Ukraine is a country of extremes. For it is both one of the largest countries in Europe and one of the poorest. Wedged between the bulky Russian neighbor, authoritarian Belarus in the north, and Moldova, Ukraine is an Eastern European country that was marked in 1986 by the largest nuclear disaster in history.
The list of the biggest cities in Ukraine
1. Kyiv, the historical heart of the Slavic world
The beautiful Ukrainian capital is often presented as the mother of all Russian cities. The great monarchs who will sit in Kyiv will be Oleg the First (the founder) and then Igor the First, and then Sviatoslav the First, but the one who will make history the most will probably be Vladimir. A man who became a monarch and who will establish his capital in the East not far from Moscow.
With its 2.9 million inhabitants, Kyiv is the largest city in Ukraine but also one of the largest cities in Europe.
2. Kharkiv, one of the largest cities in Ukraine
The population of Kharkiv is estimated at 1.42 million people. This city in the east of the country is located a few kilometers from the Russian border and some 400 kilometers from its capital.
This city was the capital of the country between 1917 and 1934. This is probably why Kharkiv is still one of the most important cities in Ukraine. It is indeed a real economic, scientific and cultural center in Ukraine.
3. Odessa, the big city on the Black Sea
This big city in the south of Ukraine gathers a little more than one million inhabitants. A city as famous as the capital which is renowned for its architecture and its beaches along the Black Sea. A tourist city that could almost be called the “Slavic Barcelona”. Because Odessa is an intriguing and fascinating city like the Catalan capital.
4. Dnipro, a city in the east of Ukraine
This city has about 980 000 inhabitants. Dnipro is located in the administrative region of Dnipropetrovsk. This city in the east of Ukraine is an industrial city that regularly sees its population decreasing.
Dnipro was founded in the late 18th century on the banks of the Dnieper, one of the largest rivers in Europe.
5. Donetsk, the capital of Donbass
The city of Donetsk is above all the industrial center of the country. It is located 600 kilometers southeast of the country.
This large Ukrainian city, which was founded in 1869, had 918,536 inhabitants (latest estimates from 2017). The industrial and economic capital of Ukraine, this city is now the symbol of a region that has seceded. Indeed since 2014, the Donbass is to this day a self-proclaimed and unrecognized republic. This part of Ukraine has followed the same path as Transnistria in Moldova. That is, this territory has become a grey zone under Russian influence.
Donetsk is twinned with the cities of Pittsburg (USA), Kazan (Russia), Taranto (Italy), and Charleroi (Belgium).
6. Zaporizhie, the former Aleksandrovsk
This city in the east of the country had about 740,000 inhabitants in 2019. And even if Zaporizhie has lost a lot of inhabitants since 1991 and the disappearance of the USSR, it is still one of the largest cities in Ukraine. Note that until 1921, this city was called Aleksandrovsk.
Zaporizhie is located 450 kilometers from the capital Kyiv and about 50 kilometers from Dnipro. This city is located in the Dnieper basin on the banks of the great river of the same name.
Originally, that is to say during the XVI century, Zaporijie was only a military camp established by the Cossacks. But it was in 1770 that a military fort was created and it was then that the city of Aleksandrovsk began to appear.
One of the largest locks in Europe is located in Zaporizhie. It allows to recovery a height of 36 meters.
More anecdotally, Zaporizhie is twinned with Belfort in France, Lahti in Finland, and Oujda in Morocco.
7. Lviv, one of the largest cities in Ukraine
This city has 724,314 inhabitants. Lviv is located in the extreme west of Ukraine and is about 300 meters above sea level. This city is one of the oldest cities in the country. Officially, the city was founded in the 13th century.
Culturally speaking Lviv is a city very close to Poland. It must be said that the city is located some 70 kilometers from the border.
8. Kryviy Rih
This city is the second largest city in the region of Dnipropetrovsk. Although it is in the shadow of Dnipro, Kryviy Rih has 634 294 inhabitants.
The city’s activity is almost entirely focused on its steel and mining industry.
9. Mykolaï, a large port city
This port on the shores of the Black Sea is the other big city in the south of the country, 400 kilometers from Kyiv. With about 500 000 inhabitants, it is one of the largest cities in Ukraine.
This city was founded by Potemkin on April 27, 1789. Grigori Potemkin was a Russian prince who was in charge of military affairs for the Russian government.
10. Mariupol
This city of about 460,000 inhabitants is located near the secessionist region of Donbass, in the far east of the country.
Mariupol is an important port city whose main activity is heavy industry. It was a key city for Ukraine because Mariupol was located on the railroad line that connected Kiev to Moscow, Minsk, and even St. Petersburg.