A Russian artillery strike targeted a market in Kherson, Ukraine, on Tuesday, resulting in the deaths of at least seven people and injuring three others. The attack occurred near a public transport stop while shoppers were present. This incident highlights ongoing hostilities in a region previously recaptured by Ukrainian forces. Kherson has experienced intensified shelling since Russian forces withdrew to the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in November 2022 after months of occupation.
A Russian-guided bomb hit a residential building in Kharkiv, injuring at least 41 people according to the city's mayor, while Ukrainian President Zelenskyy reported 35 wounded. The attack damaged 12 buildings and caused fires across multiple floors. Additionally, a missile strike on Odesa killed two people, and Ukrainian forces shot down a number of drones and missiles launched by Russia. The conflict continues as Ukraine seeks to gain access to long-range missiles from Western allies for defensive purposes.
On Monday, civilians fled the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk as the Russian army advanced. This exodus included families with children, hastily in need of safe refuge. Over 121,000 residents have evacuated from Russia's Kursk region since Ukraine's incursions began. Concurrently, Russian military operations continue in the Kherson region, underlining the ongoing conflict. A rescue team was seen assisting families during the evacuations, highlighting the immediate humanitarian concerns during the escalation of hostilities.
On 11 November 2022, the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated and recaptured the city of Kherson and other areas of the Kherson Oblast and parts of the Mykolaiv Oblast on the right bank of the Dnipro River from Russian control. The Russian Armed Forces, which had occupied the city since 2 March 2022, withdrew and retreated to the left bank of the Kherson Oblast over the course of 9–11 November 2022.The Ukrainian soldiers were greeted with cheers and large celebrations in the city square. The events were the culmination of the 2022 Kherson counteroffensive, and were seen as a large blow to Russian president Vladimir Putin, who had declared Kherson to be "part of Russia forever".
Kherson (Ukrainian and ‹See Tfd›Russian: Херсон, Ukrainian: [xerˈsɔn] ; Russian: [xʲɪrˈson]) is a port city in Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located by the Black Sea and on the Dnieper River, Kherson is the home to a major ship-building industry and is a regional economic centre. At the beginning of 2022, its population was estimated at 279,131.From March to November 2022, the city was occupied by Russian forces during their invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian forces recaptured the city on 11 November 2022. In June 2023, the city was flooded following the destruction of the nearby Kakhovka Dam.
The battle of Kherson took place between Russian and Ukrainian forces that began on 24 February 2022, as part of the southern Ukraine campaign of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The battle ended on 2 March 2022 with the capture of the city of Kherson, along with surrounding land on the right bank of the Dnieper river, by Russian forces. Russia then began a military occupation of the area.The battle of Kherson was a major defeat for Ukraine; Kherson was the first major city, and the only regional capital, to be captured by Russian forces during the 2022 invasion. Russian forces also took the city without much resistance, which has been widely attributed to treachery on the part of several local officials.
Twin drone strikes by Russia targeted a hospital in Sumy, Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of nine and injuries to at least 12 others. The strikes, which occurred during a rescue operation, heavily damaged several floors of the Saint Panteleimon hospital. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attacks, emphasizing the targeting of civilian infrastructure. The region has faced frequent Russian assaults, particularly since the inception of the invasion in February 2022.
