Ukraine

[ yoo-kreyn, -krahyn, yoo-kreyn ]

noun

1. a republic in southeastern Europe: rich agricultural and industrial region. 223,090 sq. mi. (603,700 sq. km). : Kyiv.

Ukraine

/ juːˈkreɪn /

noun

1. a republic in SE Europe, on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov: ruled by the Khazars (7th–9th centuries), by Ruik princes with the Mongol conquest in the 13th century, then by Lithuania, by Poland, and by Russia; one of the four original republics that formed the Soviet Union in 1922; unilaterally declared independence in 1990, which was recognized in 1991. Consists chiefly of lowlands; economy based on rich agriculture and mineral resources and on the major heavy industries of the Donets Basin. Official language: Ukrainian; Russian is also widely spoken. Religion: believers are mainly Christian. Currency: hryvna. Capital: Kiev. Pop: 44 573 205 (2013 est). Area: 603 700 sq km (231 990 sq miles)

Ukraine

1. Republic in southeastern Europe , bordered by Belarus to the north; Russia to the northeast and east; the Black Sea to the south; Moldova , Romania , and Hungary to the southwest; and Slovakia and Poland to the west; includes the peninsula of Crimea . Kiev is the capital and largest city.

Notes

Ukraine came under a succession of invaders and foreign rulers, including central Asian tribes, the Mongols, Lithuania , the Ottoman Empire , Poland, and finally Russia. Under oppressive Polish and Russian rule in the seventeenth century, Ukrainian fugitives, known as Cossacks , organized resistance movements.

Ukraine was traditionally home to a large Jewish population. Many Jews (see also Jews ) left Ukraine under oppressive conditions in the nineteenth century, and thousands more were exterminated by the Nazis in World War II .

Of the former Soviet republics, it is second to Russia in population.

A nationalist and cultural revival in the nineteenth century was rewarded after World War I by independence, which was, however, short-lived. Invaded by Russian troops, Ukraine became one of the original Soviet republics in 1922.

Example Sentences

So while Zelensky may not call out China as a threat, he knows that China can't be relied upon in a Russia-Ukraine crisis.

From Axios

In fact, George Bush, senior Bush, actually made a speech, I think in Kiev, Ukraine, encouraging Ukraine not to pull away from the Soviet Union, not to become independent.

From Ozy

In 2004, Viktor Yushchenko campaigned against a Putin ally for the presidency of Ukraine.

From Vox

Its cofounder and CEO, Sid Sijbrandij, lives in San Francisco and hails from the Netherlands, and the company was originally founded in Ukraine, the native home of its other cofounder, Dmitriy Zaporozhets.

From Fortune

Two days later, Ukraine’s deputy energy minister announced that Ukraine had agreed to a major LNG deal with the Americans.

From ProPublica

Instead, spa hotels filled up with over 30,000 refugees from the war-troubled Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

From The Daily Beast

It is the only tourist center Ukraine has left on the Black Sea, since Russia annexed Crimea last spring.

From The Daily Beast

While the world fixated on Ukraine and Syria, a near-genocide ripped through central Africa, to little international fanfare.

From The Daily Beast

At least 70 percent of the children were adopted from overseas, including Russia, China, Ethiopia and Ukraine.

From The Daily Beast

Putin, because of his acts in Ukraine, he lost Russkiy Mir as a phenomenon.

From The Daily Beast

By this time, however, the state of things in the Ukraine was so alarming that the new king had to hasten to the front.

From Project Gutenberg

They had come together to witness a sight never seen in Courtland before—the dread punishment of the Ukraine Cross.

From Project Gutenberg

There was much talk of getting food from the Ukraine, but this was probably used to keep up popular morale.

From Project Gutenberg

There were great delights at that time in the Ukraine for all valiant souls.

From Project Gutenberg

Since that was my first time in the Ukraine, I saw the strangest deeds and strangest things.

From Project Gutenberg

Ukraine Vs. The Ukraine

Is it Ukraine or the Ukraine?

The official name of the country is simply Ukraine—it does not use the word “the.” The use of the word the when referring to the country (once widespread but now less common) is thought to have been influenced by the period of its history when it was part of the Soviet Union. During this time, it was called the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, before gaining full independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Most Ukrainians object to the use of the before the name because it can suggest that the nation is not fully independent.