when did ukraine became a country when did ukraine became a country

Sporadic Cossack uprisings were now aimed at the Russian authorities, but eventually petered out by the late 18th century, following the destruction of entire Cossack hosts. After the Partitions of Poland in 1772, 1793 and 1795, the extreme west of Ukraine fell under the control of the Austrians, with the rest becoming a part of the Russian Empire. Also the Genoese founded some colonies in Crimean coasts until the Ottoman conquest in the 1470s. Five days later, Yanukovych resigned from office and his cabinet was dismissed on 5 January 2005. [22] The Ostrogoths stayed in the area but came under the sway of the Huns from the 370s. In . [61][62], Following the violence, the Ukrainian parliament on 22 February voted to remove Yanukovych from power (on the grounds that his whereabouts were unknown and he thus could not fulfil his duties), and to free Yulia Tymoshenko from prison. [99] On February 24, 2022, Russian forces invaded Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not say this. The kingdom included western Kazakhstan and parts of Crimea, eastern Ukraine, southern Russia and Azerbaijan. In 1240, the Mongols sacked Kyiv, and many people fled to other countries. [47] Tymoshenko ran for president against both Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych, creating a three-way race. Take the democratic process back from the decrepit dominant political parties and their consensus. These rebellions saw the capture of several cities of Pokuttya, and reached as far west as Lviv, but without capturing the latter.[30]. [20][21], In the 3rd century AD, the Goths arrived in the lands of modern Ukraine around 250375AD, which they called Oium, corresponding to the archaeological Chernyakhov culture. Russia, fearing separatism, imposed strict limits on attempts to elevate the Ukrainian language and culture, even banning its use and study. During this time, several Slavic tribes were native to Ukraine, including the Polans, the Drevlyans, the Severians, the Ulichs, the Tiverians, the White Croats and the Dulebes. Published on March 4, 2022. During the late 19th century, heavy taxes, rapid population growth and lack of land impoverished the peasantry. Ukrainian writers and intellectuals were inspired by the nationalistic spirit stirring other European peoples existing under other imperial governments. Since 1991, the study of Ukrainian nation-building became an increasingly global and collaborative enterprise, with scholars from Ukraine studying and working in Canada, and with conferences on related topics attracting scholars from around the world. On January 6, 2019, in Fener, a delegation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine with the participation of President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko received a Tomos on autocephaly. In 1953, Nikita Khrushchev, a Russian, succeeded as head of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union enabled a Ukrainian revival, and in 1954 the republic expanded to the south with the transfer of Crimea from Russia. [56], In November 2013, President Yanukovych did not sign the UkraineEuropean Union Association Agreement and instead pursued closer ties with Russia. A political crisis erupted after the opposition started massive street protests in Kyiv and other cities ("Orange Revolution"), and the Supreme Court of Ukraine ordered the election results null and void. This started a period of transition to a market economy, in which Ukraine suffered an eight-year recession. In the north, the name of Moscow appeared in the historical record in the Principality of Suzdal, which gave rise to the nation of Russia. A viral Facebook post has shown a Ukrainian officer who trained with the Houston Police Department (HPD) wearing a "Don't Mess With Texas" patch amid the country's fight against Russia. Ukraine has a long and troubled history. In the north-west, the Principality of Polotsk increasingly asserted the autonomy of Belarus. The 1648 Ukrainian Cossack (Kozak) rebellion or Khmelnytsky Uprising, which started an era known as the Ruin (in Polish history as The Deluge), undermined the foundations and stability of the Commonwealth. [44] Residual small groups of the UPA-partizans acted near the Polish and Soviet border as long as to the 1950s. "The 'Bandera Debate': The Contentious Legacy of World War II and Liberalization of Collective Memory in Western Ukraine,", Verstiuk, Vladyslav. by Juergen T Steinmetz. Maks Chmerkovskiy/Instagram . ", "Separate districts of Donbas and Luhansk regions (ORDLO)", At Least 9,115 Killed in Ukraine Conflict, U.N. Says, Kyiv, Separatists Accuse Each Other Of Violating Holiday Cease-Fire, " "" 112, ZIK NewsOne . The Budapest Memorandum was a 1994 agreement between the U.S., U.K., Russia and Ukraine, which had to do with nuclear non-proliferation