Ukraine

Ukraine is a sovereign state whose independence was declared on August 24, 1991. Before that it was one of the 15 republics of the former Soviet Union. Ukraine is situated in the south-eastern part of Central Europe, and it borders on other European countries: Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. Its territory is about 600,000 square kilometres. The population is about 46 million people. The capital of Ukraine is Kyiv. Among the biggest cities are Kharkiv, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhya, Donetsk, Odessa and some others.

The territory of Ukraine is mostly a treeless plain, called the steppe. There are the Crimean Mountains in the Crimean Peninsula and the Carpathian Mountains in the west. The main river in the country is the Dnieper which is the third longest in Europe. One of the oldest Ukrainian cities, Kyiv, is situated on both sides of this wide and powerful river. Another Ukrainian river, the Danube, connects Ukraine with 7 European countries. Other less important rivers are the Dniester, the Southern Bug, the Desna, the Pripyat, the Seversky Donets and about 70 thousand small rivers.

The country has a democratic political system. State power in Ukraine is divided into legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The legislative power is represented by Ukraine’s Parliament, called Verhovna Rada. The executive branch consists of the President and the Cabinet of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister, who is appointed by the President and approved by the majority of the Parliament. The judicial power is represented by the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court.

The national symbols of Ukraine are the national blue and yellow flag and the trident. The national anthem is “Shche ne vmerla Ukraina” (“Ukraine has not perished yet”).

The strategic line of Ukraine’s foreign policy is to live in peace with the rest of the world community, to cooperate with other countries and participate in European and world structures through membership in the United Nations Organization and other international political, economic and cultural organizations.