History UsefulNotes / Ukraine

Despite historically close political and cultural ties, Ukraine was never Russified to the same extent as Belarus (where Belarusian is by now only commonly spoken by 10% of the population). The War in Donbas is only the latest in a string of grievances going back centuries, starting with who can claim the mantle of the old Kievan Rus'. While Eastern Ukraine was ruled by Russia for many centuries and the Tsars attempted to impress on them the idea of being part of an All-Russian Brotherhood, many Ukrainians never quite shook the feeling that they were being ruled by a foreign power. Another issue is the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor Holodomor ("death by hunger")]], a famine which lasted from 1932-33 due to Soviet crop seizures and agricultural policies, killing around 4 million Ukrainians. Many Ukrainians consider this little less than a Soviet holocaust, while many Russians claim the famine was due to factors outside of human control. Though it should be noted that although the Holodomor is widely regarded as a crime by both sides (at least one of negligence), the real matter of heated controversy is whether it should be seen as a crime of the Soviet regime against its people (specifically UsefulNotes/JosephStalin) or as a genocidal crime of Russia against Ukraine.

The Kievan Rus' and its splinters formed the last "Ukrainian" state for a long, long time. In fact, for the next 700 years from the 13th century all the way up to the end of the 20th century, there was little that could conceivably be called a "Ukrainian state," with Ukrainian land being variously ruled by Tatars, [[UsefulNotes/PolishLithuanianCommonwealth Lithuanians, Poles]], [[UsefulNotes/TheSoundOfMartialMusic Austrians]], and [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Russians]]. Even [[UsefulNotes/TheCityStateEra Italians]] and Turks had a go at ruling Crimea. There was, however, a period of progressively declining autonomy in 1649-1783. In 1648, Ukraine was site of the famous Khmelnytsky Uprising, named after its leader, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, which signaled the beginning of the end of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as well as its influence over its Ruthenian subjects. Khmelnytsky was the hetman (military commander) of Zaporozhian UsefulNotes/{{Cossacks}}, a community of East Slavs who were sometimes employed for protection against the Tatars but more well-known for their inclination towards freedom from the establishment. The uprising's success led to the creation of the Cossack Hetmanate, a semi-independent state in Central Ukraine. Although the hetmanate was liquidated and absorbed into Russia in 1764, it became an important precedent for the idea of an independent Ukrainian state in contemporary era. One of the theories on the origin of the name "Ukraine" itself postulates it is thanks to the Cossacks; when they were still allied with Poland, the Cossacks were responsible for the outermost defense of the Commonwealth from Tatars, so their territory was called the "borderland".

The name "Ukraine" is derived from ''krai'', which in Eastern Slavic can mean both "edge" or "borderland", though some scholars have argued that it can also mean "country" or, somewhat poetically, "homeland". Historically, the country was sometimes referred to as "the Ukraine", but this is considered incorrect or even offensive in modern times. The problem has to do with grammar. In Eastern Slavic, the preposition "на" (pronounced "na") is used to refer to regions or areas, while "в" (pronounced "v") is used to refer to proper nouns or definite locations. Until independence it was considered correct to refer to Ukraine using "na", but now most Ukrainians have switched to "v". Russians, however, have stubbornly continued on using "na." This is a problem, because to Ukrainians this signifies that the speaker doesn't consider Ukraine a "real" country, although it is still possible to find Ukrainians who use "на" either out of habit or they just don't see it as a big issue.

The name "Ukraine" is derived from ''krai'', which in Eastern Slavic can mean both "edge" or "borderland", though some scholars have argued that it can also mean "country" or, somewhat poetically, "homeland". Historically, the country was sometimes referred to as "the Ukraine", but this is considered incorrect or even offensive in modern times. The problem has to do with grammar. In Eastern Slavic, the preposition "на" (pronounced "na") is used to refer to regions or areas, while "в" (pronounced "v") is used to refer to proper nouns or definite locations. Until independence it was considered correct to refer to Ukraine using "na," but now many Ukrainians have switched to "v". Russians, however, have stubbornly continued on using "na." This is a problem, because to Ukrainians this signifies that the speaker doesn't consider Ukraine a "real" country, although it is still possible to find Ukrainians who use "на" either out of habit or they just don't see it as a big issue.

