158-665: Relations between Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) started in 1991 following Ukraine's independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Ukraine-NATO ties gradually strengthened during the 1990s and 2000s, and Ukraine aimed to eventually join the alliance. Although co-operating with NATO, Ukraine remained a neutral country . After it was attacked by Russia in 2014, Ukraine has increasingly sought NATO membership. Ukraine joined NATO's Partnership for Peace in 1994 and
316-560: A NATO membership . It was claimed that the PfP was used to delay decisions regarding the move towards expanding NATO membership to non-NATO members in Europe . It was also perceived as a devised plot by the West to prepare Eastern European states for the formation of a European Union by turning them into democratic states through military cooperation. By mid-October 1994, 22 states were part of
474-701: A coup d'état led by Pavlo Skoropadskyi , which yielded the Ukrainian State under the German protectorate, and the attempt to restore the UNR under the Directorate ultimately failed as the Ukrainian army was regularly overrun by other forces. The short-lived West Ukrainian People's Republic and Hutsul Republic also failed to join the rest of Ukraine. The result of the conflict was a partial victory for
632-587: A famine known as the Holodomor or the "Great Famine", which was recognized by some countries as an act of genocide perpetrated by Joseph Stalin and other Soviet notables. Following on the Russian Civil War and collectivisation, the Great Purge , while killing Stalin's perceived political enemies, resulted in a profound loss of a new generation of Ukrainian intelligentsia , known today as
790-556: A "European, non-aligned state." As of May 2010, NATO and Ukraine continued to cooperate in the framework of the Annual National Program , including joint exercises . According to Ukraine the continuation of Ukraine-NATO cooperation does not exclude the development of a strategic partnership with Russia . On 27 May 2010 Yanukovych stated that he considered Ukraine's relations with NATO as a partnership, "And Ukraine can't live without this [partnership], because Ukraine
948-547: A European leader in industrial production and an important centre of the Soviet arms industry and high-tech research, though heavy industry still had an outsided influence. The Soviet government invested in hydroelectric and nuclear power projects to cater to the energy demand that the development carried. On 26 April 1986, however, a reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded, resulting in
1106-473: A NATO MAP at the December meeting. In a Times of London interview in late November, Yushchenko stated: "Ukraine has done everything it had to do. We are devoted to this pace. Everything else is an issue of political will of those allies who represent NATO." Although NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary-General Aurelia Bouchez and Secretary-General Scheffer still supported Ukraine's NATO bid at the time. However,
1264-700: A bid to get rid of Russian dependence, but they were crushed in the Battle of Poltava (1709). The Hetmanate's autonomy was severely restricted since Poltava. In the years 1764–1781, Catherine the Great incorporated much of Central Ukraine into the Russian Empire , abolishing the Cossack Hetmanate and the Zaporozhian Sich , and was one of the people responsible for the suppression of
1422-667: A devastating 30-year war amongst Russia, Poland, the Crimean Khanate , the Ottoman Empire , and Cossacks , known as " The Ruin " (1657–1686), for control of the Cossack Hetmanate. The Treaty of Perpetual Peace between Russia and Poland in 1686 divided the lands of the Cossack Hetmanate between them, reducing the portion over which Poland had claimed sovereignty to Ukraine west of the Dnieper river. In 1686,
1580-497: A full member of NATO, is likely to veto any attempt by Cyprus to engage with NATO until the dispute is resolved. President Nicos Anastasiades publicly supported PfP membership for Cyprus, though his foreign minister and successor Nikos Christodoulides has dismissed the idea, preferring to keep the country's foreign and defence affairs within the framework of the European Union. Kosovo has described PfP membership as
1738-455: A further blow to Moscow's influence in Ukraine. Finally, amid a full-scale war with Russia, Ukraine was granted candidate status to the European Union on 23 June 2022. A broad anti-corruption drive began in early 2023 with the resignations of several deputy ministers and regional heads during a reshuffle of the government. Ukraine is the second-largest European country , after Russia, and
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#17327836716301896-711: A meeting for NATO defense ministers was held. In the meeting, the US proposed a program called the Partnership for Peace in response to issues in Eastern Europe. This initiative was designed by the US Secretary of Defense Les Aspin who did not want to exclude Russia from international security arrangements. This was mainly an initiative launched to encourage states to build democracy and active participation towards maintaining international security. The program
2054-548: A member of NATO. Petro Poroshenko was elected president on 25 May 2014 . On 1 October 2014, Jens Stoltenberg took over the position of NATO Secretary-General. On 29 August 2014, following reports that the Russian military was operating within Ukraine , Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced that he would ask the Ukrainian parliament to put Ukraine on a path towards NATO membership. The government has also signaled that it hoped for major non-NATO ally status with
2212-729: A member of the Council of Europe , the World Trade Organization , and the OSCE . It is in the process of joining the European Union and has applied to join NATO. The name of Ukraine is frequently interpreted as coming from the old Slavic term for 'borderland' as is the word krajina . Another interpretation is that the name of Ukraine means "region" or "country." In the English-speaking world during most of
2370-750: A member of the Shmyhal Government (Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna ) the "letter of three" had "not been withdrawn since then." " European integration " was still part of Ukraine's national security strategy. On 24 June 2010 the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers approved an action plan to implement an annual national program of cooperation with NATO in 2010. This included: Ukraine and NATO continued to hold joint seminars and joint tactical and strategical exercises and operations during Yanukovych Presidency. Yanukovych fled Ukraine amid
2528-573: A member of the Alliance. During the 2010 presidential election campaign, Party of Regions leader and candidate Viktor Yanukovych stated that the current level of Ukraine's cooperation with NATO was sufficient and that the question of the country's accession to the alliance was therefore not urgent. Yanukovych's victory in the election marked a turnaround in Ukraine's relations with NATO. On 14 February 2010, Yanukovych said that Ukraine's relations with NATO were currently "well-defined", and that there
2686-752: A membership into the NATO alliance and also the formation of an alternative program. The concept of the PfP was first discussed by the Bulgarian society Novae , after being proposed as an American initiative at the meeting of NATO defense ministers in Travemünde , Germany , between October 20 and 21, 1993, and it was formally launched on January 10–11, 1994, at the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium. According to declassified U.S. State Department records, President Clinton characterized to President Yeltsin
2844-509: A part of the broader Russian Civil War , devastated the whole of the former Russian Empire , including eastern and central Ukraine. The fighting left over 1.5 million people dead and hundreds of thousands homeless in the former Russian Empire's territory. The eastern provinces were additionally impacted by a famine in 1921 . During the inter-war period, in Poland , Marshal Józef Piłsudski sought Ukrainian support by offering local autonomy as
3002-644: A permanent International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) headquarters in Kabul . Since then, the operation has grown to about 120,000 troops from 47 countries. During NATO's 2004 Istanbul Summit , the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative was launched. During this summit, six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council were included. Over the course of the summit, NATO also established the less formalized Partners across
3160-445: A priority. On 23 December 2014, the Ukrainian parliament renounced Ukraine's non-aligned status , a step harshly condemned by Russia. The new law stated that Ukraine's previous non-aligned status "proved to be ineffective in guaranteeing Ukraine's security and protecting the country from external aggression and pressure" and also aimed to deepen Ukrainian cooperation with NATO "to achieve the criteria which are required for membership in
