Portal:Ukraine
The Ukraine Portal - Портал України
Ukraine Україна (Ukrainian) | |
|---|---|
| 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 Ukraine's capital and largest city, followed by Kharkiv, Odesa, and Dnipro. The official language of the country is Ukrainian. Ukraine covers an area of 603,628 km2 (233,062 sq mi) with an estimated total population of 32.3 million in 2026.
Humans have inhabited Ukraine since at least 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. For the next 600 years the area was contested, divided, and ruled by a variety of external powers, 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 gradually absorbed by the Russian Empire in the 18th 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, declaring 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 Russia and Russian-backed separatists. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine began the current phase of the war. (Full article...)
In the news
- 27 July 2026 – Romania–Russia relations, Violations of non-combatant airspace during the Russo-Ukrainian war
- Romania recalls its ambassador to Russia, declares a Russian embassy employee persona non grata, and summons Russia's ambassador after three Russian drones violated Romanian airspace between July 24 and 26. (Xinhua)
- 26 July 2026 – Iran–Ukraine relations, Ukraine in the 2026 Iran war
- The Iranian foreign ministry summons the Ukrainian chargé d'affaires in Tehran over an attack by Ukraine on an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea that killed an Iranian sailor, calling it a "hostile and criminal act". (CNBC)
- 25 July 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
- Russian attacks on civilians in the Russo-Ukrainian war
- Ukrainian officials say a Russian drone strike on a postal facility in Sumy has killed two people. (AFP via BGNES)
- 24 July 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
- Attacks in Russia during the Russo-Ukrainian war
- Ukrainian strikes on Wildberries warehouses
- A Wildberries logistic hub in Russia-occupied Crimea is hit by Ukrainian drones and catches fire. (RBC-Ukraine)
- Ukrainian drones also hit Wildberries logistics hubs in Saint Petersburg and Tver, Russia. (Kyiv Independent)
- Kyiv strikes
- Ukrainian officials say a Russian ballistic missile strike on a private training ground hosting a defence-industry event in the Kyiv Oblast killed 10 people and injured nearly 100. Prosecutors investigate possible negligence in organizing the event. (Reuters)
Chornovil was born in the village of Yerky, in central Ukraine, then under the Soviet Union. A member of the Komsomol from his time in university, he was affiliated with the counter-cultural Sixtiers movement, and was removed from the Komsomol after speaking out against communism. His samvydav, which investigated abuses against intellectuals arrested during the 1965–1966 Soviet crackdown, earned him Western acclaim, as well as a three-year prison sentence in Yakutia. Upon his release, he returned to samvydav and began publishing The Ukrainian Herald, a predecessor to the modern Ukrainian independent press. (Full article...)
There are 18 populated places in the Crimean peninsula that are recognized as having city status. The territory of Crimea has been disputed between Russia and Ukraine since Russia's covert invasion and internationally unrecognized annexation of the peninsula on 18 March 2014. The region is recognized by most countries as Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as one of Ukraine's cities with special status while, since its annexation, the region has been de facto governed by Russia as the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol as a city of federal importance. As of 2014, the largest city on the peninsula by population according to Russia's post-annexation census was Sevastopol, with a recorded population of 393,304 people, while the peninsula's second largest city was Simferopol, with 332,317 people. The least populous city on the peninsula was Alupka, which was recorded with a population of 7,771 people in the 2014 census.
In Ukraine, city status (Ukrainian: місто, romanized: misto) is granted by the country's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, to settlements of 10,000 people or more or to settlements of historical or regional importance. Following its occupation and annexation of Crimea, Russia recognized and maintained the existing status of the peninsula's 18 cities. In 2019, Russian officials granted the settlement Balaklava, located in Sevastopol's Balaklava urban district, the status of a city, although still keeping it as part of Sevastopol. Due to the international support for UN General Assembly Resolution 68/262, which recognizes Ukrainian sovereignty over Crimea and endorses a policy of non-recognition of Russia's occupation of the peninsula, the new city status is largely not recognized. (Full article...)
Nikolai Aleksandrovich Tikhonov (14 May [O.S. 1 May] 1905 – 1 June 1997) was a Soviet Russian-Ukrainian statesman during the Cold War. He served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers from 1980 to 1985, and as a First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, literally First Vice Premier, from 1976 to 1980. Tikhonov was responsible for the cultural and economic administration of the Soviet Union during the late era of stagnation. He was replaced as Chairman of the Council of Ministers in 1985 by Nikolai Ryzhkov. In the same year, he lost his seat in the Politburo; however, he retained his seat in the Central Committee until 1989.
He was born in the city of Kharkiv in 1905 to a Russian-Ukrainian working-class family; he graduated in the 1920s and started working in the 1930s. Tikhonov began his political career in local industry, and worked his way up the hierarchy of Soviet industrial ministries. He was appointed deputy chairman of the Gosplan in 1963. After Alexei Kosygin's resignation, Tikhonov was voted into office as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. In this position, he refrained from taking effective measures to reform the Soviet economy, a need which was strongly evidenced during the early–mid-1980s. He retired from active politics in 1989 as a pensioner. Tikhonov died on 1 June 1997. (Full article...)
Featured pictures
Did you know (auto-generated)