The name "Ukraine" is derived from ''krai'', which in Eastern Slavic can mean both "edge" or "borderland", though some scholars have argued that it can also mean "country" or, somewhat poetically, "homeland". Historically, the country was sometimes referred to as "the Ukraine", but this is considered incorrect or even offensive in modern times. The problem has to do with grammar. In Eastern Slavic, the preposition "на" (pronounced "na") is used to refer to regions or areas, while "в" (pronounced "v") is used to refer to proper nouns or definite locations. Until independence it was considered correct to refer to Ukraine using "na," but now many Ukrainians have switched to "v." Russians, however, have stubbornly continued on using "na." This is a problem, because to Ukrainians this signifies that the speaker doesn't consider Ukraine a "real" country, although it is still possible to find Ukrainians who use "на" either out of habit or they just don't see it as a big issue.

Another controversy is the spelling of the capital. "Kiev" was the romanization of the ''Russian'' spelling, while "Kyiv" is the romanization of the Ukrainian spelling. Since independence, Ukrainians made it a point that English-speakers should write it as "Kyiv" - even passing legislation to that effect. Accordingly most political organizations, such as the US government and the United Nations, spelled it as "Kyiv" on official documents. "Kiev" remained in widespread colloquial use among English-speakers until the 2014 war in Donbass, when most major western English news sources gradually switched to "Kyiv", seemingly as a gesture of solidarity. This applies to other names as well, such as the river "Dnipro" vs "Dnieper."

* The {{serial killer}}s known as the "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dnepropetrovsk_maniacs Dnepropetrovsk maniacs]]", of [[ShockSite 3Guys1Hammer]] infamy.
* Andrei Chikatilo, "the Butcher of Rostov", also of SerialKiller infamy.

Another controversy is the spelling of the capital. "Kiev" was the romanization of the ''Russian'' spelling, while "Kyiv" is the romanization of the Ukrainian spelling. Since independence, Ukrainians made it a point that English-speakers should write it as "Kyiv" - even passing legislation to that effect. Accordingly most political organizations, such as the US government and the United Nations, spelled it as "Kyiv" on official documents. "Kiev" remained in widespread colloquial use among English-speakers until the 2014 war in Donbass, when gradually most major western English news sources switched to "Kyiv", seemingly as a gesture of solidarity. This applies to other names as well, such as the river "Dnipro" vs "Dnieper."

Another controversy is the spelling of the capital. "Kiev" is the romanization of the ''Russian'' spelling, while "Kyiv" is the Ukrainian spelling (due to the use of slightly different alphabets). Since independence, Ukrainians have made it a point that English-speakers should write it as "Kyiv" - even passing legislation to that effect. Accordingly most political organizations, such as the US government and the United Nations, spell it as "Kyiv" on official documents. "Kiev" remains in colloquial use among English-speakers, but this is gradually (even rapidly) fading. This applies to other names as well, such as the river "Dnipro" vs "Dnieper."

A notable recent event was the 2004 Orange Revolution, where peaceful demonstrations forced the re-run of a questionable election and changed the government from pro-Russian to pro-Western (later elections changed it back, but were more peaceful). Another event of note was Ukraine holding the Euro-2012 football championship, along with Poland, and preparations for the event were painstakingly made. The most notable event in Ukraine of the 2010s so far has been the semi-violent[[note]]By which we mean, there was shooting, but nothing resembling military operations, and the old leadership wasn't gunned down[[/note]] revolution of 2014 which overthrew the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych; this episode is called the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euromaidan Euromaidan]], i.e. "Europe Square" (because the triggering event was Yanukovych rejecting a deal with UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion to take a deal with the Russians) and is also known as "The Revolution of Dignity". In response, Russia annexed Crimea and started stirring up trouble in Eastern Ukraine; Wiki/TheOtherWiki has dubbed this [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Crimean_crisis the Crimean Crisis]]. For its part, Crimea seems indifferent or possibly happy to be part of Russia ([[EverythingExceptMostThings except for the native Crimean Tatars]], who have terrible memories of Russian occupation; [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation_of_the_Crimean_Tatars the last time they had to deal with a Russian government]], Stalin sent them all to Central Asia), while most surveys say that Eastern Ukraine is indifferent or possibly happy to remain a (prickly) part of Ukraine (protesters aside). Or rather they ''were''. After protesters took over several regions of Eastern Ukraine, a full-on undeclared war broke out (originally commonly known as the ATO for "Anti-Terrorist Operation" but since officially renamed "Joint Forces Operation") that only seems to have calmed down with the current Minsk treaty. Oh, and "calmed down" here means that the front line didn't move significantly in either direction, but the combat itself never ceased, and there's no end in sight, with reports of losses, shootings, assaults, etc arriving every day. Despite massive amounts of evidence to the contrary (as well as witness reports), Russia has claimed to have no part in the conflict for years, instead pushing the narrative of the conflict being a "civil war" and attempting to position itself as a mediator, only to start gradually dropping all pretense in favor of ''very'' thinly veiled threats of complete military invasion by late 2021. Currently, a half of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, including both titular cities, remain out of the central government's reach.

