67 Facts About Ukraine

1. On 1 January 2016, Ukraine joined the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with European Union, which aims to modernize and develop Ukraine's economy, governance and rule of law to EU standards and gradually increase integration with the EU Internal market.

2. Ukraine has the second largest army in Europe after Russia.

3. Ukraine has a continental climate, with winters that are colder than in Western Europe but summers that are usually hotter.

4. The Communist Party of Ukraine was known for maintaining a republic, out of all the member republics of the USSR, which was most closely aligned with Moscow.

5. The Communist Party of Ukraine had a Polish Bureau that oversaw Polish activities, including a network of schools and numerous newspapers.

6. Ukraine is the birthplace of the Hasidic movement, which was founded in the eighteenth century by Baal Shem-Tov, who was born in eastern Galicia.

7. Ukraine has a Distinctive Partnership with NATO and has declared interest in eventual membership.

8. Ukraine is negotiating with the IMF on a precautionary stand-by facility.

9. Ukraine has a total area of 233,089 square miles, and its capital city is Kiev.

10. Ukraine is neighbored by 7 states, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov.

11. Ukraine is the second largest country in Eastern Europe, after Russia.

12. Ukraine is divided into twenty-four oblasts, or provinces, two urban districts for Kiev and Sevastopol, and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

13. Ukraine has made a substantial contribution to UN peace-keeping operations since 1992.

14. Ukraine has promoted a peaceful resolution to conflict in the post-Soviet state of Georgia.

15. In 1992, Ukraine had the world's seventh-highest level of industrial carbon-dioxide emissions.

16. Ukraine has about 150 colleges and universities, of which the most important are at Kiev, Lviv, and Kharkiv.

17. The Government of Ukraine denied that the transfer had occurred.

18. Ukraine has promoted a peaceful resolution to conflict in the post-Soviet state of Georgia and has advocated a return to democracy in neighboring Belarus.

19. On January 31, 1992, Ukraine joined the then-Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and on March 10, 1992, it became a member of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council.

20. In 1992, Ukraine became a member of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

21. Ukraine has about 150 colleges and universities, of which the most important are in Kyiv, Lviv, and Kharkiv.

22. Ukraine is the land of the chernozem and the breadbasket of the former Soviet Union.

23. Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe, the second most populous among the Soviet successor states and Europe's second largest country after Russia.

24. Ukraine is in the southwest of the eastern European plain.

25. Ukraine is occupied by German forces during World War II, but returns to Soviet control after the war.

26. In 1996, Ukraine introduced the hryvnya as a new national currency.

27. Ukraine has a powerful merchant and passenger fleet, operating in the basins of the Black Sea and Sea of Asov, and on the navigable rivers.

28. Since the mid-1990s, Ukraine has received an average of $500 million annually in aid.

29. Ukraine is a member of the Association of National Information Agencies of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

30. The Communist Party of Ukraine, founded in 1993 as a remnant of the former Communist Party of the Soviet Union, inherited a well-developed network of media production and distribution infrastructure throughout the country.

31. Ukraine has great agricultural potential and was once known as the " Breadbasket of Russia.

32. Ukraine is mainly a vast plain with no natural boundaries except the Carpathian Mountains in the southwest, the Black Sea in the south, and the Azov Sea in the southeast.

33. Ukraine is a country in transition as it leaves behind its Communist past to build a new political and economic system and develops its links with Europe and the West.

34. Ukraine has its share of the thoroughly modern, but even the capital, Kiev, is replete with Gothic, Byzantine, and Baroque architecture and art reminders of the many foreign overlords who have left their mark on the country.

35. Ukraine is a state in eastern Europe situated between Russia and Poland and bordering the Black Sea.

36. In 2005, Ukraine produced 60,500 tons of honey, fifth highest in the world.

37. Ukraine is a member of the Zangger Committee and the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

38. The Ukraine participated in missions in eight foreign countries or regions.

39. Ukraine is divided into 24 administrative regions plus the autonomous Republic of Crimea.

40. Ukraine is a big country in Europe, its capital is Kiev, and the money used there is called hryvnia.

41. The Ukraine has some of the richest farm land in Europe—over 1,000 miles of flat plains known as steppes.

42. Ukraine has the distinction of being the geographical center of Europe.

43. Since the break-up of the Soviet Union, Ukraine has the second-largest military in Europe, after Russia.

44. In 2012, the National Art Museum of Ukraine had an exhibit where women would lay, pretending to be asleep, and men could sign up to kiss them.

45. In 2006, anti-NATO protests in Ukraine canceled a joint exercise designed to simulate a Russian invasion of Crimea.

46. In 1922, Ukraine became one of the founders of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

47. Ukraine is home to several archaeological sites that were previously Neanderthal settlements.

48. Ukraine is slightly smaller than the US state of Texas, and the separatist-occupied territory is smaller than the state of New Jersey.

49. Ukraine has recently increased the number of its naval vessels and border guard patrols in the Sea of Azov, in response to an increase in checks on commercial shipping by Russia.

50. Ukraine is currently ranked 35th by number of gold medals won in the All-time Olympic Games medal count, with every country above it, except for Russia, having more appearances.

51. In 2011, Ukraine was granted a right to organize EuroBasket 2015.

52. Ukraine has five conservatories, 6 opera houses, five houses of Chamber Music, Philharmony in all regional centers.

53. In 1934, the capital of Soviet Ukraine moved from Kharkiv to Kiev.

54. In 2008 Ukraine posted record-breaking birth rates since its 1991 independence.

55. Ukraine has one of the most equal income distribution as measured by Gini index and Palma ratio.

56. In 2007 Ukraine occupied 8th place in Europe by the number of tourists visiting, according to the World Tourism Organization rankings.

57. Ukraine has a very large heavy-industry base and is one of the largest refiners of metallurgical products in Eastern Europe.

58. In 2013, Ukraine ranked fourth in the world in number of certified IT professionals after the United States, India and Russia.

59. In May 1992, Ukraine signed the Lisbon Protocol in which the country agreed to give up all nuclear weapons to Russia for disposal and to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapon state.

60. Ukraine is included in the European Union's European Neighbourhood Policy which aims at bringing the EU and its neighbours closer.

61. Ukraine is the most active member of the Partnership for Peace.

62. Ukraine has made a substantial contribution to UN peacekeeping operations since 1992.

63. Law enforcement agencies in Ukraine are organised under the authority of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

64. Ukraine is a developing country and ranks 84th on the Human Development Index.

65. On 1 January 2016, Ukraine applied the economic component of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the European Union.

66. In 1991 Ukraine gained its independence from the Soviet Union in the aftermath of its dissolution at the end of the Cold War.

67. Ukraine is currently in a territorial dispute with Russia over the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.