Brigadier General James Monroe Williams

The Ukraine Portal - Портал України

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, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; and 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; Russian is also widely spoken, especially in the east and south.

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 ultimately 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 marked on maps as "Ukraine, land of the Cossacks", but was partitioned between Russia and Poland, and ultimately 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. 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

1 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Odesa strikes
Three people are killed and three are injured in a Russian ballistic missile strike in the port city of Odesa. (Reuters) (Kyiv Post)
30 April 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Kharkiv strikes
Russian forces attack Kharkiv with guided bombs, killing at least two people and injuring six others. (Reuters)
29 April 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Odesa strikes
Four people are killed and 28 others are injured in a Russian missile strike in Odesa. Ukraine says that Russia used an Iskander-M ballistic missile with a cluster warhead in the attack. (Reuters)
28 April 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Eastern Ukraine campaign
Ukraine withdraws from the villages of Berdychi, Semenivka, and Novomykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast. (Reuters)
27 April 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Ukraine says that it attacked two oil refineries and an airfield in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, using drones. (Al Arabiya) (Reuters)

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Kyiv (also spelled Kiev) is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2,952,301, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyiv is an important industrial, scientific, educational, and cultural center in Eastern Europe. It is home to many high-tech industries, higher education institutions, and historical landmarks. The city has an extensive system of public transport and infrastructure, including the Kyiv Metro.

The city's name is said to derive from the name of Kyi, one of its four legendary founders. During its history, Kyiv, one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, passed through several stages of prominence and obscurity. The city probably existed as a commercial center as early as the 5th century. A Slavic settlement on the great trade route between Scandinavia and Constantinople, Kyiv was a tributary of the Khazars, until its capture by the Varangians (Vikings) in the mid-9th century. Under Varangian rule, the city became a capital of Kievan Rus', the first East Slavic state. Completely destroyed during the Mongol invasions in 1240, the city lost most of its influence for the centuries to come. Coming under Lithuania, then Poland and then Russia, the city would grow from a frontier market into an important centre of Orthodox learning in the sixteenth century, and later of industry, commerce, and administration by the ninenteenth. (Full article...)
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In the news

1 May 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Odesa strikes
Three people are killed and three are injured in a Russian ballistic missile strike in the port city of Odesa. (Reuters) (Kyiv Post)
30 April 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Kharkiv strikes
Russian forces attack Kharkiv with guided bombs, killing at least two people and injuring six others. (Reuters)
29 April 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Odesa strikes
Four people are killed and 28 others are injured in a Russian missile strike in Odesa. Ukraine says that Russia used an Iskander-M ballistic missile with a cluster warhead in the attack. (Reuters)
28 April 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Eastern Ukraine campaign
Ukraine withdraws from the villages of Berdychi, Semenivka, and Novomykhailivka in Donetsk Oblast. (Reuters)
27 April 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Ukraine says that it attacked two oil refineries and an airfield in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, using drones. (Al Arabiya) (Reuters)

Selected anniversaries for May

  • May 9, 2024Victory Day
  • May 28, 1916 — Ivan Franko, Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, economist, and political activist, died at 4 P.M. in poverty.

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