Emotions can run high when discussing the history between Russia and Ukraine, especially when you do it in front of [[PatrioticFervor nationalists]]. Some Russian nationalists see Ukraine as a part of Russia which is not and never was its own state. Conversely, some Ukrainian nationalists see Ukraine as completely unrelated and culturally superior to Russians. During the [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Nazi German]] occupation, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_Ukrainian_Nationalists a particularly radical bunch of Ukrainian nationalists, OUN,]] [[LesCollaborateurs infamously cooperated with the Nazi authorities]] all in the name of breaking away from the Soviet Union, in the process campaigning for ethnic cleansing of both Poles and Russians in their territory (though it should be noted that this was not an unusual event in the Eastern Front; see UsefulNotes/{{Romania}}'s [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Guard Iron Guard]] and UsefulNotes/{{Croatia}}'s [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ustashe Ustaše]], which if anything were even worse. Another important note is that the majority OUN fought against the Nazis too as soon as it became aparent there was no place for independent Ukraine in their genocidal vision).

* Volodimir Zelenskiy, a showman, an actor (of the ''Series/ServantOfThePeople'' fame, and the current President of Ukraine since 2019.

* Volodimir Zelenskiy, a showman, an actor (of the [[ServantOfThePeople]] fame, and the current President of Ukraine since 2019.

* Volodimir Zelenskiy, a showman and the current President of Ukraine since 2019.

Emotions can run high when discussing the history between Russia and Ukraine, especially when you do it in front of [[PatrioticFervor nationalists]]. Some Russian nationalists see Ukraine as a part of Russia which is not and never was its own state. Conversely, some Ukrainian nationalists see Ukraine as completely unrelated and culturally superior to Russians. During the [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Nazi German]] occupation, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_Ukrainian_Nationalists a particularly radical bunch of Ukrainian nationalists]] [[LesCollaborateurs infamously cooperated with the Nazi authorities]] all in the name of breaking away from the Soviet Union, in the process campaigning for ethnic cleansing of both Poles and Russians in their territory (though it should be noted that this was not an unusual event in the Eastern Front; see UsefulNotes/{{Romania}}'s [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Guard Iron Guard]] and UsefulNotes/{{Croatia}}'s [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ustashe Ustaše]], which if anything were even worse).

* Ukraine used to have one of the biggest Jewish populations in Europe, second only to UsefulNotes/{{Poland}}. Before World War II, it's estimated that the country hosted around 2.7 million Jews. The Holocaust wiped out about 70% of that and the UsefulNotes/HoleInFlag did the rest. The community is now about 71,500 to 400,000 strong depending on population estimates. The country's current president, comedian-turned-politician Volodymyr Zelensky, is Jewish. In the past, Ukraine also had a Jewish prime minister, Volodymyr Grossman (2016-2019).

A notable recent event was the 2004 Orange Revolution, where peaceful demonstrations forced the re-run of a questionable election and changed the government from pro-Russian to pro-Western (later elections changed it back, but were more peaceful). Another event of note was Ukraine holding the Euro-2012 football championship, along with Poland, and preparations for the event were painstakingly made. The most notable event in Ukraine of the 2010s so far has been the semi-violent[[note]]By which we mean, there was shooting, but nothing resembling military operations, and the old leadership wasn't gunned down[[/note]] revolution of 2014 which overthrew the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych; this episode is called the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euromaidan Euromaidan]], i.e. "Europe Square" (because the triggering event was Yanukovych rejecting a deal with UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion to take a deal with the Russians) and is also known as "The Revolution of Dignity". In response, Russia annexed Crimea and started stirring up trouble in Eastern Ukraine; Wiki/TheOtherWiki has dubbed this [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Crimean_crisis the Crimean Crisis]]. For its part, Crimea seems indifferent or possibly happy to be part of Russia ([[EverythingExceptMostThings except for the Crimean Tatars]], who have terrible memories of Russian occupation; [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation_of_the_Crimean_Tatars the last time they had to deal with a Russian government]], Stalin sent them all to Central Asia), while most surveys say that Eastern Ukraine is indifferent or possibly happy to remain a (prickly) part of Ukraine (protesters aside). Or rather they ''were''. After protesters took over several regions of Eastern Ukraine, a full-on undeclared war broke out (originally commonly known as the ATO for "Anti-Terrorist Operation" but since officially renamed "Joint Forces Operation") that only seems to have calmed down with the current Minsk treaty. Oh, and "calmed down" here means that the front line didn't move significantly in either direction, but the combat itself never ceased, and there's no end in sight, with reports of losses, shootings, assaults, etc arriving every day. Despite massive amounts of evidence to the contrary (as well as witness reports), Russia has claimed to have no part in the conflict for years, instead pushing the narrative of the conflict being a "civil war" and attempting to position itself as a mediator, only to start gradually dropping all pretense in favor of ''very'' thinly veiled threats of complete military invasion by late 2021. Currently, a half of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, including both titular cities, remain out of the central government's reach.