3318-821: A protocol of mutual understanding). US President George W. Bush and both nominees for President of the United States in the 2008 election , U.S. senator Barack Obama and U.S. senator John McCain , did offer backing to Ukraine's membership of NATO. Russian reactions were negative. In April 2008, Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke out against Ukraine's membership in NATO. At the NATO summit in Bucharest in April 2008, NATO decided it would not yet offer membership to Georgia and Ukraine; nevertheless, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that Georgia and Ukraine would eventually become members. Even though it
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#17327836716303476-624: A situation in which they had to reconsider maintaining military neutrality in the current international political unipolar system . In June 1997, a senior NATO official said a broader role was aimed at working closer with NATO and finally joining the alliance. While the PfP provides a framework for cooperative relations with Russia , it did not include a membership into NATO. Although the PfP has made important contributions to crisis management, such as peacekeeping operations, Ireland and Austria are still not NATO members. In 2001, NATO granted participation in its Membership Action Plan (MAP) to nine of
3634-516: A sort of frozen state until the early hours of 24 February 2022, when Russia proceeded with an ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops control about 17% of Ukraine's internationally recognized territory, which constitutes 94% of Luhansk Oblast , 73% of Kherson Oblast , 72% of Zaporizhzhia Oblast , 54% of Donetsk Oblast and all of Crimea, though Russia failed with its initial plan, with Ukrainian troops recapturing some territory in counteroffensives. The military conflict with Russia shifted
3792-640: A tactical and strategic objective of the government. Kosovo submitted an application to join the PfP program in July 2012. However, four NATO member states , Greece , Romania , Slovakia and Spain , do not recognize Kosovo's independence and have threatened to block its participation in the program. To be eligible to join, the Kosovar Armed Forces must be established from the Kosovo Security Force . 16 former member states of
3950-599: A way to minimise Soviet influence in Poland's eastern Kresy region. However, this approach was abandoned after Piłsudski's death in 1935, due to continued unrest among the Ukrainian population, including assassinations of Polish government officials by the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN); with the Polish government responding by restricting rights of people who declared Ukrainian nationality. In consequence,
4108-804: Is Hoverla at 2,061 metres (6,762 ft), and the Crimean Mountains , in the extreme south along the coast. Ukraine also has a number of highland regions such as the Volyn-Podillia Upland (in the west) and the Near-Dnipro Upland (on the right bank of the Dnieper). To the east there are the south-western spurs of the Central Russian Upland over which runs the border with Russia. Near the Sea of Azov are
4266-559: Is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) program aimed at creating trust and cooperation between the member states of NATO and other states mostly in Europe , including post-Soviet states ; 18 states are members. The program contains 6 areas of cooperation, which aims to build relationships with partners through military-to-military cooperation on training, exercises, disaster planning and response, science and environmental issues, professionalization, policy planning, and relations with civilian government. During policy negotiations in
4424-586: Is a large country." On 3 June 2010 the Ukrainian parliament passed a bill proposed by the President that excluded the goal of "integration into Euro-Atlantic security and NATO membership" from the country's national security strategy. The law precluded Ukraine's membership of any military bloc, but allowed for co-operation with alliances such as NATO. According to at least one encyclopedia this marks "when [the Ukrainian government] officially abandoned its goal of joining NATO", although as late as May 2022 according to
4582-411: Is celebrated as one of eleven Ukrainian national holidays. The republic was heavily damaged by the war, and it required significant efforts to recover. More than 700 cities and towns and 28,000 villages were destroyed. The situation was worsened by a famine in 1946–1947, which was caused by a drought and the wartime destruction of infrastructure, killing at least tens of thousands of people. In 1945,
4740-555: Is considered a middle power in global affairs, and the Ukrainian Armed Force is the fifth largest armed force in the world in terms of both active personnel as well as total number of personnel with the eighth largest defence budget in the world. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also operates one of the largest and most diverse drone fleets in the world. It is a founding member of the United Nations , as well as
4898-553: Is now rarer, and style guides advise against its use. US ambassador William Taylor said that using "the Ukraine" implies disregard for Ukrainian sovereignty. The official Ukrainian position is that "the Ukraine" is both grammatically and politically incorrect. 1.4 million year old stone tools from Korolevo , western Ukraine, are the earliest securely dated hominin presence in Europe. Settlement by modern humans in Ukraine and its vicinity dates back to 32,000 BC, with evidence of
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5056-727: The Primary Chronicle , the Rus' people initially consisted of Varangians from Scandinavia . In 882, the pagan Prince Oleg (Oleh) conquered Kyiv from Askold and Dir and proclaimed it as the new capital of the Rus'. Anti-Normanist historians however argue that the East Slavic tribes along the southern parts of the Dnieper River were already in the process of forming a state independently. The Varangian elite, including
5214-499: The Belavezha Accords and made Ukraine a founding member of the much looser Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), though Ukraine never became a full member of the latter as it did not ratify the agreement founding CIS. These documents sealed the fate of the Soviet Union, which formally voted itself out of existence on 26 December. Ukraine was initially viewed as having favourable economic conditions in comparison to
5372-805: The Bush administration seemed not to push for Georgian and Ukrainian MAPs in late November 2008. Condoleezza Rice told a press conference, "We believe that the NATO-Georgia Commission and the NATO-Ukraine Commission can be the bodies with which we intensify our dialogue and our activities. And, therefore, there does not need at this point in time to be any discussion of MAP." President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev responded that "reason has prevailed." On 3 December 2008 NATO decided on an Annual National Programme of providing assistance to Ukraine to implement reforms required to accede
5530-583: The COVID-19 pandemic , which arrived in 2020, were made much harder by low vaccination rates and, later in the pandemic, by the ongoing invasion. From the political perspective, one of the defining features of the politics of Ukraine is that for most of the time, it has been divided along two issues: the relation between Ukraine, the West and Russia, and the classical left-right divide. The first two presidents, Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma , tended to balance
5688-458: The Chernobyl disaster , the worst nuclear reactor accident in history. Mikhail Gorbachev pursued a policy of limited liberalization of public life, known as perestroika , and attempted to reform a stagnating economy . The latter failed, but the democratization of the Soviet Union fuelled nationalist and separatist tendencies among the ethnic minorities, including Ukrainians. As part of
5846-607: The Cossack Hetmanate , which existed until 1764 (some sources claim until 1782). After Khmelnytsky suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Berestechko in 1651, he turned to the Russian tsar for help. In 1654, Khmelnytsky was subject to the Pereiaslav Agreement , forming a military and political alliance with Russia that acknowledged loyalty to the Russian monarch. After his death, the Hetmanate went through
6004-753: The Crimean Khanate on the Crimean Peninsula and the surrounding steppes; the Khanate orchestrated Tatar slave raids . Over the next three centuries, the Crimean slave trade would enslave an estimated two million in the region. In 1569, the Union of Lublin established the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , and most of the Ukrainian lands were transferred from Lithuania to the Crown of
