The second-largest country by area in Europe after Russia, spanning an area of 603,628 km2 (233,062 sq mi). With a population of 43.6 million, she is the eighth-most populous country in Europe. .

Ukraine has a coastline along the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea and shares borders with

• Russia to the east and north-east
• Belarus to the north
• Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west
• Romania and Moldova to the south

The nation's capital and largest city is Kyiv.

The territory of modern Ukraine has been inhabited since 32,000 BC.

During the Middle Ages, the area was a key center of East Slavic culture, with the loose tribal federation Kievan Rus' forming the basis of Ukrainian identity. Following its fragmentation into several principalities in the 13th century and the devastation created by the Mongol invasion, the territorial unity collapsed and the area was contested, divided, and ruled by a variety of powers, including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Tsardom of Russia.

The Cossack Hetmanate emerged and prospered during the 17th and 18th centuries, but its territory was eventually split between Poland and the Russian Empire. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, a Ukrainian national movement for self-determination emerged, and the internationally recognized Ukrainian People's Republic was declared on 23 June 1917.

The Ukrainian SSR was a founding member of the Soviet Union in 1922. The country regained its independence in 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.