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that started in 2014. The invasion became the largest attack on a European country since World War II. It is estimated to have caused tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilian casualties and hundreds of thousands of military casualties. By June 2022, Russian troops occupied about 20% of Ukrainian territory. From a population of 41 million in January 2022, about 8 million Ukrainians had been internally displaced and more than 8.2 million had fled the country by April 2023, creating Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. Extensive environmental damage caused by the war, widely described as an ecocide, contributed to food crises worldwide.Before the invasion, Russian troops massed near Ukraine's borders as Russian officials denied any plans to attack. Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" to support the Russian-backed breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, whose paramilitary forces had been fighting Ukraine in the Donbas conflict since 2014. Putin espoused irredentist views challenging Ukraine's right to exist, and falsely claimed that Ukraine was governed by neo-Nazis persecuting the Russian minority. He said his goal was to "demilitarize and denazify" Ukraine. Russian air strikes and a ground invasion were launched at a northern front from Belarus towards Kyiv, a southern front from Crimea, and an eastern front from the Donbas and towards Kharkiv. Ukraine enacted martial law, ordered a general mobilization and severed diplomatic relations with Russia.Russian troops retreated from the northern front by April 2022 after encountering logistical challenges and stiff Ukrainian resistance. On the southern and southeastern fronts, Russia captured Kherson in March and Mariupol in May after a destructive siege. Russia launched a renewed offensive in the Donbas and continued to bomb military and civilian targets far from the front line, including the energy grid through the winter. In late 2022, Ukraine launched successful counteroffensives in the south and east. Soon after, Russia announced the illegal annexation of four partly occupied regions. In November, Ukraine retook parts of Kherson Oblast, including the city of Kherson itself. In June 2023, Ukraine launched another counteroffensive in the southeast.The invasion was met with international condemnation. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the invasion and demanding a full Russian withdrawal in March 2022. The International Court of Justice ordered Russia to suspend military operations and the Council of Europe expelled Russia. Many countries imposed sanctions on Russia and its ally Belarus, and provided humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. The Baltic states all declared Russia a terrorist state. Protests occurred around the world, along with mass arrests of anti-war protesters in Russia, which also enacted a law enabling greater media censorship. Over 1,000 companies closed their operations in Russia and Belarus as a result of the invasion. The International Criminal Court (ICC) opened investigations into possible crimes against humanity, war crimes, abduction of children, and genocide. The court issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova in March 2023, alleging responsibility for the unlawful deportation of children.
A military counteroffensive was launched by Ukraine on 29 August 2022 to expel Russian forces occupying the southern regions of Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts.Military analysts consider the counteroffensive to be the third strategic phase of the war in Ukraine, along with the concurrent eastern counteroffensive, after the initial invasion and the battle of Donbas.After many strikes against Russian military targets, Ukraine announced the start of a full-scale counteroffensive on 29 August 2022. On 9 October, Ukraine said it recaptured 1,170 square kilometers of land. On 9 November, Russian troops were ordered to withdraw from Kherson, the only regional capital captured since the start of the invasion. Ukrainian forces liberated the city of Kherson two days later, on 11 November.
A Ukrainian drone strike on a fuel depot in Rostov's Kamensky district resulted in a fire, with no casualties reported. This incident marks the second attack on the Atlas depot this month, following another strike 10 days prior that continues to burn. Concurrently, Russian authorities reported the destruction of four drones during the incident. In related news, shelling in Kherson, Ukraine caused damage to a residential building and led to emergency responses. Additional drone strikes were reported in Kirov oblast, although details about potential casualties remain unclear.
A Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at an oil depot in Russia's Rostov region, part of Ukraine's increased aerial assaults on Russian soil to hamper Kremlin's military efforts. The attack resulted in no casualties, with drones intercepted in various regions. Russian attacks in Donetsk and Kherson regions caused casualties. Follow AP's coverage of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
In Ukraine's Sumy, two consecutive Russian drone strikes on a hospital resulted in at least ten fatalities and numerous injuries. The first attack occurred in the morning as patients were being evacuated when a second strike hit, primarily affecting first responders and evacuees. President Zelenskyy condemned the attacks, highlighting the targeting of civilian facilities. This incident follows ongoing tensions and violence in Ukraine, with additional strikes reported in other regions. The US announced further military aid for Ukraine amidst the unfolding conflict.
Kherson Oblast (Ukrainian: Херсонська область, romanized: Khersonska oblast, IPA: [xerˈsɔnʲsʲkɐ ˈɔblɐsʲtʲ]; ‹See Tfd›Russian: Херсонская область), also known as Khersonshchyna (Херсонщина, IPA: [xerˈsɔnʃtʃɪnɐ]), is an oblast (province) in southern Ukraine. It is located just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson, on the northern or right bank of the Dnieper river, which bisects the oblast. The oblast has an area of 28,461 km2 and a population of 1,001,598 (2022 estimate). It is considered the 'fruit basket' of the country, as much of its agricultural production is dispersed throughout the country, with production peaking during the summer months.Most of the area of the oblast has been under Russian military occupation since early in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 30 September 2022, Russia claimed to annex Kherson Oblast, along with the Donetsk (Donetsk People's Republic), Luhansk (Luhansk People's Republic) and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, but the referendums and subsequent claimed annexations are internationally unrecognized. Ukraine recaptured the whole area on the right bank of the Dnieper, including Kherson city, by mid-November 2022, in the Kherson counteroffensive.