6162-657: The Dnieper ( Dnipro ), Seversky Donets , Dniester and the Southern Bug as they flow south into the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov . To the southwest, the Danube Delta forms the border with Romania. Ukraine's regions have diverse geographic features, ranging from the highlands to the lowlands. The country's only mountains are the Carpathian Mountains in the west, of which the highest
6320-608: The Euromaidan to oppose Yanukovych's refusal to sign the European Union–Ukraine Association Agreement . By the end of the protests on 21 February 2014, he fled from Ukraine and was removed by the parliament in what is termed the Revolution of Dignity , but Russia refused to recognize the interim pro-Western government, calling it a junta and denouncing the events as a coup d'état sponsored by
6478-510: The Euromaidan uprising in February 2014. NATO officials vowed support for Ukraine and worked to downplay tensions between the bloc and Russia. In late February 2014, Secretary-General Rasmussen reaffirmed that NATO membership was still an option for Ukraine. As a result of this revolution , the interim Yatsenyuk Government came to power on 26 February in Ukraine. The Yatsenyuk Government initially stated that it did not intend to make Ukraine
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6636-705: The Executed Renaissance . Following the Invasion of Poland in September 1939, German and Soviet troops divided the territory of Poland. Thus, Eastern Galicia and Volhynia with their Ukrainian population became part of Ukraine. For the first time in history, the nation was united. Further territorial gains were secured in 1940, when the Ukrainian SSR incorporated the northern and southern districts of Bessarabia , Northern Bukovina , and
6794-412: The Gravettian culture in the Crimean Mountains . By 4,500 BC, the Neolithic Cucuteni–Trypillia culture was flourishing in wide areas of modern Ukraine, including Trypillia and the entire Dnieper - Dniester region. Ukraine is considered to be the likely location of the first domestication of the horse . The Kurgan hypothesis places the Volga-Dnieper region of Ukraine and southern Russia as
6952-432: The Heads of State meeting in Warsaw . Ukraine declared a goal for their armed forces to become interoperable with those of NATO by 2020; the CAPU was designed to meet the needs of this process. The CAPU contained more than 40 targeted support measures in key areas like: On 8 June 2017 the Verkhovna Rada passed a law making integration with NATO a foreign policy priority. In July 2017 Poroshenko announced that he would seek
7110-499: The Hertsa region from the territories the USSR forced Romania to cede , though it handed over the western part of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic to the newly created Moldavian SSR . These territorial gains of the USSR were internationally recognized by the Paris peace treaties of 1947 . German armies invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, initiating nearly four years of total war . The Axis initially advanced against desperate but unsuccessful efforts of
7268-401: The Holodomor , a human-made famine . The German occupation during World War II in Ukraine was devastating, with 7 million Ukrainian civilians killed, including most Ukrainian Jews . Ukraine gained independence in 1991 as the Soviet Union dissolved , and declared itself neutral . A new constitution was adopted in 1996. A series of mass demonstrations, known as the Euromaidan , led to
7426-496: The Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . From the mid-13th century to the late 1400s, the Republic of Genoa founded numerous colonies on the northern coast of the Black Sea and transformed these into large commercial centers headed by the consul, a representative of the Republic. In 1430, the region of Podolia was incorporated into Poland, and the lands of modern-day Ukraine became increasingly settled by Poles . In 1441, Genghisid prince Haci I Giray founded
7584-412: The Metropolitanate of Kyiv was annexed by the Moscow Patriarchate through a synodal letter of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Dionysius IV , thus placing the Metropolitanate of Kyiv under the authority of Moscow . An attempt to reverse the decline was undertaken by Cossack Hetman Ivan Mazepa (1639–1709), who ultimately defected to the Swedes in the Great Northern War (1700–1721) in
7742-410: The North Atlantic Cooperation Council after regaining its independence, later renamed the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council . On 22 and 23 February 1992, NATO Secretary-General Manfred Wörner paid an official visit to Kyiv, and on 8 July 1992, Kravchuk visited NATO Headquarters in Brussels. An important event in the development of relations between Ukraine and NATO was the opening in September 1992 of
7900-409: The Principality of Galicia–Volhynia . Daniel of Galicia , son of Roman the Great , re-united much of south-western Rus', including Volhynia , Galicia , as well as Kyiv. He was subsequently crowned by a papal envoy as the first king of Galicia–Volhynia (also known as the Kingdom of Ruthenia ) in 1253. In 1349, in the aftermath of the Galicia–Volhynia Wars , the region was partitioned between
8058-401: The Red , White , Black and Green armies , with the Poles, Hungarians (in Transcarpathia ), and Germans also intervening at various times. An attempt to create an independent state, the left-leaning Ukrainian People's Republic (UNR), was first announced by Mykhailo Hrushevsky , but the period was plagued by an extremely unstable political and military environment. It was first deposed in
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#17327836716308216-506: The Red Army . In the battle of Kyiv , the city was acclaimed as a " Hero City ", because of its fierce resistance . More than 600,000 Soviet soldiers (or one-quarter of the Soviet Western Front ) were killed or taken captive there, with many suffering severe mistreatment . After its conquest, most of the Ukrainian SSR was organised within the Reichskommissariat Ukraine , with the intention of exploiting its resources and eventual German settlement. Some western Ukrainians, who had only joined
8374-429: The Russian Empire . Ukrainian nationalism developed and, following the Russian Revolution in 1917, the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic was formed. The Bolsheviks consolidated control over much of the former empire and established the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic , which became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union when it was formed in 1922. In the early 1930s, millions of Ukrainians died in
8532-477: The Russo-Ukrainian conflict . In early 2021, the Russian military began massing on Ukraine's borders. At the June 2021 Brussels summit , NATO leaders reiterated the statement made at the 2008 Bucharest summit that Ukraine would eventually join NATO. In late 2021, there was another massive Russian military buildup around Ukraine. Russia's Foreign Ministry demanded that Ukraine be forbidden from ever joining NATO. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg replied that
8690-450: The Second Polish Republic , which annexed the Western Ukrainian provinces, as well as a larger-scale victory for the pro-Soviet forces, which succeeded in dislodging the remaining factions and eventually established the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Soviet Ukraine). Meanwhile, modern-day Bukovina was occupied by Romania and Carpathian Ruthenia was admitted to Czechoslovakia as an autonomous region. The conflict over Ukraine,
8848-478: The South Caucasus . The Partnership for Peace has had ramification on its budget caused by the ever-changing formation of members. For instance, the average annual Wales Initiative Funding (WIF) established for the program was set at $ 43 million during the fiscal years of 1996 to 2005. In consequence of a decline in the number of countries participating in the program, annual funding was reduced to $ 29 million in fiscal years 2006 through 2010. Another factor includes
9006-452: The United States and Brazil . Some of the Ukrainians settled in the Far East, too. According to the 1897 census , there were 223,000 ethnic Ukrainians in Siberia and 102,000 in Central Asia . An additional 1.6 million emigrated to the east in the ten years after the opening of the Trans-Siberian Railway in 1906. Far Eastern areas with an ethnic Ukrainian population became known as Green Ukraine . Ukraine plunged into turmoil with
9164-400: The linguistic homeland of the Proto-Indo-Europeans . Early Indo-European migrations from the Pontic steppes in the 3rd millennium BC spread Yamnaya Steppe pastoralist ancestry and Indo-European languages across large parts of Europe. During the Iron Age , the land was inhabited by Iranian -speaking Cimmerians , Scythians , and Sarmatians . Between 700 BC and 200 BC it