- ... that, on the fourth anniversary of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a video address showing the bunker in which he told the US that he needed ammunition, not a ride?
- ... that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy jumped to kiss his best friend on the head as he walked to his inauguration in 2019?
- ... that a 2015 issue of the Strawberry Newspaper features Hello Kitty discussing military conflicts in Afghanistan, Somalia, and Ukraine?
- ... that Ukrainian writer Mykhailo Starytsky financed his own theatre with proceeds from the sale of his rusk factory?
- ... that Micronesia was the second country to cut ties with Russia after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine—the first being Ukraine?
- ... that following the energy price shock caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Turkish government intervened to have the country's renewable energy subsidise coal and gas?
More did you know -
- ... that the Kryvbas economic region in Ukraine is one of the largest iron ore and steel industry centers in Europe?
- ... 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 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 composer Mykola Leontovych (pictured), known for the "Carol of the Bells", was nicknamed "Ukrainian Bach" in France?
- ... 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 the Khreschatyk is the main street of Ukrainian capital Kyiv on which Orange Revolution and other historical events mainly took place?
Selected article -

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Ukraine face challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ individuals. Since the fall of the Soviet Union and Ukraine's independence in 1991, the Ukrainian LGBTQ community has gradually become more visible and more organized politically, holding several LGBTQ events in Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, and Kryvyi Rih. In the 2010s and 2020s, positive treatment of LGBTQ people has been on the rise in Ukrainian society.
In a 2010 European study, 28% of Ukrainians polled believed that LGBT individuals should live freely and however they like, the lowest number of all European countries polled apart from Russia. In the 2011 UN Human Rights Council declaration for LGBT rights (A/HRC/RES/17/19), Ukraine expressed its support, voting in favour along with neighbouring countries Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia, while Russia and Moldova voted against it. In 2015, the Ukrainian Parliament approved an employment anti-discrimination law covering sexual orientation and gender identity, and in 2016, Ukrainian officials simplified the transition process for transgender people. In 2021, the Ukrainian Ministry of Health implemented their 2016 proposal to allow gay and bisexual men to donate blood. (Full article...)
In the news
- 27 July 2026 – Romania–Russia relations, Violations of non-combatant airspace during the Russo-Ukrainian war
- Romania recalls its ambassador to Russia, declares a Russian embassy employee persona non grata, and summons Russia's ambassador after three Russian drones violated Romanian airspace between July 24 and 26. (Xinhua)
- 26 July 2026 – Iran–Ukraine relations, Ukraine in the 2026 Iran war
- The Iranian foreign ministry summons the Ukrainian chargé d'affaires in Tehran over an attack by Ukraine on an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea that killed an Iranian sailor, calling it a "hostile and criminal act". (CNBC)
- 25 July 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
- Russian attacks on civilians in the Russo-Ukrainian war
- Ukrainian officials say a Russian drone strike on a postal facility in Sumy has killed two people. (AFP via BGNES)
- 24 July 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
- Attacks in Russia during the Russo-Ukrainian war
- Ukrainian strikes on Wildberries warehouses
- A Wildberries logistic hub in Russia-occupied Crimea is hit by Ukrainian drones and catches fire. (RBC-Ukraine)
- Ukrainian drones also hit Wildberries logistics hubs in Saint Petersburg and Tver, Russia. (Kyiv Independent)
- Kyiv strikes
- Ukrainian officials say a Russian ballistic missile strike on a private training ground hosting a defence-industry event in the Kyiv Oblast killed 10 people and injured nearly 100. Prosecutors investigate possible negligence in organizing the event. (Reuters)
Selected anniversaries for July

- July 12, 1916 — Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a Soviet sniper during World War II, was born in Bila Tserkva.
- July 21, 1774 — Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca was signed between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire after the Ottoman Empire was defeated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774.
- July 24, 1990 — The first ceremonial raising of the Ukrainian national flag took place on Khreschatyk, on the large flagstaff of the Kiev City Council.
- July 27, 2002 — An airplane crashed at the Sknyliv airshow; 84 people were killed and over 100 injured.
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![Image 1 Kravchuk in 1991 Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk (Ukrainian: Леонід Макарович Кравчук, IPA: [leoˈn⁽ʲ⁾id mɐˈkɑrowɪtʃ krɐu̯ˈtʃuk]; 10 January 1934 – 10 May 2022) was a Ukrainian politician who served as the first president of Ukraine from 5 December 1991 to 19 July 1994. Kravchuk's presidency was marked by Ukraine achieving independence from the Soviet Union, the handover of its post-Soviet nuclear arsenal and an economic crisis that ultimately resulted in him losing re-election. Prior to his presidency, he was Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada. After leaving office, he served as a People's Deputy of Ukraine for the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united). Born to a family of peasants in Volhynia, Kravchuk's early life was significantly impacted by World War II and the postwar nationalist insurgency. He joined the Communist Party of Ukraine in 1958 and rose through the ranks, working as a propagandist. He became Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR in 1990, amidst the 1989–1991 Ukrainian revolution and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He opposed the 1991 Soviet coup attempt and subsequently led Ukraine to become independent from the Soviet Union. (Full article...)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d2/Blank.png)












