Ukraine is a country on the European continent, located between Russia and the European Union. 

Ukraine is 2,500 km away from France. It’s bigger than France but has fewer inhabitants.

Of its 44 million inhabitants, most speak Ukrainian, others Russian. 

More than thirty years ago, Ukraine was part of the USSR, a huge country that included Russia and other states. 

But, in the 1990s, the USSR broke up. 

And, in 1991, Ukraine, like other countries bordering Russia, became independent and elected its own president to conduct its own policy. 

Since then, Russia has been trying to regain its lost territories.

What means does it use to extend its power? 

Military means. In 2008, for example, it went to war with Georgia, a country located to the south-east of Ukraine.

In 2014, Russia invaded Crimea, a region in southern Ukraine.

Russia’s been nibbling away at Ukraine for eight years.

In February 2022, Putin, the Russian president, invaded the rest of the country by military force, with the firm intention of imposing his power. 

But Ukraine has allies in Europe and beyond who are helping it to defend itself against the invader.