9322-442: The 11th and 12th centuries, the nomadic confederacy of the Turkic -speaking Cumans and Kipchaks was the dominant force in the Pontic steppe north of the Black Sea. The Mongol invasions in the mid-13th century devastated Kievan Rus'; following the Siege of Kyiv in 1240 , the city was destroyed by the Mongols. In the western territories, the principalities of Halych and Volhynia had arisen earlier, and were merged to form
9480-513: The 1930s. However, as a consequence of Stalin's new policy, the Ukrainian peasantry suffered from the programme of collectivization of agricultural crops. Collectivization was part of the first five-year plan and was enforced by regular troops and the secret police known as Cheka . Those who resisted were arrested and deported to gulags and work camps. As members of the collective farms were sometimes not allowed to receive any grain until unrealistic quotas were met, millions starved to death in
9638-459: The 1990s, a primary controversy regarding PfP was its ability to be interpreted as a program that is a stepping stone for joining NATO with full Article 5 guarantees. Amidst the security concerns in Eastern Europe after the Cold War and dissolution of the Soviet Union , and also due to the failure of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC), the program was launched during the summit in Brussels, Belgium between January 10 and 11, 1994. In
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#17327836716309796-431: The 20th century, Ukraine (whether independent or not) was referred to as "the Ukraine". This is because the word ukraina means 'borderland' so the definite article would be natural in the English language; this is similar to Nederlanden , which means 'low lands' and is rendered in English as " the Netherlands ". However, since Ukraine's declaration of independence in 1991, this usage has become politicised and
9954-417: The 26 PfP countries. In 2002, NATO began the Individual Partnership Action Plan (IPAP) initiative during the 2002 Prague Summit . The goal of this plan was to provide member states of PfP a chance to be granted assistance from NATO to "establish reform goals" without the pressure of committing to NATO. In 2003, the alliance assumed strategic command, control, and coordination of the mission and established
10112-420: The Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1982. However, it was he and his appointee in Ukraine , Volodymyr Shcherbytsky , who presided over the extensive Russification of Ukraine and who were instrumental in repressing a new generation of Ukrainian intellectuals known as the Sixtiers . By 1950, the republic had fully surpassed pre-war levels of industry and production. Soviet Ukraine soon became
10270-485: The Congress-approved Global Security Contingency Fund . Under the program, the US Army was to train three battalions of Ukrainian troops over a six-month period beginning in April 2015, Others initiatives include Exercise Sea Breeze 2015 (total 2,500 personnel of which 1,000 US military and 500 military from NATO or " Partnership for Peace " countries), "Saber Guardian/Rapid Trident – 2015" (total 2,100 members, including 500 US military and 600 NATO/PfP personnel), as well as
10428-419: The Constitution as a foreign political landmark." Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe . It is the second-largest European country after Russia , which borders it to the east and northeast. It also borders Belarus to the north; Poland and Slovakia to the west; Hungary , Romania and Moldova to the southwest; with a coastline along the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to
10586-420: The Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia (which was attended by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Anatoliy Hrytsenko ) – it was announced that these states were ready to support Ukraine's entry into NATO. As stated, a necessary condition for this should be the support of this step by the Ukrainian society and the achievement of internal stability in Ukraine. On 27 April 2006 at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers,
10744-448: The Donets Ridge and the Near Azov Upland. The snow melt from the mountains feeds the rivers and their waterfalls . Significant natural resources in Ukraine include lithium , natural gas, kaolin , timber and an abundance of arable land . Ukraine has many environmental issues. Some regions lack adequate supplies of potable water. Air and water pollution affects the country, as well as deforestation, and radiation contamination in
10902-401: The EU a central goal and the main foreign policy objective. On 7 February 2019 the Ukrainian parliament voted with a majority of 334 out of 385 to change the Ukrainian constitution to help Ukraine to join NATO and the European Union . After the vote, Poroshenko declared: "This is the day when the movement of Ukraine to the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance will be consolidated in
11060-418: The Embassy of Ukraine in Brussels, which was a link in contacts between Ukraine and NATO. A few years later, in February 1994, Ukraine was the first post-Soviet country to conclude a framework agreement with NATO in the framework of the Partnership for Peace initiative, supporting the initiative of Central and Eastern European countries to join NATO. Leonid Kuchma , who became president in July 1994, signed
11218-469: The Foreign Ministers of the NATO countries, a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission was held, which opened a new stage in Ukraine's relations with the alliance – "intensive dialogue", which was intended to be the first step towards Ukraine's entry into NATO. During President Viktor Yushchenko's first official visit to the United States, President George W. Bush declared: "I am a supporter of the idea of Ukraine's membership in NATO." A joint official statement by
11376-543: The Globe initiative. The 2008 Russo-Georgian War had implications for the Partnership for Peace. President Dmitry Medvedev referred to an attack by Georgia against a Russian military base in Tskhinvali , the capital of South Ossetia , as "Russia's 9/11 ". The subsequent expansion of the previously bilateral Georgia Train and Equip Program , which had been established within the context of Georgia's participation in
11534-610: The Great (980–1015), who introduced Christianity . During the reign of his son, Yaroslav the Wise (1019–1054), Kievan Rus' reached the zenith of its cultural development and military power. The state soon fragmented as the relative importance of regional powers rose again. After a final resurgence under the rule of Vladimir II Monomakh (1113–1125) and his son Mstislav (1125–1132), Kievan Rus' finally disintegrated into separate principalities following Mstislav's death, though ownership of Kyiv would still carry great prestige for decades. In
11692-597: The Kingdom of Poland , becoming de jure Polish territory. Under the pressures of Polonisation , many landed gentry of Ruthenia converted to Catholicism and joined the circles of the Polish nobility ; others joined the newly created Ruthenian Uniate Church . Deprived of native protectors among the Ruthenian nobility, the peasants and townspeople began turning for protection to the emerging Zaporozhian Cossacks . In
11850-462: The NACC. The emergence of new states such as Croatia and Ukraine, along with the split of Czechoslovakia, led to Slovakian Foreign Minister, Milan Kňažko , urging the creation of a security framework that would facilitate cooperation on all levels with NATO. The shortcomings of the NACC in their insufficiency when dealing with fast-paced regional events, resulted in heightened pressure by NACC members for
12008-460: The NATO alliance. NATO along with the US government announced that the existing alliance members would only need minimal contributions towards the cost of the initiative while the PfP members would have to fund for most of the cost of the program. The PfP also increased the possibility for participating states who were not part of the NATO alliance to be an official member, but never actually guaranteed
12166-728: The NATO enlargement summit in November 2002, the NATO–Ukraine commission adopted a NATO-Ukraine Action Plan. President Kuchma 's declaration that Ukraine wanted to join NATO (also in 2002) and the sending of Ukrainian troops to Iraq in 2003 could not mend relations between Kuchma and NATO. Until 2006 the Ukrainian Armed Forces worked with NATO in Iraq. Most officials believed it would be too risky to allow Ukraine to join NATO as it would upset Russia greatly. On 6 April 2004
12324-462: The NATO via the MAP programme at the Bucharest summit." The Ukrainian parliament headed by Arseniy Yatsenyuk was unable to hold its regular parliamentary session following the decision of the parliamentary opposition to prevent the parliament from functioning in a protest against joining NATO . The parliament was blocked from 25 January 2008 until 4 March 2008 (on 29 February 2008 faction leaders agreed on
