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 is Ukrainian. Ukraine covers about 603,628 km2 (230,000 sq mi), with around 32 million people.

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 in 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

23 October 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
2026 drone incidents in Romania
A merchant ship is hit by drones of unknown origins in the Romanian Black Sea, killing a crew member and leaving three more missing. Nine people are rescued. (Turkiye Today)
Peace negotiations in the Russo-Ukrainian war, Blockade of Oleshky, United States and the Russo-Ukrainian war
The U.S. government says that Russia and Ukraine reached a humanitarian ceasefire agreement in Oleshky brokered by U.S. first lady Melania Trump. The ceasefire will take effect on Thursday. (Reuters)
Russia and Ukraine confirm the ceasefire agreement for Oleshky, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy stating that peace talks will begin next month. (The Moscow Times) (Kyiv Independent)
Ukrainian police detain a 17-year-old girl suspected of helping Russia's Federal Security Service send methadone-laced capsules to Ukrainian soldiers, which killed two in Zhytomyr Oblast and allegedly targeting four others. (AFP via RFI)
21 October 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
Peace negotiations in the Russo-Ukrainian war, United States and the Russo-Ukrainian war
United States special envoy Steve Witkoff arrives in Saint Petersburg to talk with Russian president Vladimir Putin about potentially resolving the war with Ukraine. Putin states he would resume United States-mediated trilateral peace talks with Ukraine, on or after November 10. (Reuters) (Reuters)
American military veteran Stephen Hubbard, who was arrested by Russian authorities in 2022 during the Battle of Izium, is released from custody during the meeting between Putin and Witkoff. (AP) (BBC News)
20 October 2026 – South Korea–Ukraine relations
South Korea withdraws additional embassy staff from Ukraine following a dispute over two captured North Korean soldiers who were transferred to South Korea. (AFP via RFI)
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Presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 17 January 2010. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, a run-off election was held between Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych on 7 February.

On 14 February, Yanukovych was declared President-elect and winner with 50% of the popular vote. According to Article 104 of Ukraine's Constitution, the president had to be sworn into office within 30 days of the official declaration of the results. Parliament subsequently scheduled Yanukovych's inauguration for 25 February. (Full article...)

In the news

23 October 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
2026 drone incidents in Romania
A merchant ship is hit by drones of unknown origins in the Romanian Black Sea, killing a crew member and leaving three more missing. Nine people are rescued. (Turkiye Today)
Peace negotiations in the Russo-Ukrainian war, Blockade of Oleshky, United States and the Russo-Ukrainian war
The U.S. government says that Russia and Ukraine reached a humanitarian ceasefire agreement in Oleshky brokered by U.S. first lady Melania Trump. The ceasefire will take effect on Thursday. (Reuters)
Russia and Ukraine confirm the ceasefire agreement for Oleshky, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy stating that peace talks will begin next month. (The Moscow Times) (Kyiv Independent)
Ukrainian police detain a 17-year-old girl suspected of helping Russia's Federal Security Service send methadone-laced capsules to Ukrainian soldiers, which killed two in Zhytomyr Oblast and allegedly targeting four others. (AFP via RFI)
21 October 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
Peace negotiations in the Russo-Ukrainian war, United States and the Russo-Ukrainian war
United States special envoy Steve Witkoff arrives in Saint Petersburg to talk with Russian president Vladimir Putin about potentially resolving the war with Ukraine. Putin states he would resume United States-mediated trilateral peace talks with Ukraine, on or after November 10. (Reuters) (Reuters)
American military veteran Stephen Hubbard, who was arrested by Russian authorities in 2022 during the Battle of Izium, is released from custody during the meeting between Putin and Witkoff. (AP) (BBC News)
20 October 2026 – South Korea–Ukraine relations
South Korea withdraws additional embassy staff from Ukraine following a dispute over two captured North Korean soldiers who were transferred to South Korea. (AFP via RFI)

Selected anniversaries for October

Army camp at Balaklava in the Crimean War, 1855.
Army camp at Balaklava in the Crimean War, 1855.
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