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Portal:Ukraine

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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 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

23 June 2026 – North Korea–South Korea relations, North Korean involvement in the Russo-Ukrainian war, Prisoners of war in the Russo-Ukrainian war
South Korea announces that it will accept any North Korean prisoners of war captured by Ukraine while fighting for Russia if they choose resettlement in South Korea. South Korea also opposes any repatriation of such prisoners against their wishes. (Reuters)
22 June 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
Aerial warfare in the Russo-Ukrainian war
Ukrainian deputy prime minister Oleksiy Kuleba says that Russian drone attacks in Ukraine have killed at least five people, including an Egyptian crew member aboard a Panamanian-flagged vessel in the Black Sea and three members of the same family in Sumy Oblast. The attack also damages the vessel and forces its crew to evacuate. (Firstpost) (Hurriyet Daily News)
19 June 2026 – Poland–Ukraine relations
Polish president Karol Nawrocki strips Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the country's highest honour, the Order of the White Eagle, for naming an army unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which massacred Poles during World War II. (Reuters)
18 June 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
Attacks in Russia during the Russo-Ukrainian war
Ukraine launches its largest ever drone attack on Moscow, Russia, targeting the Moscow Refinery and damaging several residential buildings. (AP) (CNN)
Residents of Moscow report oil raining down as massive plumes of black smoke are visible over the city. (BBC News)
Following the attack, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy threatened Moscow saying, "If Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn", warning against further Russian attacks on the country. (The Guardian)
Russia says it will carry out a "massive retaliation" against Ukraine with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov saying the Russian Armed Forces will from now on, carry out "massive group strikes" on a "regular basis" following the attack on Moscow. (MSN)
15 June 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
Kyiv strikes
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Emblem of the Ukrainian Naval Forces

The Ukrainian Navy (Ukrainian: Військово-морські сили Збройних сил України, ВМС ЗСУ, romanizedViiskovo–morski syly Zbroinykh syl Ukrainy, VMS ZSU, lit.'Military Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine'), is the maritime force of Ukraine and one of the eight service branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The naval forces consist of five components: surface forces, submarine forces, naval aviation, coastal rocket-artillery and naval infantry. In 2022, the Ukrainian Navy had 15,000 personnel, including 6,000 naval infantry. It is headquartered in Odesa; prior to the 2014 annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, it was based in Sevastopol. (Full article...)

In the news

23 June 2026 – North Korea–South Korea relations, North Korean involvement in the Russo-Ukrainian war, Prisoners of war in the Russo-Ukrainian war
South Korea announces that it will accept any North Korean prisoners of war captured by Ukraine while fighting for Russia if they choose resettlement in South Korea. South Korea also opposes any repatriation of such prisoners against their wishes. (Reuters)
22 June 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
Aerial warfare in the Russo-Ukrainian war
Ukrainian deputy prime minister Oleksiy Kuleba says that Russian drone attacks in Ukraine have killed at least five people, including an Egyptian crew member aboard a Panamanian-flagged vessel in the Black Sea and three members of the same family in Sumy Oblast. The attack also damages the vessel and forces its crew to evacuate. (Firstpost) (Hurriyet Daily News)
19 June 2026 – Poland–Ukraine relations
Polish president Karol Nawrocki strips Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the country's highest honour, the Order of the White Eagle, for naming an army unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which massacred Poles during World War II. (Reuters)
18 June 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
Attacks in Russia during the Russo-Ukrainian war
Ukraine launches its largest ever drone attack on Moscow, Russia, targeting the Moscow Refinery and damaging several residential buildings. (AP) (CNN)
Residents of Moscow report oil raining down as massive plumes of black smoke are visible over the city. (BBC News)
Following the attack, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy threatened Moscow saying, "If Ukraine burns, your Moscow will burn", warning against further Russian attacks on the country. (The Guardian)
Russia says it will carry out a "massive retaliation" against Ukraine with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov saying the Russian Armed Forces will from now on, carry out "massive group strikes" on a "regular basis" following the attack on Moscow. (MSN)
15 June 2026 – Russo-Ukrainian war
Kyiv strikes

Selected anniversaries for June

The Grand Trianon at Versailles, site of the signing.
The Grand Trianon at Versailles, site of the signing.

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