12482-593: The NATO-Ukraine Commission in 1997, then agreed the NATO-Ukraine Action Plan in 2002 and entered into NATO's Intensified Dialogue program in 2005. In 2010, during the premiership of Viktor Yanukovych , the Ukrainian parliament voted to abandon the goal of NATO membership and re-affirm Ukraine's neutral status, while continuing its co-operation with NATO. In the February 2014 Ukrainian Revolution , Ukraine's parliament voted to remove Yanukovych, but
12640-693: The OUN to create a homogeneous Ukrainian state without a Polish minority living within its borders, and to prevent the post-war Polish state from asserting its sovereignty over areas that had been part of pre-war Poland. After the war, the UPA continued to fight the USSR until the 1950s. At the same time, the Ukrainian Liberation Army , another nationalist movement, fought alongside the Nazis. In total,
12798-511: The PfP (namely Albania , Bulgaria , Croatia , Czech Republic , Estonia , Finland , Hungary , Latvia , Lithuania , Montenegro , North Macedonia , Poland , Romania , Slovakia , Slovenia and Sweden ) have subsequently joined NATO. During the post-Cold War era, equal distribution of opportunities to contribute to peacekeeping operations was made, but the status of middle and neutral powers such as Sweden , Finland , and Ireland also decreased. Therefore, neutral countries also faced
12956-474: The PfP as a "track that will lead to NATO membership" and that "does not draw another line dividing Europe a few hundred miles to the east". In September 1994 Clinton told Yeltsin that NATO would expand, but there was no timetable. By that time, Yeltsin had claimed a Russian sphere of influence covering the Commonwealth of Independent States . Between October 20 and 21, 1993, in Travemünde, Germany ,
13114-622: The PfP, the former in November 2021. Austria 's participation in PfP was strengthened in 1996. Their views on PfP focused on maintaining the ability and readiness to contribute to operations "under the authority and/or responsibility of the United Nations and/or NATO and/or the OSCE ". An important area of Austrian PfP contribution is private emergency planning. 30% of all PfP activities in this field came from Austria in 1997. In that year, Austria participated in 227 activities, including 14 peacekeeping operations involving 713 people, within
13272-573: The PfP, was viewed with alarm in Moscow. As of 2023, Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only remaining participant in NATO's Membership Action Plan (MAP). The PfP has pushed for education programs amongst members of both NATO and the PfP composed of professional military education. Its purpose is to "contribute to peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic region and beyond". These education programs and training are mostly focused on Central Asia and
13430-594: The PfP. On April 26, 1995, Malta became a member of PfP; it left on October 27, 1996, in order to maintain its neutrality. On March 20, 2008, Malta decided to reactivate its PfP membership; this was accepted by NATO at the summit in Bucharest on April 3, 2008. During the NATO summit in Riga on November 29, 2006, Bosnia and Herzegovina , Montenegro , and Serbia were invited to join PfP, which they did on December 14, 2006. Belarus and Russia were suspended from
13588-530: The Russo-Ukrainian War, and there has been overwhelming public support for joining NATO since the 2022 Russian invasion. Ukraine's Declaration of Sovereignty , adopted by parliament in 1990, declared it had the "intention of becoming a permanently neutral state that does not participate in military blocs and adheres to three nuclear free principles" (art. 9). Relations between Ukraine and NATO were formally established in 1992, when Ukraine joined
13746-552: The Soviet Union and even Russia itself to work together "for the best possible future for Europe". The PfP Framework Document presented six areas of cooperation, including: States were also promised offices at the NATO headquarters and at a Partnership Coordination Cell which was located near the SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) . States participating in the initiative were to receive perks for cooperating, albeit less than states who had already had full membership in
13904-523: The Soviet Union in 1939, hailed the Germans as liberators, but that did not last long as the Nazis made little attempt to exploit dissatisfaction with Stalinist policies. Instead, the Nazis preserved the collective-farm system, carried out genocidal policies against Jews , deported millions of people to work in Germany , and began a depopulation program to prepare for German colonisation. They blockaded
14062-645: The Ukraine-NATO commission, President Kuchma issued a decree stating that joining NATO was no longer the country's goal – only "a significant deepening of relations with NATO and the European Union as guarantors of security and stability in Europe." After the Orange Revolution in 2004 Kuchma was replaced by President Viktor Yushchenko who is a keen supporter of Ukraine's NATO membership. On 21 April 2005 in Vilnius, as part of an informal meeting of
14220-532: The Ukrainian SSR became one of the founding members of the United Nations (UN), part of a special agreement at the Yalta Conference , and, alongside Belarus, had voting rights in the UN even though they were not independent. Moreover, Ukraine once more expanded its borders as it annexed Zakarpattia , and the population became much more homogenized due to post-war population transfers , most of which, as in
14378-493: The Ukrainian-Polish air exercise "Safe Skies – 2015" (total 350 participants, including 100 Polish military) and military police "Law and Order – 2015" (total 100 participants, 50 of which are Polish military). In September 2015, NATO launched five trust funds for €5.4 million for the Ukrainian army. €2 million are planned to be sent for the modernization of communication systems, €1.2 million – to reform
14536-534: The United Nations." As a result of other agreements and the memorandum, between 1993 and 1996, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons. In the summer of 1995, Ukraine requested help to mitigate consequences of the Kharkiv drinking water disaster to the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs and to NATO . Various NATO countries and other organizations stepped up with medical and civil engineering assistance. This
14694-412: The United States , European Union , and NATO . Ukraine is a unitary state and its system of government is a semi-presidential republic . A developing country , it is the poorest country in Europe by nominal GDP per capita and corruption remains a significant issue. However, due to its extensive fertile land , pre-war Ukraine was one of the largest grain exporters in the world . Ukraine
14852-546: The United States, NATO's largest military power and contributor. As part of these efforts, and to rule out future Ukrainian membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and other Russian-led supranational entities, Yatsenyuk also submitted a draft law to repeal Ukraine's non-bloc status previously instituted by Yanukovych. Following parliamentary elections in October 2014, the new government made joining NATO
15010-526: The United States. Even though Russia had signed the Budapest memorandum in 1994 that said that Ukraine was to hand over nuclear weapons in exchange of security guarantees and those of territorial integrity, it reacted violently to these developments and started a war against its western neighbour . In late February and early March 2014, it annexed Crimea using its Navy in Sevastopol as well as
15168-536: The Verkhovna Rada adopted a law on the free access of NATO forces to the territory of Ukraine. On 15 June 2004 in the second edition of the Military Doctrine of Ukraine, approved by the decree of Kuchma, a provision appeared on the implementation by Ukraine of a policy of Euro-Atlantic integration, the ultimate goal of which was to join NATO. However, already on 15 July 2004, following a meeting of
15326-511: The advancement of Ukrainian science and culture. This period was cut short when Joseph Stalin became the leader of the USSR following Lenin's death. Stalin did away with the NEP in what became known as the Great Break . Starting from the late 1920s and now with a centrally planned economy , Soviet Ukraine took part in an industrialisation scheme which quadrupled its industrial output during
15484-552: The alliance without referring to MAP. At the NATO-Ukraine consultations at the level of Defense Ministers held at the NATO headquarters in Brussels in November 2009, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen praised Ukraine's first Annual National Program, which outlined the steps it intended to take to accelerate internal reform and alignment with Euro-Atlantic standards, as an important step on Ukraine's path to becoming
