To the Northwest, Ukraine also shares borders with Belarus-a country that is closely aligned with the Kremlin.
For context, a car trip from Moscow to one of the Ukrainian border cities, Shostka, takes around 8 hours. The country shares borders with Russia both to the east and northeast. Given the country’s location and history, it’s nearly impossible to talk about Ukraine without mentioning nearby Russia. The country is the world’s fifth-largest exporter of wheat and the world’s largest exporter of seed oils like sunflower and rapeseed.Ĭoal mining, chemicals, mechanical products (aircraft, turbines, locomotives and tractors) and shipbuilding are also important sectors of the Ukrainian economy. Ukraine’s mostly flat geography and high-quality soil composition make the country a big regional agricultural player. It’s also worth noting that Ukraine ranks second in terms of known natural gas reserves in Europe, which today remain largely untapped. It possesses the world’s largest reserves of commercial-grade iron ore- 30 billion tonnes of ore or around one-fifth of the global total. The country exports weapons to countries like India, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey.įurthermore, Ukraine is rich in natural resources, particularly in mineral deposits. However, the defense industry continues to be a strategically important sector and a large employer in Ukraine.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine turned over thousands of atomic weapons in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the United States, and other countries. The majority of the population is Christian (80%), with 60% declaring adherence to one or another strand of the Orthodox Church.
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