Ukraine

Ukraine, with its area of 600,000 sq km, is the second largest country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by the Russian Federation to the east and northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland, Slovakia  and Hungary  to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast respectively. Ukraine became independent again after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It is a unitary state. Ukraine is a republic under a semi-presidential system with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Since the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine continues to maintain the second largest military in Europe, after that of Russia. The country is home to 46 million people, 77.8 percent of whom are ethnic Ukrainians, with sizable minorities of Russians (17%), Belarusians and Romanians. The Ukrainian language is the only official language in Ukraine.