15642-512: The alliance. A Ukrainian public opinion poll of 6 May showed 37% in favor of joining NATO with 28% opposed and 34% undecided. On 9 July 1997 a NATO-Ukraine Commission was established. In 2002 relations of the governments of the United States and other NATO countries with Ukraine deteriorated after the Cassette Scandal revealed that Ukraine allegedly transferred a sophisticated Ukrainian defense system to Saddam Hussein 's Iraq . At
15800-547: The alliance." On 29 December 2014, Poroshenko vowed to hold a referendum on joining NATO . A number of joint military exercises were planned between NATO members and Ukraine in 2015. Among them were Operation Fearless Guardian (OFG) which totalled 2,200 participants, including 1,000 U.S. military. Initial personnel and equipment of the 173rd Airborne Brigade arrived in Yavoriv , Lviv Oblast , on 10 April 2015. OFG would train Ukraine's newly formed Ukraine National Guard under
15958-832: The beginning of World War I , and fighting on Ukrainian soil persisted until late 1921. Initially, the Ukrainians were split between Austria-Hungary, fighting for the Central Powers , though the vast majority served in the Imperial Russian Army , which was part of the Triple Entente , under Russia. As the Russian Empire collapsed, the conflict evolved into the Ukrainian War of Independence , with Ukrainians fighting alongside, or against,
16116-605: The beginning of 2008, the Ukrainian President , Prime Minister and head of parliament sent an official letter (the so-called "letter of three") to apply for the Membership Action Plan. At the beginning of 2008 the work of the Rada was blocked for two months due, according to at least one observer, to this letter. Ukrainian membership in NATO gained support from a number of NATO leaders. However, it
16274-523: The bill defines the principles of state policy on national security and defence as well as focusing on Ukraine's integration into the European security, economic and legal system; improvement in mutual relations with other states and eventual membership in EU and NATO . On 20 September 2018 the Ukrainian parliament approved amendments to the constitution that would make the accession of the country to NATO and
16432-468: The case of Germans and Crimean Tatars , were forced. As of 1 January 1953, Ukrainians were second only to Russians among adult " special deportees ", comprising 20% of the total. Following the death of Stalin in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev became the new leader of the USSR, who began the policies of De-Stalinization and the Khrushchev Thaw . During his term as head of the Soviet Union, Crimea
16590-594: The city of Sevastopol which housed the fleet's headquarters and main naval base , and in December the Russian Federation Council officially endorsed the claim. These Russian nationalist territorial claims spurred Ukraine to propose a "special partnership" with NATO in January 1997. On 7 May 1997 the official NATO Information and Documentation Center opened in Kyiv, aimed to foster transparency about
16748-410: The competing visions of Ukraine, though Yushchenko and Yanukovych were generally pro-Western and pro-Russian, respectively. There were two major protests against Yanukovych: the Orange Revolution in 2004, when tens of thousands of people went in protest of election rigging in his favour (Yushchenko was eventually elected president), and another one in the winter of 2013/2014, when more gathered on
16906-454: The corresponding reorientation of military potentials, the reorganization of the system of military-industrial relations. Arrangements in the field of arms control may be affected.” After the Party of Regions received the largest number of votes in the 2006 Ukrainian parliamentary election and the new government, headed by Viktor Yushchenko's political rival Viktor Yanukovych, was formed, there
17064-546: The course of its creation, the program has struggled with funding due to its ever-changing formation of members. Amidst the security concerns of the post–Cold War era , the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (NACC) was established in 1991 to pay attention to security issues in Eastern Europe. The NACC was first announced at the Rome summit in November 1991 as NATO's first attempt to incorporate
17222-581: The decision is up to Ukraine and NATO members, adding, "Russia has no right to establish a sphere of influence to try to control their neighbors." Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 after Russia's president, Vladimir Putin , falsely claimed that NATO was using Ukraine to threaten Russia. Ukraine applied for NATO membership in September 2022 after Russia proclaimed it had annexed the country's southeast . Polls held before 2014 found low support among Ukrainians for NATO membership. However, Ukrainian public support for NATO membership has risen greatly during
17380-531: The emergence of the Ilmen Slavs and Krivichs . Following an Avar raid in 602 and the collapse of the Antes Union, most of these peoples survived as separate tribes until the beginning of the second millennium. The establishment of the state of Kievan Rus' remains obscure and uncertain. The state included much of present-day Ukraine, Belarus and the western part of European Russia . According to
17538-473: The establishment of a new government in 2014 after a revolution . Russia then unilaterally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula , and pro-Russian unrest culminated in a war in the Donbas between Russian-backed separatists and government forces in eastern Ukraine. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since the outbreak of war with Russia , Ukraine has continued to seek closer ties with
17696-603: The fighting in World War II took place on the Eastern Front . The total losses inflicted upon the Ukrainian population during the war are estimated at 6 million, including an estimated one and a half million Jews killed by the Einsatzgruppen , sometimes with the help of local collaborators. Of the estimated 8.6 million Soviet troop losses, 1.4 million were ethnic Ukrainians . The Victory Day
17854-440: The former Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies into European security frameworks. This was intended to form diplomatic links between NATO and Eastern European military officials on industrial and military conversations. After 1991, the NACC held annual ministerial meetings and regular consultations between Eastern and Western representatives of NATO's political, economic, and military committees. The objective of these meetings
18012-523: The framework of the NATO/PfP program. Cyprus is the only European Union member state that is neither a NATO member state nor a member of the PfP program. The Parliament of Cyprus adopted a resolution in February 2011 in favor of PfP membership, but President Demetris Christofias said it would hamper his attempts to negotiate an end to the Cyprus dispute and demilitarize the island. Turkey ,
18170-516: The government's policy towards the West. Shortly after Yanukovych fled Ukraine, the country signed the EU association agreement in June 2014, and its citizens were granted visa-free travel to the European Union three years later. In January 2019, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine was recognized as independent of Moscow, which reversed the 1686 decision of the patriarch of Constantinople and dealt
18328-659: The growing nationalist movement. While conditions for its development in Austrian Galicia under the Habsburgs were relatively lenient, the Russian part (historically known as " Little Russia " or "South Russia") faced severe restrictions, going as far as banning virtually all books from being published in Ukrainian in 1876. Ukraine, like the rest of the Russian Empire, joined the Industrial Revolution later than most of Western Europe due to
18486-515: The guarantors of security and stability in Europe, Ukraine is preparing for full membership in these organizations." As in the previous version, the task of "deeply reforming the defense sphere of the state in accordance with European standards" was called "one of the most important priorities of domestic and foreign policy." On 20 January 2006 in Budapest, following a meeting of defense ministers of Central European countries – NATO members – Hungary,
18644-492: The largest country entirely in Europe. Lying between latitudes 44° and 53° N , and longitudes 22° and 41° E ., it is mostly in the East European Plain . Ukraine covers an area of 603,550 square kilometres (233,030 sq mi), with a coastline of 2,782 kilometres (1,729 mi). The landscape of Ukraine consists mostly of fertile steppes (plains with few trees) and plateaus, crossed by rivers such as
18802-465: The last major Cossack uprising, the Koliivshchyna . After the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 1783, the newly acquired lands, now called Novorossiya , were opened up to settlement by Russians. The tsarist autocracy established a policy of Russification , suppressing the use of the Ukrainian language and curtailing the Ukrainian national identity. The western part of present-day Ukraine