The ongoing military occupation of Ukraine's Kherson Oblast (‹See Tfd›Russian: Херсонская область, romanized: Khersonskaya oblast') by Russian forces began on 2 March 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine as part of the southern Ukraine campaign. It was administrated under a Russian-controlled military-civilian administration until 30 September 2022, when it was illegally annexed to become an unrecognized federal subject of Russia.Russia captured the city of Kherson on 2 March 2022. Kherson was the first major Ukrainian city to fall during the invasion, and the only regional capital that Russia managed to capture in the 2022 invasion, though the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk had been controlled by Russian-backed separatists since 2014. Most of the rest of Kherson Oblast fell to Russian forces in the early months of the invasion.Russia laid the groundwork for annexation in the following months by introducing the Russian ruble as official currency and forcibly removing the hryvnia from circulation. After holding staged referendums in September 2022, Russia declared that it had annexed Kherson Oblast on 30 September, including parts of the oblast that it did not control at the time and small occupied areas of neighboring Mykolaiv Oblast. The United Nations condemned the annexations as violating international law.In October 2022, as Ukraine's 2022 Kherson counteroffensive approached the city of Kherson itself, the Russian administration's executive bodies evacuated from Kherson to the left bank of the Dnieper River. They set up a new administrative centre in Henichesk, in the far south of the Kherson region. Throughout early November 2022, Russian forces fully withdrew from all the areas of Kherson and Mykolaiv regions on the right bank of the Dnieper, including the city of Kherson proper. Ukrainian forces entered the city of Kherson on 11 November. According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the Kherson region remained a "subject of the Russian Federation" despite the withdrawal.
Ukraine reported sending over 100 drones to target a military depot in Russia's Volgograd region, resulting in damage to missile and ammunition storage. The attack followed claims of Iranian weapon supplies to Russia. In retaliation, Russia claimed to have shot down 125 drones, causing fires and damage, particularly in Volgograd and Voronezh. Simultaneously, Russia's bombardment of Zaporizhzhia injured civilians. The incidents underscore the escalating conflict and the use of drone technology by both sides.
Authorities in Russia's Kursk region have ordered the mandatory evacuation of two districts near the Ukrainian border due to ongoing clashes and military activity. This follows a significant Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory, which has resulted in the seizure of towns and villages. Ukraine has invited the UN and ICRC to observe the situation, asserting adherence to international humanitarian law. The Kremlin has condemned the invitation as provocation while claiming successful counteroffensives within the region.
Large fires erupted in Toropets, Tver after Ukrainian drone attacks targeting a significant Russian munitions depot. A partial evacuation was ordered for the town with over 11,000 residents as air defense forces engaged multiple drones. Eyewitness videos showed explosions linked to missile and ammunition storage facilities. Russian authorities reported shooting down 54 drones, but no casualties were disclosed. NASA satellite imagery confirmed extensive fires in the area, where estimates indicated up to 30,000 tons of munitions may have been affected.
Ukrainian officials report that Russian soldiers executed an unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war using a sword, with 'For Kursk' inscribed on it, in response to Ukraine's incursion into the Kursk region. The incident allegedly occurred in the Donetsk region and has been condemned as a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions. Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets has reported the case to international organizations, calling such acts attempts to demoralize Ukrainian society and urging the world to take action against these violations.
On May 7, 2022, a Russian missile struck a museum in Kharkiv, Ukraine, dedicated to 18th-Century poet Hryhoriy Skovoroda, leaving the building in ruins but miraculously preserving his statue. This incident is part of a larger pattern of destruction affecting 432 cultural sites in Ukraine since February 24, 2022, as reported by UNESCO. The conflict has sparked a resurgence in Ukrainian cultural identity, although many artworks have been looted by Russian troops, particularly in regions like Kherson, leading to a loss of over 10,000 artifacts.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed his justification for military intervention in Ukraine, claiming to protect Russian speakers from a so-called neo-Nazi regime. This statement coincided with new drone and missile strikes targeting Kyiv and other regions. Ukraine downed numerous drones during these attacks, with no casualties reported. Putin marked the second anniversary of the annexation of four Ukrainian regions and stated that his goals in the conflict would be achieved. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials seek increased Western air defense support in response to ongoing Russian assaults.