A notable recent event was the 2004 Orange Revolution, where peaceful demonstrations forced the re-run of a questionable election and changed the government from pro-Russian to pro-Western (later elections changed it back, but were more peaceful). Another event of note was Ukraine holding the Euro-2012 football championship, along with Poland, and preparations for the event were painstakingly made. The most notable event in Ukraine of the 2010s so far has been the semi-violent[[note]]By which we mean, there was shooting, but nothing resembling military operations, and the old leadership wasn't gunned down[[/note]] revolution of 2014 which overthrew the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych; this episode is called the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euromaidan Euromaidan]], i.e. "Europe Square" (because the triggering event was Yanukovych rejecting a deal with UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion to take a deal with the Russians) and is also known as "The Revolution of Dignity". In response, Russia annexed Crimea and started stirring up trouble in Eastern Ukraine; Wiki/TheOtherWiki has dubbed this [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Crimean_crisis the Crimean Crisis]]. For its part, Crimea seems indifferent or possibly happy to be part of Russia ([[EverythingExceptMostThings except for the Crimean Tatars]], who have terrible memories of Russian occupation; [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation_of_the_Crimean_Tatars the last time they tried to rebel]], Stalin sent them all to Central Asia), while most surveys say that Eastern Ukraine is indifferent or possibly happy to remain a (prickly) part of Ukraine (protesters aside). Or rather they ''were''. After protesters took over several regions of Eastern Ukraine, a full-on undeclared war broke out (originally commonly known as the ATO for "Anti-Terrorist Operation" but since officially renamed "Joint Forces Operation") that only seems to have calmed down with the current Minsk treaty. Oh, and "calmed down" here means that the front line didn't move significantly in either direction, but the combat itself never ceased, and there's no end in sight, with reports of losses, shootings, assaults, etc arriving every day. Despite massive amounts of evidence to the contrary (as well as witness reports), Russia has claimed to have no part in the conflict for years, instead pushing the narrative of the conflict being a "civil war" and attempting to position itself as a mediator, only to start gradually dropping all pretense in favor of ''very'' thinly veiled threats of complete military invasion by late 2021. Currently, a half of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, including both titular cities, remain out of the central government's reach.

However, while many Ukrainians object to being called Russian, there are in fact a large number of people in the east of the country who are ethnically Russian. Even more people speak Russian as a mother language (the hotbed of the current separatism, Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, are more than 50% Russian speaking). This doesn't necessarily mean they want to be part of Russia, though. Historically, eastern Ukraine only became significantly populated after large-scale clearances and plantations were conducted in the 18th century, and by that time, it was under control of the Russian Empire, so Russian influence held firmly. Before that, it was WildWilderness sporadically settled by Tatars. The same holds even true for Crimea, where 90% of the population exclusively speak Russian.

Despite historically close political and cultural ties, Ukraine was never Russified to the same extent as Belarus (where Belarusian is by now only commonly spoken by 10% of the population). The War in Donbass is only the latest in a string of grievances going back centuries, starting with who can claim the mantle of the old Kievan Rus'. While Eastern Ukraine was ruled by Russia for many centuries and the Tsars attempted to impress on them the idea of being part of an All-Russian Brotherhood, many Ukrainians never quite shook the feeling that they were being ruled by a foreign power. Another issue is the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor Holodomor ("death by hunger")]], a famine which lasted from 1932-33 due to Soviet crop seizures and agricultural policies, killing around 4 million Ukrainians. Many Ukrainians consider this little less than a Soviet holocaust, while many Russians claim the famine was due to factors outside of human control. Though it should be noted that although the Holodomor is widely regarded as a crime by both sides (at least one of negligence), the real matter of heated controversy is whether it should be seen as a crime of the Soviet regime against its people (specifically UsefulNotes/JosephStalin) or as a genocidal crime of Russia against Ukraine.

