture under the state of Kievan Rus', which emerged in the 9th century. Kievan Rus' became the largest and most powerful realm in Europe in the 10th and 11th centuries, but gradually disintegrated into rival regional powers before being destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century. The area was then contested, divided, and ruled by a variety of external powers for the next 600 years, including the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Kingdom of Poland, 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 before being absorbed by the Russian Empire in the late 19th century. 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 in 1922. In the early 1930s, millions of Ukrainians died in the Holodomor, a human-made famine. During World War II, Ukraine was occupied by Germany and endured major battles and atrocities, resulting in 7 million 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 as the country transitioned to a free market liberal democracy amid endemic corruption and a legacy of state control. The Orange Revolution of 2004–2005 ushered electoral and constitutional reforms. Resurgent political crises prompted a series of mass demonstrations in 2014 known as the Euromaidan, leading to a revolution, at the end of which Russia unilaterally occupied and annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and pro-Russian unrest culminated in a war in Donbas with Russian-backed separatists and Russia. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. (Full article...)
In the news
- 1 February 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- A Russian missile strike on a residential building in Poltava, Ukraine, reportedly kills at least fourteen people and injures at least 17 others. A separate strike kills three police officers in Sumy Oblast. (Reuters)
- 31 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Odesa strikes
- Russian forces launch ballistic missiles at the centre of Odesa and its port, severely damaging numerous civilian buildings, including the historic Bristol Hotel. At least two people are reportedly injured. (Reuters)
- 30 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- A Russian drone strikes a multi-storey apartment building in Sumy, Ukraine, killing nine people and injuring 13 others. (Reuters)
- 29 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Battle of Chasiv Yar
- Russian forces have captured the city of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, after a year of intense fighting for control of the front line city. (The Moscow Times)
- 26 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Velyka Novosilka offensive
- The Russian Ministry of Defence claims that Russian forces have captured the village of Velyka Novosilka, Donetsk Oblast. (Mathrubhumi)
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 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 Sofia Halechko's first language was Polish, but she fought in World War One to create a country for Ukrainian-speaking people?
- ... that Ukrainian designer Anna October showed her collection during Paris Fashion Week after escaping the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine?
- ... that Ruslana Pysanka, who hosted a Ukrainian television program with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, died as a refugee in Germany?
- ... that after the liberation of towns in Ukraine during the Ukrainian Kharkiv counteroffensive, authorities found evidence of numerous Russian torture chambers?
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 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 according to legend, a tunnel leads from the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle to the Khotyn Fortress which is 20 kilometres (12 mi) away?
- ... that among many historic landmarks at the Andrew's Descent in Kyiv, there is a medieval Gothic style castle that locals call the "Castle of Richard the Lion Heart" due to the legend the 12th century King of England had visited the building?
- ... that Ukrainian naturalist, lecturer, artist and author John Lhotsky was credited as the first discoverer of gold in New South Wales?
- ... that the Khreschatyk is the main street of Ukrainian capital Kyiv on which Orange Revolution and other historical events mainly took place?
Selected article -
Makiivka (Ukrainian: Макіївка, IPA: [mɐˈkijiu̯kɐ] ⓘ), formerly Dmytriivsk (Ukrainian: Дмитріївськ) until 1931, is an industrial city in Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine, located 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) east from Donetsk. The two cities are practically a conurbation. It has a population of 338,968 (2022 estimate).[1] It hosts the administration of Makiivka urban hromada.
Makiivka is a leading metallurgical and coal-mining centre of the Donets Basin, with heavy industry and coking plants supporting the local steel and coal industries. The city was captured by pro-Russian separatists in 2014 at the start of the war in Donbas and is currently occupied by Russia. (Full article...)
In the news
- 1 February 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- A Russian missile strike on a residential building in Poltava, Ukraine, reportedly kills at least fourteen people and injures at least 17 others. A separate strike kills three police officers in Sumy Oblast. (Reuters)
- 31 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Odesa strikes
- Russian forces launch ballistic missiles at the centre of Odesa and its port, severely damaging numerous civilian buildings, including the historic Bristol Hotel. At least two people are reportedly injured. (Reuters)
- 30 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- A Russian drone strikes a multi-storey apartment building in Sumy, Ukraine, killing nine people and injuring 13 others. (Reuters)
- 29 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Battle of Chasiv Yar
- Russian forces have captured the city of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, after a year of intense fighting for control of the front line city. (The Moscow Times)
- 26 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Velyka Novosilka offensive
- The Russian Ministry of Defence claims that Russian forces have captured the village of Velyka Novosilka, Donetsk Oblast. (Mathrubhumi)
Selected anniversaries for February
- February 4, 1945—February 11, 1945 — Yalta Conference was held between the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union; Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin, respectively.
- February 10, 1995 — the first prototype of the Ukrainian Antonov An-70 transport aircraft crashed during a test flight in Kyiv Oblast.
- February 23, 1954 — Viktor Yushchenko, a former President of Ukraine, was born in Khoruzhivka, Sumy Oblast.
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Notes
- ^ 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.