THIS is the dramatic moment Ukrainian troops launch a pinpoint drone strike on jet ski-riding Russians. Incredible footage shows a pair of Vladimir Putin 's men being hunted down and ruthlessly eliminated by FPV attack drones on the Dnipro River . Video shows the Russians speeding across the water as a 10-inch Shuriken 10 FPV drone chases after them. It then smashes into the back of the jet ski and explodes upon impact. A flash of light erupts on the river as the men are blasted into the water as the jet ski comes to a sudden halt before it sinks.
Bridges have been a strategic and tactical aspect of the Russo-Ukrainian War, particularly since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. As there are more than 23,000 rivers and over 28,000 bridges in Ukraine, several important events, including battles, blocked advances, political disputes, and the successes and failures of army units, have centered around the country’s bridges. The UK Ministry of Defense has said, "River crossing operations are likely to be amongst the most important determining factors in the course of the war". Upon the Russian invasion, Ukrainian forces destroyed or damaged bridges to slow Russian advances. Russian offensive operations were repeatedly undone by failed river crossings.As Russia began their retreat, Russian forces began to use large quantities of advanced high precision missiles to damage bridge infrastructure in Ukraine and slow down Ukrainian advances. By July 2022, 305 bridges had been damaged or destroyed.
The Russo-Ukrainian War is an ongoing international conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which began in February 2014. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine and supported pro-Russian separatists fighting the Ukrainian military in the Donbas war. The first eight years of conflict also included naval incidents, cyberwarfare, and heightened political tensions. In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and began occupying more of the country.In early 2014, the Euromaidan protests led to the Revolution of Dignity and the ousting of Ukraine's pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych. Shortly after, pro-Russian unrest erupted in eastern and southern Ukraine, while unmarked Russian troops occupied Crimea. Russia soon annexed Crimea after a highly disputed referendum. In April 2014, Russian-backed militants seized towns in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region and proclaimed the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) as independent states, starting the Donbas war. The separatists received considerable but covert support from Russia, and Ukrainian attempts to fully retake separatist-held areas failed. Although Russia denied involvement, Russian troops took part in the fighting. In February 2015, Russia and Ukraine signed the Minsk II agreements to end the conflict, but they were never fully implemented in the years that followed. The Donbas war settled into a violent but static conflict between Ukraine and the Russian and separatist forces, with many brief ceasefires but no lasting peace and few changes in territorial control.Beginning in 2021, Russia built up a large military presence near its border with Ukraine, including within neighbouring Belarus. Russian officials repeatedly denied plans to attack Ukraine. Russian president Vladimir Putin expressed irredentist views and denied Ukraine's right to exist. He criticized the enlargement of NATO and demanded that Ukraine be barred from ever joining the military alliance. Russia recognized the DPR and LPR as independent states. On 24 February 2022, Putin announced a "special military operation" to "demilitarize and denazify" Ukraine, claiming Russia had no plans to occupy the country. The Russian invasion that followed was internationally condemned; many countries imposed sanctions against Russia and increased existing sanctions. In the face of fierce resistance, Russia abandoned an attempt to take Kyiv in early April. From August, Ukrainian forces began recapturing territories in the north-east and south. In late September, Russia declared the annexation of four partially-occupied regions, which was internationally condemned. Russia spent the winter conducting inconclusive offensives in the Donbas. In spring 2023, Russia dug into positions ahead of another Ukrainian counteroffensive, which failed to gain significant ground. The war has resulted in a refugee crisis and tens of thousands of deaths.
Ryan Wesley Routh, a U.S. citizen supportive of Ukraine, has been detained in connection with an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. His vocal support for Kyiv in 2022 has been seized upon by Russian narratives. Since the start of the conflict in 2003, Ukraine has navigated carefully to avoid political violence. Routh's attempts to involve himself in the war were met with skepticism, as the Ukrainian front has become less accommodating to untrained expatriates, and he ultimately failed to enlist due to his lack of military experience.
