Area Total | 603,550 sq km |
Climate | temperate continental; Mediterranean only on the southern Crimean coast; precipitation disproportionately distributed, highest in west and north, lesser in east and southeast; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland; warm summers across the greater part of the country, hot in the south |
Natural Resources | iron ore, coal, manganese, natural gas, oil, salt, sulfur, graphite, titanium, magnesium, kaolin, nickel, mercury, timber, arable land |
Imports | Russia 14.5%, China 11.3%, Germany 11.2%, Poland 7%, Belarus 6.7%, US 5.1% (2017) – energy, machinery and equipment, chemicals |
Government | semi-presidential republic |
Capital | Kyiv (Kiev) |
Population | 43,952,299 (July 2018 est.) |
Ethnicity | Ukrainian 77.8%, Russian 17.3%, Belarusian 0.6%, Moldovan 0.5%, Crimean Tatar 0.5%, Bulgarian 0.4%, Hungarian 0.3%, Romanian 0.3%, Polish 0.3%, Jewish 0.2%, other 1.8% (2001 est.) |
Language | Ukrainian (official) 67.5%, Russian (regional language) 29.6%, other (includes small Crimean Tatar-, Moldovan/Romanian-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities) 2.9% (2001 est.) |
Exports | Russia 9.2%, Poland 6.5%, Turkey 5.6%, India 5.5%, Italy 5.2%, China 4.6%, Germany 4.3% (2017) – ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, foodstuffs |
News about Ukraine
- Ukraine war live: Russia launches largest drone attack on eve of third anniversary of invasionby Yohannes Lowe (now) and Daniel Lavelle (earlier) (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 23, 2025
Drones intercepted in at least 13 regions including Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv and Odesa, according to Ukrainian authoritiesThe Russian government has supported comments made by US President Donald Trump about Volodymyr Zelenskyy - such as calling the Ukrainian leader a “dictator” - are “understandable” after Zelenskyy made […]
- Starmer unlikely to unveil plan for rise in defence spending this week, says ministerby Aletha Adu Political correspondent (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 23, 2025
Bridget Phillipson calls 2.5% target ‘ambitious’ days before PM meets with Donald Trump in WashingtonKeir Starmer is unlikely to set out a plan this week for when the UK will increase its defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, a cabinet minister has indicated.The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said the target was ambitious, despite Labour previously […]
- Russians hoping for peace talks and ‘universal joy’ – but will western brands return?by Pjotr Sauer (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 23, 2025
Following last week’s US-Russia talks, the mood in Moscow suggests many are beginning to think about what a post-war reality might look likeAfter three years of war and western isolation, Russians are starting to hope that the recent flurry of US-Russia diplomacy could offer a path to peace in Ukraine – and restore the sense of normality lost when their […]
- Trump’s bullshit blitz has Europe on its knees | Stewart Leeby Stewart Lee (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 23, 2025
For the US president’s cheerleaders, the whitewashing of the deaths of ten of thousands of Ukrainians is a small price to pay for sticking it to the wokeratiWas it really only a month ago that the pole-dancer patron, fridge explorer, Brexit get-doer, model bus maker, sofa-strainer, wall-spaffer, current Daily Mail columnist and former British prime […]
- New York City’s Ukrainian community ‘disappointed’ after Trump’s ‘betrayal’by Anna Betts in New York (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 23, 2025
As the US upends decades of foreign policy, those watching the war unfold from miles away resolve to stand strongMembers of New York’s large Ukrainian community expressed a mix of disillusionment, betrayal, defiance and acute uncertainty about what the future holds for Ukraine after tensions escalated this week between Donald Trump and Volodymyr […]
- What can Keir Starmer say at the White House that Donald Trump might listen to? | Andrew Rawnsleyby Andrew Rawnsley (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 23, 2025
The stakes couldn’t be higher and the risks couldn’t be greater when the prime minister visits Washington this weekFor British prime ministers, with their ideas about the world shaped by the histories of Churchill and Roosevelt, Maggie and Ronnie, and the rest of the folklore about the transatlantic alliance, the prospect of a visit to the White House […]
- Redrawing of global energy markets map set to heap benefits on USby Jillian Ambrose (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 23, 2025
The prospects of peace and the return of Russian gas looks likely to serve the interests of Donald TrumpThe Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine three years ago has reverberated through the global energy industry; unravelling Europe’s decades-long reliance on gas imported via pipelines from Russia, and triggering a global squeeze on gas markets that unleashed […]
- ‘Starmer’s big moment’: can PM persuade Trump not to give in to Putin?by Toby Helm Political editor (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 23, 2025
The UK leader has been advised to choose his words carefully at this week’s crucial White House meeting• Keir Starmer lays down Ukraine peace demand ahead of Trump talksWhen Keir Starmer is advised on how to handle his crucial meeting with Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, he will be told by advisers from Downing Street and the Foreign Office […]
- Ukraine war briefing: Volodymyr Zelenskyy praises Keir Starmer for pledge of ‘ironclad support’by Guardian staff and agencies (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 23, 2025
