Ukraine is important to Russia due to a complex mix of historical, cultural, geopolitical, and economic reasons. Russian President Vladimir Putin views Ukraine's independence and its pivot toward the West as a fundamental threat to Russia's identity and status as a major global power.
Due to its extensive fertile land, the country is an important exporter of grain, though grain production has declined since 2022 due to the Russian invasion, endangering global food security. Ukraine is considered a middle power in global affairs.
The Russo-Ukrainian war began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia occupied Crimea and annexed it from Ukraine. It then supported Russian-backed armed groups who started a war in the eastern Donbas region against Ukraine's military.
Ukraine is often recognised for its vast agricultural lands and industrial heritage, but beneath its surface lies one of the world's most remarkable geological formations, the “Ukrainian Shield”. This massive, exposed crystalline rock formed over 2.5 billion years ago, stretches across much of Ukraine.
While there's no single "best friend," China is Russia's most crucial strategic partner, especially economically and politically, described as "friends of steel," with strong military and trade ties. Belarus is considered the closest ally in the post-Soviet space, while India, North Korea, Iran, and Turkey also feature prominently as key friends or partners, often united by shared geopolitical interests or opposition to Western influence.
This is our brotherly nation, we have long common history, traditions and close relations with, both political, economic, and humanitarian. — Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, on relations with Serbia (June 2009).
Russia and China officially declared their relations "Not allies, but better than allies". The two countries cooperate through multilateral organizations and project such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, BRICS and the Belt and Road Initiative.
Russia accused Ukraine of a military build-up of its own and demanded "legal guarantees" that it would never join NATO. On 30 November 2021, Putin warned that he would not tolerate a NATO missile defense shield (to shoot down attacking missiles) ever being deployed in Ukraine.
The economy of Ukraine is a developing social market economy. It possesses many of the components of a major European economy, such as rich farmlands, a well-developed industrial base, highly-trained labour, and a good education system. Ukraine has large mineral deposits across its landmass.
Before 1922, the territory that became modern Ukraine was a region with several competing entities, most notably the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) and the Bolshevik-controlled Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR), with parts also under Polish or Romanian rule, emerging from the collapsed Russian Empire after the 1917 revolutions, with the UPR declaring independence in 1918 and the Soviet republic forming the basis for the Ukrainian SSR joining the USSR in 1922.
He confirmed that he had withheld aid from Ukraine, while offering contradicting reasons for doing so. Trump first claimed it was withheld because of corruption in Ukraine, but later said it was because other nations, including those in Europe, were not contributing enough aid to Ukraine.
Nina Khrushcheva, a political scientist and the great-granddaughter of Nikita Khrushchev, said of his motivation, "it was somewhat symbolic, somewhat trying to reshuffle the centralized system and also, full disclosure, Nikita Khrushchev was very fond of Ukraine, so I think to some degree it was also a personal gesture ...
After achieving independence, Ukraine faced a period of rather violent corruption in the 1990s and early 2000s. As Prime Minister from 1996 to 1997, Pavlo Lazarenko is alleged to have embezzled between 114 and 200 million US dollars.
50 INVENTIONS BESTOWED BY UKRAINE
For around $20 (roughly 800-900 Ukrainian Hryvnia, depending on the exchange rate), you can get a modest meal at a local eatery, several public transport rides and coffee, basic groceries (bread, milk), a local SIM card for a few days, or a small souvenir in Ukraine, offering enough for a day's budget food/transport, but not much more, especially with limited accommodation costs.
Ukraine is generally considered a poor country, especially within Europe, facing significant poverty exacerbated by the ongoing war, but it possesses rich natural resources, strong agricultural potential, and a skilled workforce that could support a stronger economy in normal conditions. While large cities show pockets of wealth (like in IT), the national economic indicators (GDP per capita, high poverty rates) place it among lower-income nations, though it has significant mineral wealth, including critical materials like lithium and rare earths.
The richest country by GDP (PPP) per capita is often cited as Singapore, followed closely by Luxembourg, depending on the specific report and year, with Singapore leading in 2025 estimates with around $156,000-$157,000 per person, while Luxembourg is a strong contender just below that, highlighting small, finance-heavy economies as wealthiest per person.
Ukraine's GDP is one-tenth the size of Russia's, at approximately $200 billion. The war has reduced Ukraine's GDP by about 20 percent—far more than Russia's—exacerbating a long-standing disparity.
South Sudan is widely considered the poorest country in the world in 2025-2026, consistently ranking first due to extremely low GDP per capita and a high percentage (over 80%) of its population living in extreme poverty, driven by prolonged civil conflict, displacement, and disruption of its agricultural economy. Other nations frequently cited as among the poorest include Burundi, the Central African Republic, and Yemen, also suffering from conflict and instability.
As of 2026, no member state has rescinded their membership, although it has been considered by several countries. Notwithstanding, a number of former dependencies of NATO members have never applied for membership subsequent to their becoming independent states.
The Russian Armed Forces are the world's fifth largest military force, with about one million active-duty personnel and close to two million reservists.
According to respondents, the friendliest countries are China (65%, +10 p.p. since 2022), Belarus (41%, −8 p.p.), India (26%, +4 p.p.) and North Korea (26%, +22 p.p.). Russia's top foes include France (48%, +27 p.p. since 2022), Great Britain (42%, +3 p.p.) and Germany (41%, +9 p.p.).
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, with Vladimir Putin in 2002. Despite a number of economic disputes in the mid-2000s, Belarus has remained one of Russia's closest allies.
Conversely, Venezuela's primary geopolitical ally is Russia. Venezuela was reported to have extradited two Colombian members of Ukraine's military to Russia after they flew from Ukraine to Colombia via Caracas.