On 30 September 2022, Russia, amid an ongoing invasion of Ukraine, unilaterally declared its annexation of areas in and around four Ukrainian oblasts—Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia. The boundaries of the areas to be annexed and their borders were not defined; Russian officials stated that they would be defined later. None of the oblasts were fully under Russian control at the time of the declaration, nor since. If limited to the areas then under Russian control (about 90,000 km2 or 15% of Ukraine's territory) the annexation would still be the largest in Europe since World War II.The annexation occurred after internationally unrecognized referendums held days prior, which were organized by Russian occupation authorities in territories where hostilities were ongoing and much of the population had fled. It occurred seven months after the start of the invasion and less than a month after the start of the Ukrainian Kharkiv counteroffensive. The signing ceremony was held in the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow in the presence of occupation authority heads Leonid Pasechnik, Denis Pushilin, Yevgeny Balitsky and Volodymyr Saldo, and Russian president Vladimir Putin.The annexation is unrecognized by the international community, with the exception of North Korea and Syria. Ukraine, the European Union, the United States and the United Nations all said that the referendums and the annexation had no legal basis or effect. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in response that Ukraine would apply to join NATO on an expedited basis. On 19 October Russia introduced martial law within the annexed and controlled areas, with legislation allowing for bans on public gatherings and other widespread restrictions on personal liberty.The Ukrainian Kherson and Kharkiv counteroffensives allowed Ukraine to recapture parts of its territory, including Kherson City on 11 November 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated on the second anniversary of "Reunification Day" that Russia will fulfill its objectives in Ukraine, claiming "the truth is on our side." He justified the invasion by stating it protects Russian speakers from a purported "neo-Nazi dictatorship" in Kyiv and criticized Western influences in Ukraine. Despite not fully controlling the annexed regions of Lugansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, Putin declared the ongoing conflict is for a secure future for the next generations.
Ukraine ( yoo-KRAYN; Ukrainian: Україна, romanized: Ukraina, pronounced [ʊkrɐˈjinɐ] ) 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, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; and Romania and Moldova to the southwest; with a coastline along the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to 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; Russian is also widely spoken, especially in the east and south.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 was ultimately 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 marked on maps as "Ukraine, land of the Cossacks", but was partitioned between Russia and Poland, and ultimately absorbed by 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 the Holodomor, a human-made famine. The German occupation during World War II in Ukraine was devastating: 7 million Ukrainian civilians were 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 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. Since the outbreak of war with Russia, Ukraine has continued to seek closer ties with the United States, European Union, and NATO. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.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. It is a founding member of the United Nations, as well as 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.
Kherson (Ukrainian: Херсо́н) is the name given to one of two raccoons stolen from Kherson by Russian zookeeper Oleg Zubkov during the Russian retreat from the city during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The animal became a subject of memes following the theft, referred to as the raccoon of Kherson (Ukrainian: єно́т з Херсо́на). A pro-Russian Telegram channel is dedicated to the animal.
The Dnieper campaign is a series of clashes that are occurring along the river Dnieper (Dnipro) in Kherson Oblast, Ukraine, as part of the fighting in the southern theater of the Russo-Ukrainian War. Specifically, this campaign refers to clashes along the river between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Russian Armed Forces during and after the Ukrainian counteroffensive to retake Kherson.
Ukraine and Russia executed a major prisoner exchange of 206 individuals, with 103 prisoners released by each side. This marked the second swap in two days, mediated by the United Arab Emirates. President Zelensky credited the operation to recent Ukrainian military actions in the Kursk region. Among those freed were 82 soldiers and 21 officers from Ukraine, including members of the Azov brigade. The exchanges reflect ongoing negotiations and patterns established since the war began in February 2022, with this being the third swap since early August.
