Ukraine is located in Eastern Europe, bordering Russia, Slovakia, Belarus, Poland, Hungary, and others. It is also surrounded by two seas, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. It is the largest-sized country within Europe, controlling just under 240,000 square miles. Ukraine is home to about 45 million people, 3 million of which reside in the capital city, Kiev. Ukraine has been an independent country since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Russian officials have sought Ukraine's vast coal deposits, as well as access to their main port cities, Crimea and Odessa, for nearly 10,000 years. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the nation's already tense relationship with Russia has quickly deteriorated, often leading to violent protests and attacks.
Ukrainian is the official language of the majority of the country, however Russian is used more frequently in the Eastern and Southern regions. Many Ukrainians speak Russian as a second language.
Ukraine's main exports are grain, coal, petroleum, iron, and other metals.
Ukraine is most well known as the site of the world's worst nuclear power plant accident. On April 26, 1986, reactor #4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded in the early morning hours. This caused raging fires that lasted for ten days and released massive amounts of radioactive chemicals into the air, spreading far into the environment and even into bordering nations. Plant workers and their families who lived in the close by city of Pripyat, were evacuated nearly 40 hours after the initial explosion, most of whom were already beginning to show symptoms of radiation poisoning. The cities of Pripyat and Chernobyl have remained abandoned ever since, thankfully wildlife has taken over the areas and may be a sign that the lingering radiation in the soil is slowly dying out.