Opinion | How To Think About Ukraine, In Maps And Charts

Opinion|How to Think About Ukraine, in Maps and Chartshttps://nyti.ms/3sjm1yd

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With the minute-by-minute reports on Russian military attacks across Ukraine, and the detailed analysis of Vladimir Putin’s moves and motivations, it can be easy to lose sight of the country itself — especially when many people are still on a learning curve about Ukraine. Here are four ways to think about Ukraine, in maps and charts, that help show why the nation is so important to Europe and Mr. Putin, and how the Russian invasion is already reverberating across America and around the world.

How big is Ukraine?

Ukraine is Europe’s second largest country by land area and seventh largest by population. In square miles, it is slightly smaller than the state of Texas. Overlaid atop a map of Western Europe, it encompasses Switzerland, northern France and southern Germany.

A map of Ukraine overlaid atop Western Europe, for size comparison.

U.K.

GERMANY

UKRAINE

FRANCE

ITALY

SPAIN

U.K.

POLAND

GERMANY

UKRAINE

FRANCE

ITALY

SPAIN

Compared to two other nations that have experienced invasions in this century, Ukraine is larger than Iraq — about 223,000 square miles (including Crimea and separatist regions) compared to Iraq’s 169,000 — but smaller than Afghanistan (252,000 square miles).

“The battlefield is enormous,” Seth G. Jones, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said of Ukraine. “Even if Russians are successful with overthrowing the government in Kyiv, a Russian-installed government won’t sit well with many Ukrainians,” Jones added.

“We’re talking about the potential for fighting to continue in a huge geographic area,” Jones said, adding that a protracted insurgency in Ukraine could lead to “large displacements of people the likes of which we haven’t seen since World War II.”

What are Ukraine’s largest cities?

A map of major cities in Ukraine with population values for the largest cities.

100 MILES

POL.

BELARUS

RUSSIA

Claimed by

separatists, held

by Ukraine

Lviv

Kharkiv

Kyiv

UKRAINE

MOLDOVA

Held by separatists

ROMANIA

Odessa

Ukraine

CRIMEA

BLACK SEA

Population

600k

1 million people

Population

Warsaw

BELARUS

200k

600k

1m

RUSSIA

POLAND

Claimed by separatists, held by Ukraine

Lviv

720k

Kharkiv

Kyiv

1.4m

3.0 million

Dnipro

UKRAINE

980k

Donetsk

910k

Held by separatists

MOLDOVA

Zaporizhshia

720k

Chisinau

ROMANIA

SEA OF

AZOV

Odessa

1.0m

CRIMEA

Ukraine

Bucharest

BLACK SEA

100 MILES

Population

BELARUS

200k

600k

1m

Warsaw

Vorozneh

POLAND

RUSSIA

Claimed by separatists, held by Ukraine

Lviv

720k

Kharkiv

Kyiv

1.4m

3.0 million

SLOVAK.

UKRAINE

Dnipro

Held by separatists

980k

Donetsk

HUNGARY

910k

MOLDOVA

Zaporizhshia

Rostov-on-Don

720k

Chisinau

SEA OF

AZOV

ROMANIA

Odessa

1.0m

CRIMEA

Krasnodar

Ukraine

Bucharest

BLACK SEA

100 MILES

Source: Statista. Note: Population estimates are for 2021.

The country’s most populous cities are Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odessa, Dnipro, Zaporizhshia and Lviv.

Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, has a population of almost 3 million people. Since the country gained independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kyiv has become the nation’s economic and cultural center.

Kharkiv, with 1.4 million inhabitants, lies 20 miles from Ukraine’s Russian border. The city holds symbolic importance for Mr. Putin, who wrote last year that a failed 1918 attempt at Ukrainian statehood in Kharkiv was an “instructive” reminder of Russia’s power.

Lviv is the largest city in Western Ukraine and a growing technological hub. Close to countries in the European Union, the city has long been a bastion of anti-Russian political activity.

How do Ukrainians feel about Russia?

Ukrainians’ attitudes toward Russia

Russia annexes

Crimea

100%

75

Positive attitude

50%

50

34%

25

Negative attitude

0

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

Ukrainians’ attitudes toward Russia

Russia annexes

Crimea

100%

75

Positive attitude

50%

50

34%

25

Negative attitude

0

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

Source: Kyiv International Institute of Sociology

Most Ukrainians had a positive attitude towards Russia in the early 2010s, according to polling from the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. That changed in 2014, when Russia swiftly invaded and then annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.

Since then, anti-Russian sentiment has remained high, with some regional variation. In a survey conducted earlier this month, 21 percent of respondents in Western Ukraine held positive attitudes towards Russia, compared to 53 percent in Eastern Ukraine, which is closer to Russia. (The survey did not include inhabitants of separatist-controlled regions.)

But even in Eastern Ukraine, respondents were protective of the country’s independence. Just 11 percent of the survey’s respondents there thought that the country should join Russia and become a single state. And there was widespread opposition to a Russian invasion: 58 percent of respondents across the country said they were ready to resist Russian troops, and 37 percent supported an armed insurgency if Russian troops invaded their city or village.

How could the invasion of Ukraine affect the economy?

Some countries rely heavily on Ukraine’s

wheat exports

Libya

49%

Share of wheat imports coming from Ukraine

Tunisia

45%

Bangladesh

30%

Some countries rely heavily on Ukraine’s wheat exports

Libya

49%

Share of wheat imports coming from Ukraine

Tunisia

45%

Bangladesh

30%

Source: The Atlas of Economic Complexity Note: As of 2019.

Sometimes referred to as the “breadbasket of Europe,” Ukraine is one of the world’s largest exporters of grains. Prices of the commodity have already spiked, and supply disruptions could lead to increased food insecurity in countries that rely on Ukraine’s exports, such as Libya and Tunisia.

The largest shocks to the worldwide economy will likely be in the gas and oil markets. Europe relies heavily on its energy needs from Russia, and more than a third of Russia’s gas exports flow through Ukraine. As of Thursday afternoon, oil prices topped $100 a barrel for the first time in more than seven years. Some experts predict that consumers may see gas prices rise to more than $4 per gallon.

Ukraine itself is heavily dependent on nuclear energy, generating roughly half of its overall electricity at its 15 reactors scattered across the country. While the country may not export much of that energy, its nuclear power plants are still cause for concern: Attacks in that Chernobyl exclusion zone have prompted fears of kicked-up radioactive dust, which could drift across country borders.

Correction: An earlier version of a graphic accompanying this article misstated Ukraine’s share of global wheat exports. It is 9 percent, not 34 percent. An earlier version of a graphic accompanying this article misstated the map’s scale. The bar represents 100 miles, not 500 miles.

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