Eastern Europe · UKR

Ukraine

The story · 13 chapters

How it was drawn

Trypillia farmers and Scythian nomads, Kyivan Rus', then centuries divided among the Horde, Lithuania, Poland, the Crimean Khanate, Russia and Austria; a Cossack state, a Soviet republic, independent since 1991 and fighting Russia's invasion.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Ukraine fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Pechenegs and Cumans968 to 1223
Steppe nomads harried Kyivan Rus' for centuries. Pechenegs besieged Kyiv in 968 and killed Prince Sviatoslav at the Dnieper rapids in 972; the Cumans, called Polovtsians, raided from the 1060s, as told in the Tale of Igor's Campaign.
Mongol Empire and Golden Horde1240 to 1362
Mongol armies under Batu destroyed Kyiv in December 1240. The Golden Horde then ruled the steppe and took tribute from the Rus' princes for generations, until Lithuania defeated it at the Blue Waters around 1362.
Kingdom of Poland1340 to 1392
Poland and Lithuania fought over the Galician-Volhynian kingdom after its last ruler died in 1340. Casimir the Great took Galicia with Lviv, while Lithuania kept most of Volhynia.
Crimean Khanate1482 to 1783
Crimean Tatars sacked Kyiv in 1482, and for nearly three centuries their raids carried off huge numbers of captives to slave markets such as Kaffa. The Zaporozhian Cossacks arose partly to fight them, until Russia annexed the khanate in 1783.
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth1591 to 1657
Cossack revolts against Polish lords, from Kosynsky's in 1591 to Nalyvaiko's in the 1590s, led up to Bohdan Khmelnytsky's uprising of 1648, which won victories at Zhovti Vody, Korsun and Pyliavtsi and created a Cossack state, the Hetmanate.
Ottoman Empire1614 to 1699
Cossack boats raided Ottoman ports across the Black Sea, sacking Sinop in 1614. In 1672 the Ottomans took Podolia, holding the fortress of Kamianets until the Treaty of Karlowitz returned it to Poland in 1699.
Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire1708 to 1917
After Mazepa's alliance with Sweden failed at Poltava in 1709, Russia dismantled Cossack self-rule, abolishing the Hetmanate in 1764 and the Zaporozhian Sich in 1775. Decrees of 1863 and 1876 restricted publishing in Ukrainian.
Soviet Russia1917 to 1921
Bolshevik armies invaded the Ukrainian People's Republic in 1918 and again in 1919, taking Kyiv each time. After years of war among Reds, Whites, Ukrainian forces and Poles, most of Ukraine became a Soviet republic.
Second Polish Republic1918 to 1919
When Austria-Hungary collapsed in November 1918, Poles and Ukrainians fought for Lviv and eastern Galicia. By July 1919 Polish forces held the whole region, ending the West Ukrainian People's Republic.
Soviet Union1922 to 1991
Soviet rule brought forced collectivisation and the Holodomor famine of 1932 and 1933, purges of Ukrainian writers and leaders, and the suppression of nationalist partisans after 1944. Ukraine voted for independence as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Nazi Germany1941 to 1944
Germany occupied Ukraine from 1941 to 1944. Millions of civilians died, including about 1.5 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, and more than two million people were taken to Germany as forced labourers.
Russian FederationSince 2014Still open
Russia seized and annexed Crimea in 2014 and fuelled war in Donbas. On 24 February 2022 it launched a full-scale invasion, the largest war in Europe since 1945. Ukraine has resisted, but Russia occupies about a fifth of its territory.

Today

Ukraine now

Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state, Kyivan Rus, which was the largest and most powerful state in Europe during the 10th and 11th centuries. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions, Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism.