and the thorny question of how to manage Ukraine's . Later, industrialization arrived with the first railway track constructed in 1866. The capital is Kyiv, located on the Dnieper River in north-central Ukraine. ", Bohdan Krawchenko, "Ukrainian studies in Canada. When the first bombs from Russia hit Ukraine, JetBridge's employees in Kyiv didn't know how to react. [107] since 2015, there has been renewed interest in integrating a "territorial-civic" and "linguistic-ethnic" history of Ukraine. But Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed that . A Varangian dynasty from Scandinavia settled in Kiev in the 9th century and proceeded to free the . Imperial history was rewritten such that non-Russian love caused an emulation and deference to "join" the Russian people by becoming part of the (tsarist) Russian state, and in return, Russian state interests were driven by altruism and concern for neighboring people. After a Pannonian Avar raid in 602 and the collapse of the Antes Union, most of these peoples survived as separate tribes until the beginning of the second millennium. ", Serhy Yekelchyk, "Studying the Blueprint for a Nation: Canadian Historiography of Modern Ukraine,", Last edited on 27 February 2023, at 00:34, History of the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth (15691648), were inspired by the nationalistic spirit, Ukrainian linguistic and cultural traditions, partition of the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth. Head, Department of the History of Ukrainian Prerevolutionary Literature, Institute of Literature, Ukrainian S.S.R. In 1672, Podolia was occupied by the Turkish Ottoman Empire, while Kyiv and Braclav came under the control of Hetman Petro Doroshenko until 1681, when they were also captured by the Turks, but in 1699 the Treaty of Karlowitz returned those lands to the Commonwealth. Big, diverse and largely undiscovered, Ukraine is one of Europe's last genuine travel frontiers, a nation rich in colourful tradition, warm-hearted people and off-the-map experiences. [6] The treaty was strongly opposed in Poland and was not ratified by the PolishLithuanian Sejm until 1710. However the steppe regions managed to produce 20% of world production of wheat and 80% of the empire's sugar. With the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. in December 1991, Ukraine gained full independence. Ukraine emerges as the concept of a nation, and the Ukrainians as a nationality, with the Ukrainian National Revival in the mid-18th century, in the wake of the peasant revolt of 1768/1769 and the eventual partition of the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth. [73], On July 28, 2020, in Lublin, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine created the Lublin Triangle initiative, which aims to create further cooperation between the three historical countries of the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth and further Ukraine's integration and accession to the EU and NATO. 3 mins ago. THE BRAUN CORPORATION OF WINAMAC, IN. But relations between Ukraine and Russia continued to . The war stalled until 24 February 2022, when Russia launched a major invasion of much of the country. The politics of identity (which includes the production of history textbooks and the authorization of commemorative practices) has remained fragmented and tailored to reflect the ideological anxieties and concerns of individual regions of Ukraine. When the Soviet Union began to unravel in 199091, the legislature of the Ukrainian S.S.R. 5-day Majestic Mammoth Lakes Flyer. The Crimean Oblast was transferred from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954. The Scythian kingdom existed here from 750 to 250BC. At the end of the 7th century, most Bulgar tribes migrated in several directions and the remains of their state were absorbed by the Khazars, a semi-nomadic people from Central Asia.[22]. As Russian President Vladimir Putin . CHAMPION BUS, INC. COACH & EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURING CORP. FREIGHTLINER CUSTOM CHASSIS CORP. ELKHART COACH, A DIVISION OF FOREST RIVER, INC. FREEDOM MOTORS USA INC. STARCRAFT BUS, A DIVISION OF FOREST RIVER, INC. THOMAS BUILT BUSES, INC. FREEDOM MOTORS USA, INC. In 2017, the president signed the law "On Education", which met with opposition from national minorities, and quarreled with the Government of Hungary. When did Ukraine gain its independence? These allegations have been spreading across the internet and social media since before he even took Quiz, Central Intelligence Agency - The World Factbook - Ukraine, Ukraine - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Ukraine - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), Biden and Scholz: US, Germany in 'lockstep' on Ukraine war, Zelenskyy tells US, Europe law chiefs Russia must face court, US sending bridge-launchers