Ukraine is a developing country and an emerging market. Until recently, the country was known as the "breadbasket of Europe" due to its abundance of fertile farmland. However, the long period of Soviet rule transformed the country into an industrial powerhouse, which remains today. The fall of communism dealt a heavy blow on the overall economic conditions that it never really recovered from (according to the IMF, Ukraine is currently the second-poorest country in Europe, just ahead of UsefulNotes/{{Moldova}} and below the likes of UsefulNotes/{{Albania}} and UsefulNotes/{{Bosnia}}, both experiencing similar downturn related to the fall of communism) and the War in Donbass has not made anything brighter.

* ''Manga/MagicalGirlSpecOpsAsuka's'' second major story arc goes to the disputed region of eastern Ukraine with M Squad being sent to investigate if the Donbass Republic has magical girls assisting them in their war against Kyiv.

Despite historically close political and cultural ties, Ukraine was never Russified to the same extent as Belarus (where Belarusian is by now only commonly spoken by 10% of the population). The War in Donbass is only the latest in a string of grievances going back centuries, starting with who can claim the mantle of the old Kievan Rus'. While Eastern Ukraine was ruled by Russia for many centuries and the Tsars attempted to impress on them the idea of being part of an All-Russian Brotherhood, many Ukrainians never quite shook the feeling that they were being ruled by a foreign power. Another issue is the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor Holodomor ("death by hunger")]], a famine which lasted from 1932-33 due to Soviet crop seizures and agricultural policies, killing around 4 million Ukrainians. Many Ukrainians consider this little less than a Soviet holocaust, while many Russians claim the famine was due to factors outside of human control. Though it should be noted that although the Holodomor is widely regarded as a crime by both sides (at least one of negligence), the real matter of heated controversy is whether it should be seen as a crime of the Soviet regime against its people (specifically UsefulNotes/JosephStalin) or as a crime of Russia against Ukraine.

The Kievan Rus' and its splinters formed the last "Ukrainian" state for a long, long time. In fact, for the next 700 years from the 13th century all the way up to the end of the 20th century, there was little that could conceivably be called a "Ukrainian state," with Ukrainian land being variously ruled by Tatars, [[UsefulNotes/PolishLithuanianCommonwealth Lithuanians, Poles]], [[UsefulNotes/TheSoundOfMartialMusic Austrians]], and [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Russians]]. Even [[UsefulNotes/TheCityStateEra Italians]] and Turks had a go at ruling Crimea. There was, however, a period of progressively declining autonomy in 1649-1783. In 1648, Ukraine was site of the famous Khmelnytsky Uprising, named after its leader, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, which signaled the beginning of the end of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as well as its influence over its Ruthenian subjects. Khmelnytsky was the hetman (military commander) of Zaporozhian UsefulNotes/{{Cossacks}}, a community of East Slavs who were sometimes employed for protection against the Tatars but more well-known for their inclination towards freedom from the establishment. The uprising's success led to the creation of the Cossack Hetmanate, a semi-independent state under Russian protection in Central Ukraine. Although the hetmanate was liquidated and absorbed into Russia in 1764, it became an important precedent for the idea of an independent Ukrainian state in contemporary era. Ukraine itself got its name thanks to the Cossacks; when they were still allied with Poland, the Cossacks were responsible for the outermost defense of the Commonwealth from Tatars, so their territory was called the "borderland".

* '''Highest point:''' Hoverla (2061 m/6,762 ft) (133rd)

* Music/{{Jinjer}}, a metal band from Horlivka that has been making waves in the DeathMetal scene in the 2010s.