Capital: Kyiv
Government: semi-presidential republic
Head of government: Serhii Koretskyi
Head of state: Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Languages: Ukrainian
Area: 603,550 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population37.7 million2023 · 37.3 million in 1950
Life expectancy73.4 years2023 · 61.2 years in 1950
GDP per person$7,7492022
Living in cities70%2025 · 35% in 1950
Literacy99%2001
Political regimeElectoral autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950
Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending39.6% of GDP2025
War deaths232 per 100,0002025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

United States
United Kingdom
Poland
France
Germany

Tensions

Russian Federation

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 24 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Ukraine fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Pechenegs and Cumans968 to 1223

Steppe nomads harried Kyivan Rus' for centuries. Pechenegs besieged Kyiv in 968 and killed Prince Sviatoslav at the Dnieper rapids in 972; the Cumans, called Polovtsians, raided from the 1060s, as told in the Tale of Igor's Campaign.

Mongol Empire and Golden Horde1240 to 1362

Mongol armies under Batu destroyed Kyiv in December 1240. The Golden Horde then ruled the steppe and took tribute from the Rus' princes for generations, until Lithuania defeated it at the Blue Waters around 1362.

Kingdom of Poland1340 to 1392

Poland and Lithuania fought over the Galician-Volhynian kingdom after its last ruler died in 1340. Casimir the Great took Galicia with Lviv, while Lithuania kept most of Volhynia.

Crimean Khanate1482 to 1783

Crimean Tatars sacked Kyiv in 1482, and for nearly three centuries their raids carried off huge numbers of captives to slave markets such as Kaffa. The Zaporozhian Cossacks arose partly to fight them, until Russia annexed the khanate in 1783.

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth1591 to 1657

Cossack revolts against Polish lords, from Kosynsky's in 1591 to Nalyvaiko's in the 1590s, led up to Bohdan Khmelnytsky's uprising of 1648, which won victories at Zhovti Vody, Korsun and Pyliavtsi and created a Cossack state, the Hetmanate.

Ottoman Empire1614 to 1699

Cossack boats raided Ottoman ports across the Black Sea, sacking Sinop in 1614. In 1672 the Ottomans took Podolia, holding the fortress of Kamianets until the Treaty of Karlowitz returned it to Poland in 1699.

Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire1708 to 1917

After Mazepa's alliance with Sweden failed at Poltava in 1709, Russia dismantled Cossack self-rule, abolishing the Hetmanate in 1764 and the Zaporozhian Sich in 1775. Decrees of 1863 and 1876 restricted publishing in Ukrainian.

Soviet Russia1917 to 1921

Bolshevik armies invaded the Ukrainian People's Republic in 1918 and again in 1919, taking Kyiv each time. After years of war among Reds, Whites, Ukrainian forces and Poles, most of Ukraine became a Soviet republic.

Second Polish Republic1918 to 1919

When Austria-Hungary collapsed in November 1918, Poles and Ukrainians fought for Lviv and eastern Galicia. By July 1919 Polish forces held the whole region, ending the West Ukrainian People's Republic.

Soviet Union1922 to 1991

Soviet rule brought forced collectivisation and the Holodomor famine of 1932 and 1933, purges of Ukrainian writers and leaders, and the suppression of nationalist partisans after 1944. Ukraine voted for independence as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Nazi Germany1941 to 1944

Germany occupied Ukraine from 1941 to 1944. Millions of civilians died, including about 1.5 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, and more than two million people were taken to Germany as forced labourers.

Russian FederationSince 2014Still open

Russia seized and annexed Crimea in 2014 and fuelled war in Donbas. On 24 February 2022 it launched a full-scale invasion, the largest war in Europe since 1945. Ukraine has resisted, but Russia occupies about a fifth of its territory.

Ukraine now

Capital

Kyiv

Government

semi-presidential republic

Head of government

Serhii Koretskyi

Head of state

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Languages

Ukrainian

Area

603,550 km²

Then and now

Population37.7 million2023 · 37.3 million in 1950

Life expectancy73.4 years2023 · 61.2 years in 1950

GDP per person$7,7492022

Living in cities70%2025 · 35% in 1950

Literacy99%2001

Political regimeElectoral autocracy2025 · Closed autocracy in 1950

Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending39.6% of GDP2025

War deaths232 per 100,0002025