to Ukraine for spring fight, US sanctions Russian officials over dissident's detention, Why purported cross-border attack ups ante in Ukraine war. [93][94] The decision of the National Security and Defense Council and the Presidential Decree of February 19, 2021 imposed sanctions on 8 individuals and 19 legal entities, including Putin's pro-Russian politician and Putin's godfather Viktor Medvedchuk and his wife Oksana Marchenko. While right-bank Ukraine belonged to the PolishLithuanian Commonwealth until late 1793, left-bank Ukraine had been incorporated into Tsardom of Russia in 1667 (under the Treaty of Andrusovo). [103], The scholarly study of Ukraine's history emerged from romantic impulses in the late 19th century when German Romanticism spread to Eastern Europe. Ukrainian citizens were granted visa-free travel to the Schengen Area for up to 90 days during any 180-day period on 11 June 2017, and the Association Agreement formally came into effect on 1 September 2017. Ukraine became an independent country in 1991 after the fall of the USSR. A fully independent Ukraine emerged only late in the 20th century, after long periods of successive domination by Poland-Lithuania, Russia, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.). The Russophile policies of Russification and Panslavism led to an exodus of a number some Ukrainian intellectuals into Western Ukraine, while others embraced a Pan-Slavic or Russian identity. With the power vacuum created with the end of Hunnic and Gothic rule, Early Slavs, in the aftermath of the Kyiv culture, began to expand over much of the territory that is now Ukraine during the 5th century, and beyond to the Balkans from the 6th century. Ukraine said it had survived a months-long winter onslaught of Russian strikes on water and energy infrastructure, as it marked the first day of spring Wednesday.But Kyiv was under fierce pressure in the eastern town of Bakhmut while Moscow said it had downed a "massive" barrage of Ukrainian drones launched at the Crimean peninsula, annexed by the Kremlin in 2014. The nascent Cossack state, the Cossack Hetmanate,[35] usually viewed as precursor of Ukraine,[35] found itself in a three-sided military and diplomatic rivalry with the Ottoman Turks, who controlled the Tatars to the south, the Commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania, and the Tsardom of Muscovy to the East. [26] Rulers of both principalites were trying to extend the rule over another. [112], Disintegration of Kievan Rus' and Mongol invasion, Russian Revolution and War of Independence. Also on 1 December 1991, Ukrainian voters in their first presidential election elected Leonid Kravchuk. Marshland, covering almost 3 percent of Ukraine, is found primarily in the northern river valleys and in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, Danube, and other rivers. The country changed its official name to Ukraine, and it helped to found the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), an association of countries that were formerly republics of the Soviet Union. Almost all the major rivers in Ukraine flow northwest to southeast through the plains to empty into the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Dams and hydroelectric plants are situated on all the larger rivers. A video shared widely in March 2022 showed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy performing John Lennon's "Imagine." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy became . In Rus' propria, the Kyiv region, the nascent Rus' principalities of Halych and Volhynia extended their rule. Some artificial lakes have been formed, the largest of which are reservoirs at hydroelectric damse.g., the reservoir on the Dnieper upstream from Kremenchuk. It is estimated that 6 to 8 million people died from hunger in the Soviet Union during this period, of whom 4 to 5 million were Ukrainians. [57][58] This move sparked protests on the streets of Kyiv and, ultimately, the Revolution of Dignity. Ukraine as a fully independent country emerged only late in the 20th century, after long periods of successive domination by Poland-Lithuania, Russia, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics . Later the Kievan ruler, Yaroslav I promulgated the Russkaya Pravda (Truth of Rus') which continued through the Lithuanian period of Rus'. When President Leonid Kravchuk was elected by the Ukrainian parliament in 1990, he vowed to seek Ukrainian sovereignty. On February 21, 2019, the Constitution of Ukraine was amended, with the norms on the strategic course of Ukraine for membership in the European Union and NATO being enshrined in the preamble of the Basic Law, three articles and transitional provisions. Vladimir Putin won't have it. On May 19, 2018, Poroshenko signed a Decree which put into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on the final termination of