In 1584, a German merchant traveled to Kyiv, at the time under the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In his diary, he mentions borsch—the earliest known reference to the dish. But according to historical records, Ukrainians have been eating and adapting a dish known as borsch for at least 1,200 years.
In early March 2023, a video surfaced online showing the execution of a Ukrainian prisoner of war. The unarmed soldier’s last words were “Slava Ukraini” – a Ukrainian national salute that means “Glory to Ukraine” – before he was shot multiple times and collapsed to his death. Ukrainian officials condemned the
At a small exhibit at the National History Museum in Kyiv on Ukraine’s flag, one notices something particular about the flags from the Soviet times and early days of independence: they’re homemade — sewn by hand with different fabrics of slightly different blues and yellows, the result of a
When reports emerged that the Kremlin had been allegedly planning to install former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in a leadership role in the event they captured Kyiv following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukrainians were in disbelief. Yanukovych, 73, had been flatly rejected by the
There is a reason why Ukrainians insist the world refers to Russia’s assault against Ukraine in 2022 as a “full-scale” invasion. Russia’s war against Ukraine did not begin on Feb. 24, 2022, but in 2014, with both the annexation of Crimea and the invasion of Ukraine’s eastern
Kyivan Rus was one of the most developed states of medieval Europe, lasting from around the late ninth to the mid-thirteenth century. It played a significant role in the history of the continent and the future East Slavic nations. The territories of Kyivan Rus included much of modern-day Ukraine, Belarus,
Editor’s Note: This article contains graphic photos and descriptions. The Holodomor, which means “murder by starvation” in Ukrainian, is widely considered to be one of Ukraine’s most devastating national tragedies. A man-made famine brought on by the agricultural collectivization policies and actions of the Soviet authorities under the
When the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic adopted the Declaration of Sovereignty in July 1990 to gain greater rights and freedoms within the Soviet Union, ridding the country of nuclear weapons was one of its top priorities. Ukraine had just suffered enormously from the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear power plant accident. Ukraine’
The Chornobyl nuclear accident occurred on April 26, 1986, at around 1 a.m. when one of the plant’s nuclear reactors exploded during a planned test. The explosion forever marred the surrounding environment and contaminated a 150,000-square-kilometer swath of land in the nexus between Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia.
Russia invaded Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in February 2014 amid the deadliest days of the EuroMaidan Revolution that eventually ousted pro-Russian ex-President Viktor Yanukovych. While Yanukovych's pro-Russian regime was murdering protesters in downtown Kyiv, around 30,000 Russian troops crossed into Crimea, taking hold of the peninsula by early March 2014.
On a cold day in 1918, a young student battalion began digging trenches to fortify their positions near Kyiv. They were filled with dreams of independent Ukraine and stood up to another of Russia’s attempts to subjugate their land. As about 5,000 Bolshevik troops came to seize Kyiv,
Vyshyvanka, the Ukrainian word for a traditionally styled embroidered shirt or dress, is the central feature of Ukraine’s national clothing. The shirts are traditionally made of linen and the designs are often ornate and colorful and represent features of Ukraine’s landscape or cultural values. In the past, vyshyvankas
Ukraine’s Orange Revolution was a series of protests, held mostly in Kyiv, that lasted from November 2004 to January 2005 as a response to election fraud. After reports that the results of the Nov. 21, 2004, presidential election run-off between ex-Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko and then Prime Minister Viktor
The EuroMaidan Revolution is often credited with being the single most consequential event in Ukraine's modern history. After pro-Kremlin President Viktor Yanukovych took power in 2010, the political and business landscape in Ukraine was gradually deteriorating. In November 2013, Yanukovych refused to sign the long-awaited Association Agreement with the European
Volodymyr Zelensky entered the international spotlight as the war-time president of Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion began on Feb. 24, 2022. Before becoming president, he was already famous as a comedic actor and businessman. Zelensky, 44, grew up in a Jewish family — he is the only son of a
