Ukraine, republic, eastern Europe, bounded on the north by Belarus and Russia; on the east by Russia; on the south by the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov; on the southwest by Romania and Moldova; and on the west by Hungary, Slovakia, and Poland. Formerly the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Ukraine is a founding member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which in December 1991 succeeded the USSR.

With a total area of about 603,700 sq km (about 233,090 sq mi), Ukraine is the second largest country in Europe after Russia. Ukraine includes the Crimean Autonomous Republic, which was elevated from an oblast to a constituent republic in 1991. Kyiv is the capital and largest city.