Ukraine's participation in the statutory bodies of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Ukraine is an Eastern European country. National "pasts" were rewritten as social and national liberation for non-Russians, and social liberation for Russians, in a process that ended in 1917. During the 19th century, Russophilia was a common occurrence among the Slavic population, but the mass exodus of Ukrainian intellectuals escaping from Russian repression in Eastern Ukraine, as well as the intervention of Austrian authorities, caused the movement to be replaced by Ukrainophilia, which would then cross over into the Russian Empire. For centuries, the southeastern shores of the Baltic Sea were inhabited by various Baltic tribes. The Khazars dominated enough of the PonticCaspian steppe such that there was a Pax Khazarica in terms of trade, which allowed long distance trade to occur in safety, including groups like the Radhanite Jews who traded as far as China to Tabriz, as well as the trade networks that surrounded Volga Bulgaria. In a letter dated 10 December 1992, its Permanent Representative informed the Secretary-General that the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic would cease to exist on 31 December 1992 and that the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, as successor States, would apply for membership in the United Nations. During the 14th century, Poland and Lithuania fought wars against the Mongol invaders, and eventually most of Ukraine passed to the rule of Poland and Lithuania. [53] In the second round of the election, Yanukovych won the run-off ballot with 48% to Tymoshenko's 45%. After about a century, however, Empress Catherine the Great (1762-96) of Russia abolished the hetmante, and absorbed the entire ethnic . Ukraine's New President: Is the Orange Revolution Over? The partially-recognised Ukrainian People's Republic emerged from its own civil war of 19171921. This decision resulted in the Euromaidan protests and later, the Revolution of Dignity. Here is a timeline of the main events in Ukraine's political history since the country's independence in 1991. [55] One frequently cited example of Yanukovych's attempts to centralise power was the 2011 sentencing of Yulia Tymoshenko, which has been condemned by Western governments as potentially being politically motivated. [86][88][89][90] By December 2015, more than 9,100 people had died (largely civilians) in the War in Donbas,[91] according to United Nations figures. Nearly 19,000 civilian casualties had been reported, as of 12 February 2023. [32] It remained a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire until 1774, when it was finally dissolved by the Russian Empire in 1783. Our enemies will vanish like dew in the sun; We too shall rule in our country. During the Iron Age, these peoples were followed by the Dacians as well as nomadic peoples like the Cimmerians (archaeological Novocherkassk culture), Scythians and Sarmatians. The investigation of crimes against Maidan residents was delayed. [80][79] Later in April 2014, fighting between the Ukrainian army and pro-Ukrainian volunteer battalions on one side, and forces supporting the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics on the other side, escalated into the War in Donbas. Though official results of a referendum on Crimean reunification with Russia were reported as showing a large majority in favor of the proposition, the vote was organized under Russian military occupation and was denounced by the European Union and the United States as illegal. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. North of the Ostrogothic kingdom was the Kyiv culture, flourishing from the 2nd5th centuries, when it was also overrun by the Huns. The U.S. recognized Ukraine after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. But the historical reality of Ukraine is complicated . [75], At the June 2021 Brussels Summit, NATO leaders reiterated the decision taken at the 2008 Bucharest Summit that Ukraine would become a member of the Alliance with the Membership Action Plan (MAP) as an integral part of the process and Ukraine's right to determine its own future and foreign policy without outside interference. Several of the larger rivers are navigable, including the Dnieper, Danube, Dniester, Pripet (Prypyat), Donets, and Southern Buh (in its lower course). West of the Volyn-Podilsk Upland, in extreme western Ukraine, the parallel ranges of the Carpathian Mountainsone of the most picturesque areas in the countryextend for more than 150 miles (240 km). The Danube River flows along the southwestern frontier of Ukraine. F oreign Secretary Liz Truss has said Russian President Vladimir Putin is "hell-bent" on invading Ukraine and "setting the clock back to the mid-1990s".. Mr Putin delivered an angry and . Under Stalin, the state and its official historiography were given a distinct Russian character and a certain Russocentrism. