Portal:Ukraine


The Ukraine Portal - Портал України

Ukraine
Україна (Ukrainian)
ISO 3166 codeUA

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 a new phase of the war. (Full article...)

In the news

26 August 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
Attacks in Russia during the Russo-Ukrainian war
An overnight Ukrainian drone attack "completely destroys" a Wildberries depot in Tambov Oblast, Russia. (Reuters)
A man and a 14-year-old child are killed in Lipetsk Oblast, and a woman is killed in Belgorod Oblast, in Ukrainian drone strikes. The Russian defence ministry says its forces have shot down 426 Ukrainian drones overnight. (Al Jazeera)
Luhansk Oblast campaign
Nine people are killed after a Ukrainian strike on a bus in Russian-occupied Luhansk. (Reuters)
25 August 2026 – Economic consequences of the Russo-Ukrainian war
Boycott of Russia and Belarus, Belarus–Latvia relations, Latvia–Russia relations
Latvia's cabinet ministry announces that the country will ban imported goods from Belarus and Russia starting September 1. (LIGA)
24 August 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian war, Ukraine–United Kingdom relations
British prime minister Andy Burnham, during a visit to Kyiv, confirms that he has approved supplying Ukraine with the classified blueprints to produce Storm Shadow cruise missiles despite Russian threats against such a move, which will give Ukrainian forces the ability to strike key targets deep inside Russian territory. (BBC News) (The Japan Times)
Kharkiv strikes

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Selected article -

Ukrainian cinema is the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of Ukraine as well as by Ukrainian film makers abroad.

Despite a history of important and successful productions, the industry has often been characterized by a debate about its identity and the level of Russian and European influence. Ukrainian producers are active in international co-productions, while Ukrainian actors, directors and crew feature regularly in Russian (and formerly Soviet) films. Successful films have been based on Ukrainian people, stories or events, including Battleship Potemkin, Man with a Movie Camera, and Everything Is Illuminated. (Full article...)

In the news

26 August 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
Attacks in Russia during the Russo-Ukrainian war
An overnight Ukrainian drone attack "completely destroys" a Wildberries depot in Tambov Oblast, Russia. (Reuters)
A man and a 14-year-old child are killed in Lipetsk Oblast, and a woman is killed in Belgorod Oblast, in Ukrainian drone strikes. The Russian defence ministry says its forces have shot down 426 Ukrainian drones overnight. (Al Jazeera)
Luhansk Oblast campaign
Nine people are killed after a Ukrainian strike on a bus in Russian-occupied Luhansk. (Reuters)
25 August 2026 – Economic consequences of the Russo-Ukrainian war
Boycott of Russia and Belarus, Belarus–Latvia relations, Latvia–Russia relations
Latvia's cabinet ministry announces that the country will ban imported goods from Belarus and Russia starting September 1. (LIGA)
24 August 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
Military aid to Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian war, Ukraine–United Kingdom relations
British prime minister Andy Burnham, during a visit to Kyiv, confirms that he has approved supplying Ukraine with the classified blueprints to produce Storm Shadow cruise missiles despite Russian threats against such a move, which will give Ukrainian forces the ability to strike key targets deep inside Russian territory. (BBC News) (The Japan Times)
Kharkiv strikes

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