Europe’s Largest Country Entirely in Europe, Defending Its Sovereignty
Ukraine — with 603,628 km² — is the largest country whose entire territory lies within Europe (Russia being larger but mostly in Asia). The country has been in full-scale war with Russia since 24 February 2022, when Russian forces launched a multi-front invasion. As of 2024-2025, the war continues; Ukraine has retained most of its sovereign territory with substantial Western military, financial, and diplomatic support.
Before the war, Ukraine was emerging as a serious regional economic presence — a major IT services hub (Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Dnipro all had significant tech scenes), the world’s largest exporter of sunflower oil, a top five exporter of grain, and home to a cultural scene that had been flourishing since the 2014 Revolution of Dignity.
Ukraine is a candidate for EU membership (application accepted in June 2022) and for NATO (undeclared timeline).
A Brief History
Kievan Rus’ (9th-13th centuries) was the medieval East Slavic state whose capital, Kyiv, gives the city its historical name. After Mongol invasion and centuries of Polish-Lithuanian, Ottoman, and Russian rule, Ukraine was incorporated into the Russian Empire, then the USSR.
The Holodomor (1932-1933) — Stalin’s forced famine — killed an estimated 3.5-7 million Ukrainians.
Ukraine declared independence in August 1991 as the USSR dissolved. The 2014 Revolution of Dignity (Maidan) overthrew Yanukovych; Russia responded by annexing Crimea and fomenting separatism in Donetsk and Luhansk.
Full-scale Russian invasion began on 24 February 2022.
Geography and Climate
Ukraine covers 603,628 km² with vast agricultural plains (the “breadbasket of Europe”), the Carpathian Mountains in the west, the Black Sea and Sea of Azov coasts in the south, and the Dnipro River running north-south through the centre.
Culture, Language and Religion
Ukrainian is a distinct East Slavic language (not a “Russian dialect” as sometimes claimed). Russian was widely spoken, particularly in the east and south, but its usage has declined sharply since 2022.
Religion: approximately 70% Orthodox (Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which became independent from Moscow Patriarchate in 2019), smaller Ukrainian Greek Catholic (especially in west), Roman Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim minorities.
The Economy
Pre-war Ukraine’s economy was growing and diversified; wartime economy has been significantly disrupted. Pre-war key sectors: agriculture (major grain, sunflower oil, corn exporter), IT services, metals, machinery.
Cuisine
- Borscht — the iconic beetroot soup (UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage 2022 as Ukrainian)
- Varenyky — filled dumplings
- Salo — cured pork fat
- Horilka — vodka
UNESCO Sites
Ukraine has 8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Kyiv: Saint Sophia Cathedral and Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, the Historic Centre of L’viv, and the Struve Geodetic Arc. The Odesa historic centre was added to the in-danger list in 2023.
Travel Guide
Entry: Visa-free 90 days for most Western nationalities. Due to the ongoing war, most Western governments advise against non-essential travel to Ukraine; travel patterns are restricted to the west (Lviv region).
Surprising Facts
- Ukraine was the second-largest economy in the former Soviet Union after Russia.
- Ukrainian borscht was added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2022 — a move that Russia protested.
- Kyiv was founded in 482 AD according to legend — making it older than Moscow by 665 years.
- Ukraine has approximately 40% of Europe’s fertile black soil (chernozem) — the reason for its “breadbasket” status.
- The Chornobyl disaster in April 1986 occurred in northern Ukraine; the exclusion zone is increasingly a contested site of tourism and conflict.
- Wheat production alone made Ukraine one of the top 5 global exporters before the war.
Sources and References
See the frontmatter for cited sources.