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 Russia strikes a residential building in Poltava, Ukraine, reportedly killing at least three persons and injuring at least ten others. (Ukrainska Pravda)
- 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 United Ukrainian Ballet Company, consisting of exiled dancers based in The Hague, has toured the UK, Singapore, Australia and the US?
- ... 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?
- ... that 30 Ukrainian anarchists defeated more than 500 Austrian imperial soldiers at the Battle of Dibrivka?
- ... that Volodymyr Kozhukhar, the chief conductor of the National Opera of Ukraine in Kyiv, led Lysenko's opera Taras Bulba and Shchedrin's ballet Carmen Suite?
- ... 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 24-year-old Mahasweta Chakraborty of Operation Ganga helped around 800 students return to India during the Russian invasion of Ukraine?
More did you know -
- ... that Vasyl Avramenko is often referred as "The father of the Ukrainian dance"?
- ... that the Khreschatyk is the main street of Ukrainian capital Kyiv on which Orange Revolution and other historical events mainly took place?
- ... that Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych (pictured), known for the "Carol of the Bells", was nicknamed "Ukrainian Bach" in France?
- ... that according to legend, a tunnel leads from the Kamianets-Podilskyi Castle to the Khotyn Fortress which is 20 kilometres (12 mi) away?
- ... 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 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 -
Ukrainian nationalism (Ukrainian: Український націоналізм, romanized: Ukrainskyi natsionalizm, pronounced [ʊkrɐˈjinʲsʲkei̯ nɐt͡sʲiɔnɐˈlʲizm]) is the promotion of the unity of Ukrainians as a people and the promotion of the identity of Ukraine as a nation state. The origins of modern Ukrainian nationalism emerge during the Cossack uprising against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky in the mid-17th century. Ukrainian nationalism draws upon a single national identity of culture, ethnicity, geographic location, language, politics (or the government), religion, traditions and belief in a shared singular history. (Full article...)
In the news
- 1 February 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
- Attacks on civilians in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
- A Russia strikes a residential building in Poltava, Ukraine, reportedly killing at least three persons and injuring at least ten others. (Ukrainska Pravda)
- 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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