Russian invasion of UkraineOn 24 February 2022, in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War which began in 2014. The invasion has killed tens of thousands on both sides. Russian forces have been responsible for mass civilian casualties and for torturing captured Ukrainian soldiers. By June 2022, about 8 million Ukrainians had been internally displaced. More than 8.2 million had fled the country by May 2023, becoming Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. Extensive environmental damage, widely described as ecocide, contributed to food crises worldwide.
DniproDnipro, formerly Dnipropetrovsk (1926–2016), is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, after which its Ukrainian language name is derived. Dnipro is the administrative centre of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. It hosts the administration of Dnipro urban hromada. Dnipro has a population of Archeological evidence suggests the site of the present city was settled by Cossack communities from at least 1524.
MelitopolMelitopol (Меліто́поль; mel(j)iˈtɔpolj; Мелитополь; based on Μελιτόπολις, honey city) is a city and municipality in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, southeastern Ukraine. Melitopol has been under Russian control since March 2022. On September 30, 2022, the city was formally annexed by the Russian Federation, however remains internationally recognized as sovereign territory of Ukraine. It is situated on the Molochna River, which flows through the eastern edge of the city into the Molochnyi Lyman estuary.
Demographics of UkraineAccording to the United Nations, Ukraine has a population of 36,744,636 as of 2023. This is a steep decline from 2020, when it had a population of almost 44 million people. This is in large part due to the ongoing Ukrainian refugee crisis, and loss of territory caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In addition, it should be noted that the most recent (and only) census of a post-Soviet Ukraine occurred over 20 years ago, in 2001. Thus, much of the information presented here could be inaccurate and/or outdated.
MariupolMariupol (UKˌmæriˈuːpɒl , USˌmɑːriˈuːpəl ; Маріу́поль mɐr(j)iˈupolj; Мариу́поль, mərjɪˈupəlj; Marioúpoli) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it was the tenth-largest city in the country and the second-largest city in Donetsk Oblast, with an estimated population of 425,681 people in January 2022; afterwards, Ukrainian authorities estimate its population to be approximately 100,000.
BerdianskBerdiansk or Berdyansk (Бердя́нськ, berˈdjɑnjsjk; Бердя́нск, bjɪrˈdjansk) is a port city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov, which is connected to the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Berdiansk Raion. The city is named after the Berda River's Berdianska Spit, at the foot of which it is located. Its population is Berdiansk is home to a safari zoo, water park, museums, health resorts with mud baths and climatic treatments, and numerous water sport activities.
Economy of UkraineThe economy of Ukraine is an emerging, lower-middle income, mixed economy located in Eastern Europe. It grew rapidly from 2000 until 2008 when the Great Recession began worldwide and reached Ukraine. The economy recovered in 2010 and continued improving until 2013. From 2014 to 2015, the Ukrainian economy suffered a severe downturn, with GDP in 2015 being slightly above half of its value in 2013. In 2016, the economy again started to grow. By 2018, the Ukrainian economy was growing rapidly, and reached almost 80% of its size in 2008.
Russians in UkraineRussians are the largest ethnic minority in Ukraine. This community forms the largest single Russian community outside of Russia in the world. In the 2001 Ukrainian census, 8,334,100 identified as ethnic Russians (17.3% of the population of Ukraine); this is the combined figure for persons originating from outside of Ukraine and the Ukrainian-born population declaring Russian ethnicity. Ethnic Russians live throughout Ukraine. They comprise a notable fraction of the overall population in the east and south, a significant minority in the center, and a smaller minority in the west.
Volodymyr ZelenskyyVolodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy; born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former comedian and actor who is the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. Born to a Ukrainian Jewish family, Zelenskyy grew up as a native Russian speaker in Kryvyi Rih, a major city of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in central Ukraine. Prior to his acting career, he obtained a degree in law from the Kyiv National Economic University.
Communist Party of UkraineThe Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU or KPU) is a banned political party in Ukraine. It was founded in 1993 as the successor to the Soviet-era Communist Party of Ukraine, which had been banned in 1991. The party is a member of the Moscow-based Union of Communist Parties – Communist Party of the Soviet Union, an umbrella organisation for all communist parties of the former Soviet Union. The party has been led by Petro Symonenko since it was founded. Communist parties have a long history in Ukraine.