Dnipro, formerly Dnipropetrovsk (1926–2016), is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, 391 km (243 mi) southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnipro River, after which its name is derived. Dnipro is the administrative centre of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. It hosts the administration of Dnipro urban hromada. Dnipro has a population of 968,502 (2022 estimate).Archeological evidence suggests the site of the present city was settled by Cossack communities from at least 1524. Yekaterinoslav ("glory of Catherine") was established by decree of the Russian Empress Catherine the Great in 1787 as the administrative center of Novorossiya. From the end of the 19th century, the town attracted foreign capital and an international, multi-ethnic workforce exploiting Kryvbas iron ore and Donbas coal.Renamed Dnipropetrovsk in 1926 after the Ukrainian Communist Party leader Grigory Petrovsky, it became a focus for the Stalinist commitment to the rapid development of heavy industry. After World War II, this included nuclear, arms, and space industries whose strategic importance led to Dnipropetrovsk's designation as a closed city.Following the Euromaidan events of 2014, the city politically shifted away from pro-Russian parties and figures towards those favoring closer ties with the European Union. As a result of decommunization, the city was renamed Dnipro in 2016. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Dnipro rapidly developed as a logistical hub for humanitarian aid and a reception point for people fleeing the various battle fronts.
Prehistoric Ukraine, as a part of the Pontic steppe in Eastern Europe, played an important role in Eurasian cultural events, including the spread of the Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages, Indo-European migrations, and the domestication of the horse.A part of Scythia in antiquity, Ukraine was largely settled by Greuthungi, Getae, Goths, and Huns in the Migration Period, while southern parts of Ukraine were previously colonized by Greeks and then Romans. In the Early Middle Ages it was also a site of early Slavic expansion. The hinterland entered into written history with the establishment of the medieval state of Kievan Rus', which emerged as a powerful nation but disintegrated during the High Middle Ages, and was destroyed by the Mongol Empire in the 13th century. During the 14th and 15th centuries, present-day Ukrainian territories came under the rule of four external powers: the Golden Horde, the Crimean Khanate, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. The latter two would then merge into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth following the Union of Krewo and Union of Lublin. Meanwhile, the Ottoman Empire emerged as a major regional power in and around the Black Sea, through protectorates like the Crimean Khanate, as well as directly-administered territory.After a 1648 rebellion of the Cossacks against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky agreed to the Treaty of Pereyaslav in January 1654. The exact nature of the relationship established by this treaty between the Cossack Hetmanate and Russia remains a matter of scholarly controversy. The agreement precipitated the Russo-Polish War of 1654–67 and the failed Treaty of Hadiach, which would have formed a Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth. In consequence, by the Treaty of Perpetual Peace, signed in 1686, the eastern portion of Ukraine (east of the Dnieper River) was to come under Russian rule, 146,000 rubles were to be paid to Poland as compensation for the loss of right-bank Ukraine, and the parties agreed not to sign a separate treaty with the Ottoman Empire. The treaty was strongly opposed in Poland and was not ratified by the Polish–Lithuanian Sejm until 1710. The legal legitimacy of its ratification has been disputed. According to Jacek Staszewski, the treaty was not confirmed by a resolution of the Sejm until its 1764 session.During the Great Northern War, Hetman Ivan Mazepa allied with Charles XII of Sweden in 1708. However, the Great Frost of 1709 greatly weakened the Swedish army. Following the Battle of Poltava later in 1709, there was a diminishment in Hetmanate power, culminating with the disestablishment of the Cossack Hetmanate in the 1760s and the destruction of the Zaporozhian Sich in the 1770s. Following the Partitions of Poland (1772–1795) and the Russian conquest of the Crimean Khanate, the Russian Empire and Habsburg Austria were in control of all the territories that constitute present-day Ukraine for over a hundred years. Ukrainian nationalism developed in the 19th century.A chaotic period of warfare ensued after the Russian Revolutions of 1917, as well as a simultaneous war in the former Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria following the dissolution of the Habsburg monarchy after World War I. The Soviet–Ukrainian War (1917–1921) followed, in which the Bolshevik Red Army established control in late 1919. The Ukrainian Bolsheviks, who had defeated the national government in Kiev, established the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, which on 30 December 1922 became one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union. Initial Soviet policy on the Ukrainian language and Ukrainian culture made Ukrainian the official language of administration and schools. Policy in the 1930s turned to Russification. In 