A notable recent event was the 2004 Orange Revolution, where peaceful demonstrations forced the re-run of a questionable election and changed the government from pro-Russian to pro-Western (later elections changed it back, but were more peaceful). Another event of note was Ukraine holding the Euro-2012 football championship, along with Poland, and preparations for the event were painstakingly made. The most notable event in Ukraine of the 2010s so far has been the semi-violent[[note]]By which we mean, there was shooting, but nothing resembling military operations, and the old leadership wasn't gunned down[[/note]] revolution of 2014 which overthrew the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych; this episode is called the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euromaidan Euromaidan]], i.e. "Europe Square" (because the triggering event was Yanukovych rejecting a deal with UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion to take a deal with the Russians) and is also known as "The Revolution of Dignity". In response, Russia annexed Crimea and started stirring up trouble in Eastern Ukraine; Wiki/TheOtherWiki has dubbed this [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Crimean_crisis the Crimean Crisis]]. For its part, Crimea seems indifferent or possibly happy to be part of Russia ([[EverythingExceptMostThings except for the Crimean Tatars]], who have terrible memories of Russian occupation; [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation_of_the_Crimean_Tatars the last time they tried to rebel]], Stalin sent them all to Central Asia), while most surveys say that Eastern Ukraine is indifferent or possibly happy to remain a (prickly) part of Ukraine (protesters aside). Or rather they ''were''. After protesters took over several regions of Eastern Ukraine, a full-on undeclared war broke out (originally commonly known as the ATO for "Anti-Terrorist Operation" but since officially renamed "Joint Forces Operation") that only seems to have calmed down with the current Minsk treaty. Oh, and "calmed down" here means that the front line didn't move significantly in either direction, but the combat itself never ceased, and there's no end in sight, with reports of losses, shootings, assaults, etc arriving every day. Despite massive amounts of evidence to the contrary (not the least of which are the presence of Russian weapons in the hands of the "rebels" making the war possible in the first place, Russian [=IDs=] found on captured or killed soldiers[[note]]It should also be noted that the Russian government claims these Russian soldiers got lost or volunteered during their vacations, and fight without any orders from their commander-in-chief Vladimir Putin, putting them in direct violation of Russian laws on mercenaries, meaning they should be jailed on return to Russia, yet they aren't; Russian "news" channels encouraging the Russians to participate in the war should also find themselves in legal trouble for encouraging the transgression of this law, yet nothing of the sort happens[[/note]], overt communication with and subordination to UsefulNotes/VladimirPutin and his close ally Dmitry Kozak, and, as of 2021, flat-out admissions of the "rebels" being actively supported by Russian Department of Defense made by current and former participants[[note]]including high-profile figures like Igor Girkin and Zahar Prilepin[[/note]], Putin's allies[[note]]Sergey Markov[[/note]], and even, if one looks past the weasel words, Putin himself) , Russia claims to have no part in the conflict, instead pushing the narrative of the conflict being a "civil war" and attempting to position itself as a mediator. Currently, a half of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, including both titular cities, remain out of the central government's reach.

* Creator/MillaJovovich of ''Film/ResidentEvil'' and ''Film/TheFifthElement'' fame was born in Kyiv, although she identifies more with Russia, as she was raised in Moscow until she emigrated to the US at the age of five. Her parents are likewise not Ukrainians; her mother is a Russian actress from Tuapse (with roots in Tula), while her father is a Serbian expat from Yugoslavia.

* '''Highest point:''' Hoverla (2061 m/6,762 ft) (118th)

* '''Highest point:''' Hoverla (2061 m/6,762 ft) (136th)

* '''Highest point:''' Kebnekaise (2097 m/6,880 ft) (136th)
* '''Lowest point:''' Kristianstad (−2 m/−8 ft) (27th)

* '''ISO-3166-1 Code:''' UA

Emotions can run high when discussing the history between Russia and Ukraine, especially when you do it in front of [[PatrioticFervor nationalists]]. Some Russian nationalists see Ukraine as a part of Russia which is not and never was its own state. [[NotSoDifferent Conversely]], some Ukrainian nationalists see Ukraine as completely unrelated and culturally superior to Russians. During the [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany Nazi German]] occupation, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_of_Ukrainian_Nationalists a particularly radical bunch of Ukrainian nationalists]] [[LesCollaborateurs infamously cooperated with the Nazi authorities]] all in the name of breaking away from the Soviet Union, in the process campaigning for ethnic cleansing of both Poles and Russians in their territory (though it should be noted that this was not an unusual event in the Eastern Front; see UsefulNotes/{{Romania}}'s [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Guard Iron Guard]] and UsefulNotes/{{Croatia}}'s [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ustashe Ustaše]], which if anything were even worse).

* '''Area:''' 603,628 km (233,062 sq mi) (45th)