18960-624: The logistic and standardization systems, €845,000 – for physical rehabilitation and prostheses, €815,000 for cyber defense, and €410,000 for retraining and resettlement. In March 2016, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker stated that it would take at least 20–25 years for Ukraine to join the EU and NATO. In July 2016 NATO published a summary of the Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine (CAPU) after
19118-502: The maintenance of serfdom until 1861. Other than near the newly discovered coal fields of the Donbas , and in some larger cities such as Odesa and Kyiv, Ukraine largely remained an agricultural and resource extraction economy. The Austrian part of Ukraine was particularly destitute , which forced hundreds of thousands of peasants into emigration, who created the backbone of an extensive Ukrainian diaspora in countries such as Canada ,
19276-542: The major river basins is expected to decrease due to climate change , especially in summer. This poses risks to the agricultural sector. The negative impacts of climate change on agriculture are mostly felt in the south of the country, which has a steppe climate. In the north, some crops may be able to benefit from a longer growing season. The World Bank has stated that Ukraine is highly vulnerable to climate change . Partnership for Peace The Partnership for Peace ( PfP ; French : Partenariat pour la paix )
19434-641: The mid-17th century, a Cossack military quasi-state, the Zaporozhian Host , was formed by Dnieper Cossacks and Ruthenian peasants. Poland exercised little real control over this population, but found the Cossacks to be useful against the Turks and Tatars , and at times the two were allies in military campaigns . However, the continued harsh enserfment of Ruthenian peasantry by Polish szlachta (many of whom were Polonized Ruthenian nobles ) and
19592-479: The new currency, the hryvnia , fell sharply in late 1998 partially as a fallout from the Russian debt default earlier that year. The legacy of the economic policies of the nineties was the mass privatization of state property that created a class of extremely powerful and rich individuals known as the oligarchs . The country then fell into a series of sharp recessions as a result of the Great Recession ,
19750-560: The new government did not seek to change its neutral status. Russia then occupied and annexed Crimea , and in August 2014 Russia's military invaded eastern Ukraine to support its separatist proxies . Because of this, in December 2014 Ukraine's parliament voted to end its neutral status, and in 2018 it voted to enshrine the goal of NATO membership in the Constitution . Russian opposition to Ukrainian NATO membership has grown during
19908-537: The north, to 11–13 °C (51.8–55.4 °F) in the south. Precipitation is highest in the west and north and lowest in the east and southeast. Western Ukraine, particularly in the Carpathian Mountains, receives around 120 centimetres (47.2 in) of precipitation annually, while Crimea and the coastal areas of the Black Sea receive around 40 centimetres (15.7 in). Water availability from
20066-675: The northeast from the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The environmental damage caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been described as an ecocide , the destruction of Kakhovka Dam , severe pollution and millions of tonnes of contaminated debris is estimated to cost over USD 50 billion to repair. Ukraine is in the mid-latitudes, and generally has a continental climate , except for its southern coasts, which have cold semi-arid and humid subtropical climates . Average annual temperatures range from 5.5–7 °C (41.9–44.6 °F) in
20224-619: The number of ethnic Ukrainians who fought in the ranks of the Soviet Army is estimated from 4.5 million to 7 million; half of the Pro-Soviet partisan guerrilla resistance units, which counted up to 500,000 troops in 1944, were also Ukrainian. Generally, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army's figures are unreliable, with figures ranging anywhere from 15,000 to as many as 100,000 fighters. The vast majority of
20382-408: The opening of negotiations on a MAP with NATO. In that same month President Poroshenko began proposing a 'patronage system', tying individual regions with European States. On 10 March 2018 NATO added Ukraine in the list of NATO aspiring members (others including Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia ). Several months later, in late June, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada passed a National Security bill:
20540-464: The other regions of the Soviet Union, though it was one of the poorer Soviet republics by the time of the dissolution. However, during its transition to the market economy, the country experienced deeper economic slowdown than almost all of the other former Soviet Republics . During the recession, between 1991 and 1999, Ukraine lost 60% of its GDP and suffered from hyperinflation that peaked at 10,000% in 1993. The situation only stabilized well after
20698-439: The post-war Soviet Union that had been devastated by both WWI and later the civil war. The NEP was successful at restoring the formerly war-torn nation to pre-WWI levels of production and agricultural output by the mid-1920s, much of the latter based in Ukraine. These policies attracted many prominent former UNR figures, including former UNR leader Hrushevsky, to return to Soviet Ukraine, where they were accepted, and participated in
20856-409: The presidents of Ukraine and the United States said that Washington supported the proposal to start an intensive dialogue on Ukraine's accession to the NATO via a MAP. In April 2005, Viktor Yushchenko returned to Ukraine's military doctrine the mention of Ukraine's strategic goal – "full membership in NATO and the European Union." The new text read as follows: "Based on the fact that NATO and the EU are
21014-635: The process, neutral countries also faced a situation in which they had to reconsider maintaining military neutrality ; therefore, countries such as Austria , Finland and Sweden joined the Partnership for Peace field activities in 1997. In 2002, it began the Individual Partnership Action Plan to provide members an opportunity to be granted further assistance from NATO without having to commit to becoming full members of NATO. The program has additionally started an initiative for education, specifically military education. Over
21172-438: The public continued opposing the move. Later that year the Ukrainian government started an information campaign, aimed at informing the Ukrainian people about the benefits of membership. In January 2008, US Senator Richard Lugar said: "Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Parliamentary chairman Arsenii Yatsenyuk have signed the statement calling for consideration on Ukraine's entry into
21330-406: The quadripartite Memorandum on security assurances in connection with Ukraine's accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons on 5 December. The memorandum prohibited the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States from threatening or using military force or economic coercion against Ukraine, "except in self-defence or otherwise in accordance with the Charter of
21488-454: The representative of the NATO Secretary General, James Appathurai , stated that all members of the alliance support the speedy integration of Ukraine into NATO. Russia, for its part, expressed concern about this development. As the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Mikhail Kamynin stated, "de facto, we will talk about a serious military-political shift affecting the interests of Russia, which will require significant funds for
21646-420: The ruling Rurik dynasty , later assimilated into the Slavic population. Kievan Rus' was composed of several principalities ruled by the interrelated Rurikid kniazes ("princes"), who often fought each other for possession of Kyiv. During the 10th and 11th centuries, Kievan Rus' became the largest and most powerful state in Europe, a period known as its Golden Age. It began with the reign of Vladimir
21804-512: The so- called little green men ; after this succeeded, it then launched a proxy war in the Donbas via the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic . The first months of the conflict with the Russian-backed separatists were fluid, but Russian forces then started an open invasion in Donbas on 24 August 2014. Together they pushed back Ukrainian troops to the frontline established in February 2015, i.e. after Ukrainian troops withdrew from Debaltseve . The conflict remained in
21962-480: The so-called parade of sovereignties , on 16 July 1990, the newly elected Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine . After a failed coup by some Communist leaders in Moscow at deposing Gorbachov, outright independence was proclaimed on 24 August 1991. It was approved by 92% of the Ukrainian electorate in a referendum on 1 December. Ukraine's new President , Leonid Kravchuk, went on to sign