British prime minister insists Ukraine must be ‘at the heart of any negotiations’ on a peace deal. What we know on day 1,096Europe live: latest news on the Ukraine warVolodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday praised the UK for showing “leadership” on the war with Russia after the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, pledged his “ironclad support” for […]
- US politics live: Donald Trump addresses Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland – as it happenedby Maya Yang (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 22, 2025
US president’s 75-minute tirade of repeated false claims ranges from voter fraud and stolen-election lies to foreign wars. This blog is now closed.Donald Trump launched into his speech by assailing “the fraudsters, liars … globalists and deep-state bureaucrats” that he said “are being sent back”.“We’re draining the swamp and restoring […]
- Keir Starmer lays down Ukraine peace demand ahead of Trump talksby Toby Helm and Luke Harding in Kyiv (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 22, 2025
Kyiv ‘must be at the heart of negotiations’ says PM as foreign secretary announces new Russia sanctionsKeir Starmer has raised the stakes before a crucial meeting in Washington with the US president, Donald Trump this week, by insisting that Ukraine must be “at the heart of any negotiations” on a peace deal with Russia.The prime minister made the […]
- The Observer view of US foreign policy: A dangerous new international order is unfolding | Observer editorialby Observer editorial (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 22, 2025
Thanks to Donald Trump, a new era of great power imperialism fuelled by authoritarianism and hyper-nationalism is unfoldingA torrent of abrupt US policy reversals, resets and revisions since Donald Trump returned to the White House last month has left America’s friends and enemies struggling to keep up. Trump’s desire both to upend and dominate the […]
- Chris Riddell on Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump: the angels of peace descend on Ukraine – cartoonby Chris Riddell (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 22, 2025
The US president, on a Russian leash, holds talks that exclude the invaded countryYou can buy a copy of this cartoon Continue reading...
- Steve Witkoff: from property developer to global spotlight as Trump’s tough-talking troubleshooterby Julian Borger in Jerusalem (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 22, 2025
His friendship with the president dates back to a late-night encounter in a deli. Now he is a loyal envoy brokering the Gaza ceasefire and peace talks on UkraineWith the first phase of the ceasefire nearing its end, an American property developer has emerged as a key figure in determining whether Gaza attains a more enduring peace or slips back into […]
- From saviour to Judas… How Trump’s pivot on Russia also endangers his own country | Simon Tisdallby Simon Tisdall (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 22, 2025
With a Putin-appeasing president at the helm, it is clear the transatlantic alliance is collapsing and European leaders must plot their own courseHow do I betray thee? Let me count the ways… Apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning for mangling her celebrated poem to reflect Donald Trump’s multiple Ukraine treacheries. This most perfidious of presidents […]
- Russia and US could meet again within weeks to discuss Ukraine, Moscow says – as it happenedby Charlie Moloney (now) and Aneesa Ahmed (earlier) (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 22, 2025
This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereDonald Trump’s shocking and mendacious attack this week on the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as a “dictator” while cozying up to the Russian president and indicating that traditional US security support for Europe is waning may have alarmed US allies abroad but has prompted a […]
- Preparations under way for meeting between Trump and Putin, Russia saysby PA Media (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 22, 2025
Russian and US leaders will meet face to face in move towards normalising relations, deputy foreign minister saysPreparations for a face-to-face meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are under way, Russia’s deputy foreign minister has said.The event would mark a dramatic shift away from western isolation of Moscow, which has been in place since […]
- Donald Trump sidesteps question on whether Vladimir Putin is a dictator – videoby (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 22, 2025
The US president, Donald Trump, sidestepped a question at the Oval Office on Friday about whether he considered the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to be a dictator after Trump called Volodymyr Zelenskyy one last week. Trump was taking questions from reporters when the issue was raised, and he stated that he wanted to 'stop the killing' and secure a […]
- What have three years of Putin’s war done to both nations’ economies?by Phillip Inman Economics editor (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 22, 2025
As the invasion enters its fourth year, analysts are examining the health of Ukraine and Russia, and who will be the better prospect for investors once the conflict ends. The answers are not as predictable as one might thinkAs Ukrainians prepare to enter their fourth year dealing with the harsh daily realities of life during conflict with Russia, few will […]
- ‘It’s blackmail’: Ukrainians react to Trump demand for $500bn share of mineralsby Luke Harding in Liodiane, pictures by Julia Kochetova (Ukraine | The Guardian) on February 22, 2025
Ukraine’s lithium deposits are among biggest in Europe and the US is looking for ‘payback’ for previous military assistanceDrawing in the snow with his finger, Mykola Hrechukha sketched out how Ukraine’s new lithium mine might look. It would have a deep central shaft, with a series of side tunnels, he said. “The lithium is good everywhere. The […]