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. The Supreme Court later annulled the election result and following an election re-run in December 2005, Viktor Yushchenko became president. In Putin's telling, the modern Ukrainian independence movement began not in 1917 but during World War II. Ukraine was one of them. Among the countrys lowlands are the Pripet Marshes (Polissya), which lie in the northern part of Ukraine and are crossed by numerous river valleys. Until the late 18th century, the Crimean Khanate maintained a massive slave trade with the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East,[31] exporting about 2 million slaves from Russia and Ukraine over the period 15001700. In late February, Fox News host Tucker Carlson openly questioned the legitimacy of Ukraine's political system, openly dismissing its status as a democracy . In 1992 Burkhard Herbote, a VP for the World Tourism . Yanukovych was then impeached by the Ukrainian parliament in February 2014. The Rada, the new Ukrainian parliament formed out of the previous Soviet legislature, votes to declare independence from the Soviet Union. Corrections? The journey to independence started in August 1991, when the Ukrainian parliament set . Kievan Rus was never a fully centralized state, but rather a loose aggregation of principalities ruled by members of the Rurikovich dynasty. The War in Donbas began in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine involving pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian Ukrainians and Russian mercenaries. Independence was gained through a series of referendums with conflicting results. The southern lowland continues in the Crimean Peninsula as the North Crimean Lowland. The country consists almost entirely of level plains at an average elevation of 574 feet (175 metres) above sea level. Still, Ukraine has to demonstrate its partners that the standards are being implemented. Amid the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine votes for independence in a referendum, with 92 percent of Ukrainians supporting independence . Therefore, exile schools of historians emerged in central Europe and Canada after 1920. In 1922, this republic became one of the founding members of the Soviet Union. [citation needed], In the Scythian campaign of Darius I, Darius' army subjugated several Thracian peoples, and virtually all other regions that touch the European part of the Black Sea, such as parts of nowadays Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, and Russia, before it returned to Asia Minor. Together with Russia, Ukraine was a part of the former Soviet Union but its population voted overwhelmingly for independence in 1991, which ended any realistic chance of the Soviet Union staying together even on a . [4] Czechoslovakia was an original Member of the United Nations from 24 October 1945. In order to counteract the massive global Russian anti-Ukrainian propaganda of the "information war", the Ministry of Information Policy was created, which for 5 years did not show effective work, except for the ban on Kaspersky Lab, Dr.Web, 1, Mail.ru, Yandex and Russian social networks VKontakte or Odnoklassniki and propaganda media. Conflict among the various principalities of Rus', in spite of the efforts of Grand Prince Vladimir Monomakh, led to decline, beginning in the 12th century. Early in the Christian era the Ukranian steppes were overrun by various invaders, among which were Huns, Goths and Avars. On the same day, Yanukovych supporter Volodymyr Rybak resigned as speaker of the Parliament, and was replaced by Tymoshenko loyalist Oleksandr Turchynov, who was subsequently installed as interim President. After the 1848 revolutions, Ukrainians established the Supreme Ruthenian Council, demanding autonomy, they also opened the first Ukrainian-language newspaper (Zoria halytska). [38], The rise in national consciousness arose in the 19th century, with representation of the intelligentsia declining among the nobles and increasing towards commoners and peasants, they saw a process of nation-building to improve national rights and social justice but was uncovered soon after by the tsarist authorities. On March 11, 1990, Lithuania declared that it was an independent nation, the first of the Soviet republics to do so. In 1648, Cossacks under Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky rose in revolt against the Poles, took control of Kyiv, and founded the Ukrainian state of Cossack Hetmanate in the area that is today's central Ukraine. [8] According to Jacek Staszewski, the treaty was not confirmed by a resolution of the Sejm until its 1764 session.