22120-443: The south and southeast. Kyiv is the nation's capital and largest city , followed by Kharkiv , Dnipro , and Odesa . Ukraine's official language is Ukrainian . During the Middle Ages , Ukraine was the site of early Slavic expansion and the area later became a key centre of East Slavic culture under the state of Kievan Rus' , which emerged in the 9th century. The state eventually disintegrated into rival regional powers and
22278-430: The start of the Russo-Ukrainian War in 2014, and finally, the full-scale invasion by Russia in starting from 24 February 2022. Ukraine's economy in general underperformed since the time independence came due to pervasive corruption and mismanagement, which, particularly in the 1990s, led to protests and organized strikes. The war with Russia impeded meaningful economic recovery in the 2010s, while efforts to combat
22436-422: The suppression of the Orthodox Church alienated the Cossacks. The latter did not shy from taking up arms against those they perceived as enemies and occupiers, including the Catholic Church with its local representatives. In 1648, Bohdan Khmelnytsky led the largest of the Cossack uprisings against the Commonwealth and the Polish king , which enjoyed wide support from the local population. Khmelnytsky founded
22594-414: The territory with a Ukrainian ethnic majority. Although this brought conflict with Nazi Germany, at times the Melnyk wing of the OUN allied with the Nazi forces. From mid-1943 until the end of the war, the UPA carried out massacres of ethnic Poles in the Volhynia and Eastern Galicia regions, killing around 100,000 Polish civilians, which brought reprisals. These organized massacres were an attempt by
22752-436: The transport of food on the Dnieper River. Although the majority of Ukrainians fought in or alongside the Red Army and Soviet resistance , in Western Ukraine an independent Ukrainian Insurgent Army movement arose (UPA, 1942). It was created as the armed forces of the underground Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). Both organizations, the OUN and the UPA, supported the goal of an independent Ukrainian state on
22910-454: The underground Ukrainian nationalist and militant movement, which arose in the 1920s gained wider support. Meanwhile, the recently constituted Soviet Ukraine became one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union . During the 1920s, under the Ukrainisation policy pursued by the national Communist leadership of Mykola Skrypnyk , Soviet leadership at first encouraged a national renaissance in Ukrainian culture and language . Ukrainisation
23068-496: Was transferred from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR , formally as a friendship gift to Ukraine and for economic reasons. This represented the final extension of Ukrainian territory and formed the basis for the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine to this day. Ukraine was one of the most important republics of the Soviet Union, which resulted in many top positions in the Soviet Union being occupied by Ukrainians, including notably Leonid Brezhnev , General Secretary of
23226-403: Was "no question of Ukraine joining NATO." He said the issue of Ukrainian membership of NATO might "emerge at some point, but we will not see it in the immediate future." On 1 March 2010, during his visit to Brussels , Yanukovych said that there would be no change to Ukraine's status as a member of the alliance's outreach program. He later reiterated during a trip to Moscow that Ukraine would remain
23384-617: Was a powerful statement, one person cannot guarantee membership, especially before a country has applied for membership. Each existing member must approve an applicant country before NATO membership can be attained, in addition, conditions can be set on applicant countries before joining the organization. Resistance was reportedly met from France and Germany; Russia invaded Georgia less than four months later in August 2008. In November 2008, German Chancellor Angela Merkel , Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Ukrainian minister of defence Anatoliy Hrytsenko doubted Ukraine would be granted
23542-463: Was a turn in Ukraine's foreign policy. By the end of 2006, not a single representative of the pro-presidential Our Ukraine bloc remained in the government. Viktor Yanukovych's foreign policy statements contradicted Yushchenko's course. Yanukovych's premiership ended following 2007 parliamentary election , when Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense Bloc formed a coalition government , with Yulia Tymoshenko as Prime Minister. At
23700-411: Was also put in place in order to strengthen security cooperation with states in Central and Eastern Europe that were not part of the NATO alliance. In the NATO summit held between January 10 and 11, 1994, the PfP was established by NATO under the North Atlantic Council (NAC). It was claimed by Clinton that the partnership would give way for countries in Eastern Europe, including those that were part of
23858-423: Was destroyed by the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. The area was then contested, divided, and ruled by a variety of external powers for the next 600 years, including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , the Austrian Empire , the Ottoman Empire , and the Tsardom of Russia . The Cossack Hetmanate emerged in central Ukraine in the 17th century, but was partitioned between Russia and Poland, and absorbed by
24016-519: Was met with opposition from the opposition parties within Ukraine, who called for a national referendum on any steps towards further involvement with NATO. A petition of over 2 million signatures called for a referendum on Ukraine's membership proposal to join NATO. In February 2008 57.8% of Ukrainians supported the idea of a national referendum on joining NATO, against 38.6% in February 2007. Ukrainian politicians such as Yuriy Yekhanurov and Yulia Tymoshenko stated Ukraine would not join NATO as long as
24174-419: Was part of the Scythian kingdom. From the 6th century BC, Greek , Roman , and Byzantine colonies were established on the north-eastern shore of the Black Sea , such as at Tyras , Olbia , and Chersonesus . These thrived into the 6th century AD. The Goths stayed in the area, but came under the sway of the Huns from the 370s. In the 7th century, the territory that is now eastern Ukraine
24332-475: Was part of the Soviet-wide policy of Korenisation (literally indigenisation ), which was intended to promote the advancement of native peoples, their language and culture into the governance of their respective republics. Around the same time, Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin instituted the New Economic Policy (NEP), which introduced a form of market socialism , allowing some private ownership of small and medium-sized productive enterprises, hoping to reconstruct
24490-497: Was subsequently split between Russia and Habsburg -ruled Austria after the fall of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. The 19th century saw the rise of Ukrainian nationalism. With growing urbanization and modernization and a cultural trend toward romantic nationalism , a Ukrainian intelligentsia committed to national rebirth and social justice emerged. The serf-turned-national-poet Taras Shevchenko (1814–1861) and political theorist Mykhailo Drahomanov (1841–1895) led
24648-448: Was the centre of Old Great Bulgaria . At the end of the century, the majority of Bulgar tribes migrated in different directions, and the Khazars took over much of the land. In the 5th and 6th centuries, the Antes , an early Slavic people, lived in Ukraine. Migrations from the territories of present-day Ukraine throughout the Balkans established many South Slavic nations. Northern migrations, reaching almost to Lake Ilmen , led to
24806-467: Was the first cooperation between NATO and Ukraine. The Constitution of Ukraine , adopted in 1996 and based upon the Declaration of Independence of 24 August 1991, contained the basic principles of non-coalition and future neutrality. Kuchma and Russian president Boris Yeltsin negotiated terms for dividing the Black Sea Fleet based in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, signing an interim treaty on 10 June 1995. But Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov campaigned to claim
24964-434: Was to strengthen the relations between Eastern and Western Europe, thereby contributing to the regional political and military stability. However, the council contained 36 members of considerable geographic, economic, and cultural diversity who were at times in political dispute with each other. Eventually, this caused limited actions on the NACC's primary mission. By 1993, a range of Eastern European countries lost confidence in
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