# Ukraine

By [Cometa](https://paragraph.com/@ereopatia) · 2023-07-25

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**Ukraine** (Ukrainian: Україна, romanized: _Ukraïna_, pronounced [\[ʊkrɐˈjinɐ\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Ukrainian) ([listen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Uk-%D0%A3%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%97%D0%BD%D0%B0_%282%29.oga))) is a country in [Eastern Europe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Europe). It is the [second-largest European country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_area) after [Russia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia), which it [borders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia%E2%80%93Ukraine_border) to the east and northeast.[\[a\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine#cite_note-11)[\[11\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine#cite_note-12) It also borders [Belarus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus) to the north; [Poland](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland), [Slovakia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovakia), and [Hungary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary) to the west; and [Romania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romania) and [Moldova](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moldova)[\[b\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine#cite_note-13) to the southwest; with a coastline along the [Black Sea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea) and the [Sea of Azov](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_of_Azov) to the south and southeast.[\[c\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine#cite_note-14) [Kyiv](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyiv) is the nation's capital and [largest city](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_Ukraine), followed by [Kharkiv](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kharkiv), [Dnipro](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dnipro) and [Odesa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odesa). Ukraine's [official language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Official_language) is [Ukrainian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_language); [Russian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_language_in_Ukraine) is also widely spoken, especially in the [east](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Ukraine) and [south](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Ukraine).

During the [Middle Ages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages), Ukraine was the site of [early Slavic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Slavs) expansion and the area later became a key centre of [East Slavic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Slavs) culture under the state of [Kievan Rus'](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kievan_Rus%27), which emerged in the 9th century. The state eventually disintegrated into rival regional powers and was ultimately destroyed by the [Mongol invasions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_invasion_of_Kievan_Rus%27) 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](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth), the [Austrian Empire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austrian_Empire), the [Ottoman Empire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire), and the [Tsardom of Russia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsardom_of_Russia). The [Cossack Hetmanate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cossack_Hetmanate) emerged in [central Ukraine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Ukraine) in the 17th century, but was partitioned between Russia and Poland, and ultimately absorbed by the [Russian Empire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Empire). [Ukrainian nationalism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_nationalism) developed, and following the [Russian Revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Revolution) in 1917, the short-lived [Ukrainian People's Republic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_People%27s_Republic) was formed. The [Bolsheviks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolsheviks) consolidated control over much of the former empire and established the [Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic), which became a [constituent republic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republics_of_the_Soviet_Union) of the [Soviet Union](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union) when it was formed in 1922. In the early 1930s, millions of Ukrainians died in the [Holodomor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor), a [human-made famine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_Holodomor). The [German occupation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichskommissariat_Ukraine) during [World War II in Ukraine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_in_Ukraine) was devastating: 7 million Ukrainian civilians were killed, including the [majority of Ukrainian Jews](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust_in_Ukraine).

Ukraine gained independence in 1991 as the [Soviet Union dissolved](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union), and declared itself [neutral](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutral_country).[\[12\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine#cite_note-gska2.rada.gov.ua-15) A new [constitution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Ukraine) was adopted in 1996. A series of mass demonstrations, known as the [Euromaidan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euromaidan), led to the establishment of a new government in 2014 after a [revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_of_Dignity). Russia then unilaterally [annexed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annexation_of_Crimea_by_the_Russian_Federation) Ukraine's [Crimean Peninsula](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimea); and [pro-Russian unrest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_pro-Russian_unrest_in_Ukraine) culminated in [a war in the Donbas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Donbas_\(2014%E2%80%932022\)) between Russian-backed separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine. Since the outbreak of [war with Russia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_War), Ukraine has continued to seek closer ties with the [United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine%E2%80%93United_States_relations), [European Union](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine%E2%80%93European_Union_relations), and [NATO](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine%E2%80%93NATO_relations).[\[13\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine#cite_note-:5-16)[\[14\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine#cite_note-:6-17)[\[15\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine#cite_note-European_Commission_Trade_Ukraine-18) Russia launched a [full-scale invasion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine) of Ukraine in 2022.

Ukraine is a [unitary state](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitary_state) with a [semi-presidential system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-presidential_republic). A [developing country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developing_country), it is the [poorest country in Europe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_in_Europe_by_GDP_\(nominal\)_per_capita) by nominal GDP per capita[\[16\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine#cite_note-19) and [corruption](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_Ukraine) remains a significant issue.[\[17\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine#cite_note-20)[\[18\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine#cite_note-21) However, due to [its extensive fertile land](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Ukraine), pre-war Ukraine was [one of the largest grain exporters in the world](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Ukraine).[\[19\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine#cite_note-grain1-22)[\[20\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine#cite_note-grain2-23) It is a founding member of the [United Nations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations), as well as a member of the [Council of Europe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Europe), the [World Trade Organization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization), and the [OSCE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_for_Security_and_Co-operation_in_Europe). It is [in the process](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accession_of_Ukraine_to_the_European_Union) of joining the [European Union](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union) and has submitted an application for NATO membership.[\[21\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine#cite_note-24)

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*Originally published on [Cometa](https://paragraph.com/@ereopatia/ukraine)*