Ukraine Passport

[Country Name] Ukraine

【 Geographic Location 】 Located in the eastern part of Europe. It borders Belarus to the north, Russia to the northeast, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to the south, and Türkiye across the sea.

【 Area 】 603700 square kilometers.

【 Population 】 41.13 million (Starting from February 1, 2022, the official website of the Ukrainian Statistics Bureau will be temporarily suspended for updates, excluding the Crimean region).

Kiev, the capital, covers an area of 827 square kilometers and has a population of 2.89 million.

There are over 130 ethnic groups, with Ukrainian accounting for 72.82% and Russian accounting for 17.28%.

The official language is Ukrainian.

[Religion] Mainly adheres to Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism.

National Day: August 24th.

[Currency] Hryvnia, 1 US dollar is approximately 39.28 Hryvnia.

The country is divided into 24 provinces, 1 autonomous republic (Republic of Crimea), and 2 municipalities (capital Kiev and Sevastopol).

In the early Paleolithic era, traces of ancient human activities existed within the current territory of Ukraine. The term "Ukraine" first appeared in the "Records of the Grand Historian" (1187), meaning "a frontier land". From 1237 to 1241, the Mongol Golden Horde (Batu) launched a western expedition and occupied Kiev. Afterwards, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland successively ruled Ukraine. In 1654, Ukrainian Cossack leader Khmelnytsky signed the Pereyaslav Treaty with the Russian Tsar, officially merging Ukraine and Russia. Since then, although Ukraine has had its own government, it has not played a substantial role. Joined the Soviet Union in 1922 (Western Ukraine joined in 1939). On July 16, 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Ukraine adopted the "Declaration of Ukrainian State Sovereignty". On August 24, 1991, Ukraine declared independence.

Head of State and Government: President Vladimir Zelensky took office in May 2019 and will serve until 2024. Prime Minister Shimegar took office in March 2020.

[Parliament] A unicameral system consisting of 450 members with a term of five years. There shall be one Speaker, one First Vice Speaker, and one Vice Speaker. In July 2019, Ukraine held its ninth (non routine) parliamentary elections, with the "People's Public Servants" party led by President Zelensky, the "Opposition Platform for Life" party led by Boyko, the Fatherland Party led by former Prime Minister Tymoshenko, the "European Unity" party led by former President Poroshenko, and the "Voice" party led by singer Vakalchuk entering parliament. The current ruling party is the People's Public Servant Party, which holds 235 seats in the parliament. The "Opposition Platform - For Life" party has been banned from activities since May 14, 2022.

The current government was formed in March 2020, including the Prime Minister, 1 First Deputy Prime Minister, 3 Deputy Prime Ministers, and 17 ministers. Prime Minister Johnny Smegal. The main government officials are: First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Sviridenko, Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Sebiga, Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov, and Minister of Internal Affairs Igor Klimenko.

At the end of November 2013, the Ukrainian authorities announced the suspension of signing the Association Agreement with the European Union. Large scale protests and demonstrations erupted in Ukraine, escalating into bloody clashes. The opposition launched a "color revolution," and Yanukovych was removed from the presidency, leading to the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis. On March 16, 2014, according to the results of the national referendum in the Crimean region (including the city of Sevastopol), Russia accepted the region as a new federal subject. On May 11th, a referendum was held in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine, announcing the establishment of the "People's Republic". On May 25th, in the sixth (non regular) presidential election, Poroshenko was elected president. The authorities are advancing the 'anti-terrorism operation' in the southeastern region. With the efforts of the international community, the conflicting parties in Ukraine reached a ceasefire agreement in Minsk in early September. On February 12, 2015, leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and France held talks in Minsk and ultimately reached a consensus on easing the conflict in the eastern region of Ukraine. The representatives of the Minsk Contact Group, Russia, Ukraine, and the Organization for Security and Co operation in Europe (OSCE), as well as leaders of civilian armed groups in eastern Ukraine, signed a package of measures to implement the Minsk ceasefire agreement of September 2014. The leaders of the four countries issued statements in support, and subsequently, the conflict in eastern Ukraine eased. Since then, the leaders of the four countries have met multiple times, but no substantial progress has been made.

On April 21, 2019, Ukraine held the second round of voting for the new presidential election, and Zelensky was elected with 73.19% of the vote. He was inaugurated on May 20. On July 21st, Ukraine held its ninth (non routine) parliamentary election. The People's Public Servant Party led by President Zelensky won 254 out of 450 seats and gained the right to form a separate government. On March 4, 2020, Ukrainian Prime Minister Goncharuk resigned, and former Deputy Prime Minister Shimegar became Prime Minister.

On February 21, 2022, Russia announced its recognition of the independence of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic. On February 24th, Russia announced a special military operation in the eastern region of Ukraine.

In 2023, Ukraine's GDP will grow by 5.3% year-on-year, approximately 166.6 billion US dollars, with an inflation rate of 5.1%. The foreign trade volume was 99.748 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of about 23%. Among them, exports amounted to 36.186 billion US dollars, a year-on-year decrease of 18%; Imports amounted to 63.562 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 14.9%.

Ukraine regards the United States and the West as its diplomatic priority, promotes the process of joining the treaty, condemns Russia's aggression, refuses to recognize Crimea's annexation by Russia, and actively seeks sympathy and support from the international community. On September 16, 2014, the Parliament officially approved the Association Agreement signed with the European Union. On December 23rd, the parliament passed the bill to renounce non aligned status by an absolute majority vote, deciding to strengthen cooperation with NATO. In January 2016, the Ukraine EU Free Trade Agreement was officially launched. In September 2017, the Ukraine EU Association Agreement officially came into effect. In September 2018, Ukraine announced the abolition of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Ukraine and Russia. In October 2018, taking advantage of the revocation of the 1686 decree by the Patriarchate of Constantinople, Ukraine announced the separation of the Kiev Metropolitan Archdiocese from the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. In November 2018, the Ukrainian and Russian navies engaged in maritime military friction in the Kerch Strait, with both sides accusing each other of violating international law and infringing on their own sovereignty. In February 2019, the Ukrainian parliament passed a constitutional amendment to include "joining the treaty" in the constitution. In June 2020, Ukraine was given the opportunity to enhance its partnership status with NATO. On February 24, 2022, Ukraine announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Russia. On June 23rd, Ukraine obtained EU candidate status. In September, Ukraine submitted its application to join NATO. In June 2024, the European Union officially launched accession negotiations with Ukraine.