1932 and 1933, millions of people in Ukraine, mostly peasants, starved to death in a devastating famine, known as the Holodomor. It is estimated that 6 to 8 million people died from hunger in the Soviet Union during this period, of whom 4 to 5 million were Ukrainians.After the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, the Ukrainian SSR's territory expanded westward. Axis armies occupied Ukraine from 1941 to 1944. During World War II, elements of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army fought for Ukrainian independence against both Germany and the Soviet Union, while other elements collaborated with the Nazis, assisting them in carrying out the Holocaust in Ukraine and their oppression of Poles. In 1953, Nikita Khrushchev, ethnic Russian former head of the Communist Party of Ukraine, succeeded as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and enabled more political and cultural freedom, which led to a Ukrainian revival. In 1954 the republic expanded to the south with the transfer of Crimea from Russia.[citations needed] Nevertheless, political repressions against poets, historians and other intellectuals continued, as in all other parts of the USSR.Ukraine became independent again when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. This started a period of transition to a market economy, in which Ukraine suffered an eight-year recession. Subsequently however, the economy experienced a high increase in GDP growth until it plunged during the Great Recession.A prolonged political crisis began on 21 November 2013, when president Viktor Yanukovych suspended preparations for the implementation of an association agreement with the European Union, instead choosing to seek closer ties with Russia. This decision resulted in the Euromaidan protests and later, the Revolution of Dignity. Yanukovych was then impeached by the Ukrainian parliament in February 2014. On 20 February, the Russo-Ukrainian War began when Russian forces entered Crimea. Soon after, pro-Russian unrest enveloped the largely Russophone eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, from where Yanukovych had drawn most of his support. An internationally unrecognized referendum in the largely ethnic Russian Ukrainian autonomous region of Crimea was held and Crimea was de facto annexed by Russia on 18 March 2014. The War in Donbas began in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine involving the Russian military. The war continued until 24 February 2022, when Russia launched a major invasion of much of the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the US to present his 'victory plan' for Ukraine amid a challenging political landscape. His comments about Donald Trump and JD Vance have drawn criticism from senior Republicans, complicating efforts to secure US support. Zelensky’s gathering with Democrats at an ammunition factory was criticized as election interference. While he met Trump, the encounter underscored tensions as Zelensky sought Biden's backing while navigating a divided US political environment.
At the U.N. General Assembly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned against attempting to defeat a nuclear power, condemning Western efforts regarding Ukraine. He accused the West of using Ukraine as a strategic tool against Russia while criticizing NATO's expansion. Lavrov reiterated Russia's commitment to nuclear thresholds and claimed that the ongoing conflict's root causes stem from Ukraine's treatment of Russian speakers and NATO's historical expansion. He also mentioned cooperative peace efforts initiated by Brazil and China, while dismissing Ukraine's peace formula as unrealistic.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy returned to Ukraine after a U.S. trip where he secured over $8 billion in military aid from the Biden administration and addressed partisan politics. Despite controversies surrounding visits and comments about Republican candidates, Zelenskyy engaged with both Biden and Trump, promoting his vision for a victory plan against Russia. His aim to convince allies for long-term strategies remains difficult, but current U.S. support is assured until a new administration is elected.
The Dnieper ( (də)-NEE-pər, also called Dnepr or Dnipro ( də-NEE-proh), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately 2,200 km (1,400 mi) long, with a drainage basin of 504,000 square kilometres (195,000 sq mi), it is the longest river of Ukraine and Belarus and the fourth-longest river in Europe, after the Volga, Danube, and Ural rivers.In antiquity, the river was part of the Amber Road trade routes. During the Ruin in the later 17th century, the area was contested between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia, dividing what is now Ukraine into areas described by its right and left banks. During the Soviet period, the river became noted for its major hydroelectric dams and large reservoirs. The 1986 Chernobyl disaster occurred on the Pripyat River, a tributary of the Dnieper, just upstream from its confluence with the Dnieper. The Dnieper is an important navigable waterway for the economy of Ukraine and is connected by the Dnieper–Bug Canal to other waterways in Europe. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, certain segments of the river were made part of the defensive lines between territory controlled by the Russians and the Ukrainians.
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