[9]. [54], During his presidency (20102014), Yanukovych and his Party of Regions were accused of trying to create a "controlled democracy" in Ukraine and of trying to destroy the main opposition party Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko, but both have denied these charges. Situated on lucrative trade routes, Kyiv among the Polans quickly prospered as the center of the powerful Slavic state of Kievan Rus. In 1490, due to increased oppression of Ukrainians at the hands of the Polish, a series of successful rebellions was led by Ukrainian Petro Mukha, joined by other Ukrainians, such as early Cossacks and Hutsuls, in addition to Moldavians (Romanians). Axis armies occupied Ukraine from 1941 to 1944. While Christianity had made headway into the territory of modern Ukraine before the first ecumenical council, the Council of Nicaea (325) (particularly along the Black Sea coast, with the clearest evidence being the Christianization of the Crimean Goths) and, in western Ukraine during the time of the Empire of Great Moravia, the formal governmental acceptance of Christianity in Rus' occurred in 988. Most of Ukraine fell to the Russian Empire under the reign of Catherine the Great; in 1793 right-bank Ukraine was annexed by Russia in the Second Partition of Poland.[37]. [60] Battles between protesters and police resulted in about 80 deaths in February 2014. Three large artesian basinsthe Volyn-Podilsk, the Dnieper, and the Black Seaare exceptionally important for municipal needs and agriculture as well. This map image could be re-created using vector graphics as an SVG file.This has several advantages; see Commons:Media for cleanup for more information. "Conceptual Issues in Studying the History of the Ukrainian Revolution. Like the Dnieper, the Southern Buh, with its major tributary, the Inhul, flows into the Black Sea. On January 9, all members of the Synod of the Constantinople Orthodox Church signed the Tomos during the scheduled meeting of the Synod. Coeditor of and contributor to, Writer. The middle course of the Donets River, a tributary of the Don, flows through southeastern Ukraine and is an important source of water for the Donets Basin (Donbas). In the far southeast, Ukraine is separated from Russia by the Kerch Strait, which connects the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea. Ukraine has a few natural lakes, all of them small and most of them scattered over the river floodplains. As of 14 February, 2023, approximately 18.61 million people had fled Ukraine, and 5.35 million people were internally displaced as of January 2023. King of Poland adopted the tile of "lord and heir of Ruthenia" (Latin: Russiae dominus et Heres[27]). The Crimean Mountains form the southern coast of the peninsula. The United States has traditionally sought to promote Ukrainian political and economic stability since the Ukraine declared independence from Russia. As a result of the Russo-Turkish Wars, the Ottoman Empire's control receded from south-central Ukraine, while the rule of Hungary over the Transcarpathian region continued. The DWTS pro said that at the Ukrainian border, men cannot leave the country: "If the families are going all together, the men have to stay back and go back, and . [86] On 25 May 2014, Petro Poroshenko was elected president[87] in the first round of the presidential election. In 1253 he was cronwed by a papal delegation "King of Rus'" (Latin: rex Russiae); previously, the rulers of Rus' were termed "Grand Dukes" or "Princes.". In 1322, Pope John XXII established a diocese in Caffa (modern day Feodosia), which broke apart the Diocese of Khanbaliq (modern day Beijing), the only Catholic presence in the Mongol lands. This was part of a deal with the United States to ensure a degree of balance in the General Assembly, which, the USSR opined, was unbalanced in favor of the Western Bloc. In 1991, at the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union, Ukraine declared independence after nearly 70 years under Moscow's control. 9- Canada: After the US, another North American country has grabbed a spot on the list of wealthiest nations in the world.It is the second-largest country in the world after Russia in terms of . An Independent Nation. Ukraine occupies the southwestern portion of the Russian Plain (East European Plain). Multiethnic history recognises the numerous peoples in Ukraine; transnational history portrays Ukraine as a border zone for various empires; and area studies categorises Ukraine as part of East-Central Europe or, less often, as part of Eurasia. Kyiv was sacked by the Principality of Vladimir (1169) in the power struggle between princes and later by Cuman and Mongol raiders in the 12th and 13th centuries, respectively. In the 1230s, the Lithuanian lands were united by Mindaugas, the King of Lithuania, and the first unified Lithuanian state, the Kingdom of Lithuania, was created on 6 July 1253. Ukraine covers an area of 603,550 square kilometres (233,030 sq mi), with a coastline of 2,782 kilometres (1,729 mi).