Ukraine

I

Introduction

Ukraine (Ukrainian Ukraina), country in eastern Europe, and the second largest country in Europe after Russia. Much of Ukraine is a fertile plain suited for agriculture. Ukraine is rich in natural resources, and has a developed economy with significant agricultural and industrial sectors. The country has a democratic form of government headed by a president. Kyiv (Kiev) is the nation’s capital and largest city.

From the 9th century ad northern Ukraine was part of Kievan Rus, the first significant East Slavic state, which succumbed to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century (see Mongol Empire). Ukraine was for centuries thereafter under the rule of a succession of foreign powers, including Poland and the Russian Empire. In 1918 a Bolshevik (Communist) government was established in Ukraine, and in 1922 the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) was one of the four founding republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Ukraine’s declaration of independence, approved by a popular vote on December 1, 1991, was a major factor in the USSR’s collapse later that month.

II

Land and Resources of Ukraine

Ukraine is bordered on the west by Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary; on the southwest by Romania and Moldova; on the south by the Black Sea and Sea of Azov; on the east and northeast by Russia; and on the north by Belarus. The Crimean Autonomous Republic—encompassing the Crimean Peninsula, or Crimea, in the south—is included in Ukraine’s borders.

The total area of Ukraine is 603,700 sq km (233,100 sq mi). The country extends 1,316 km (818 mi) east to west and 893 km (555 mi) north to south. Much of the country is a rolling upland plain, with the highest elevations in the western half of the country and the southeastern Donets’k region. A lowland region of wooded bogs and swamps, called the Poles’ye (also called the Pripet Marshes), is located in northern Ukraine, although much of this region has been drained and cleared for agriculture. Low-lying plains are found in southern Ukraine in the lower Dnieper (Dnipro) River Basin and the Black Sea coastal region. Ukraine’s coastline, including Crimea, extends 2,782 km (1,729 mi). The Carpathian Mountains in the extreme west and the Crimean Mountains in the southern end of Crimea take up about 5 percent of Ukraine’s territory. Mount Hoverla in the Carpathians is the country’s highest peak at 2,061 m (6,762 ft).

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A

Rivers and Lakes

The Dnieper, Europe’s third largest river, flows through central Ukraine and forms the country’s main river network. More than half of the country’s rivers belong to this system. The Dnieper is Ukraine’s longest river, measuring about 980 km (about 610 mi) in length within the country’s borders. Other major rivers are the Dniester (known as the Dnister in Ukraine), the Bug (Buh), and the Southern Bug (Pivdennyy Buh) in the west, and the Donets in the east. The Danube (Dunay) forms part of Ukraine’s border with Romania in the extreme southwest. Except for the Bug, which flows northward into the Wisła (Vistula) in Poland, all of Ukraine’s major rivers flow southward and empty into the Black Sea or the Sea of Azov. Ukraine has more than 3,000 small lakes that cover about 3 percent of its territory.

B

Plant and Animal Life

Ukraine’s four major zones of plant life, from north to south, are forest, forest-steppe, steppe, and Mediterranean. In the forest zone, beech trees are widespread in the west; linden, oak, and pine are found in the swamps and meadows in the north and northwest; and spruce is prevalent in the northeast. In the central forest-steppe zone, grasslands are interspersed with numerous trees, mainly oak. The steppe zone, which covers the lower third of Ukraine, features grassy plains. In the extreme south, the steppe is dry with thin-leaved grass. The Mediterranean zone, which encompasses a narrow strip along the southern Crimean coast, contains a mix of evergreen and deciduous shrubs and grasses.

Wildlife in Ukraine includes moose (known as elk in Europe), deer, wild boars, brown bears, and wolves. Species such as bison and wild horses have long been extinct. Others, such as mouflon (wild sheep), spotted deer, and muskrats, have been successfully reintroduced. A network of 10 nature reserves and more than 100 wildlife refuges has been established to protect wildlife, especially beavers, lynx, moose, and muskrats. Birds include the Eurasian black vulture, steppe eagle, and gray heron. Ukraine has more than 200 species of fish, including pike, carp, and sturgeon.

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