ORBIS

Country profile · Eastern Europe

Ukraine

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and holds about 19% of its territory, including Crimea. Ukraine spends a larger share of its economy on its military than any other country. Since 2025, other allies have paid the United States for most of the American weapons Ukraine receives. Ukraine is not a member of NATO or the EU.

Updated September 2026 · Data from the UN, IMF, SIPRI and IISS

Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, with its green and gold domes Map of Europe with Ukraine highlighted
Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv. Photo: Rbrechko, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Where Ukraine ranks

All rankings →

Who runs Ukraine?

Volodymyr Zelensky has been president since May 2019. Before politics he was a comedian and actor. He spent part of his childhood in Mongolia, where his father worked on a mining project. He voiced Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian dubs of the Paddington films. His five-year term ended in May 2024, but martial law bans elections. In July 2026 President Zelensky replaced the prime minister and the commander-in-chief. Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi previously ran the state energy company Naftogaz. Zelensky's Servant of the People party holds 229 of 392 filled seats in parliament.

Volodymyr Zelensky
Volodymyr Zelensky
President since 2019
Servant of the People
Verkhovna Rada, September 2026450 seats
226 for a majority
  • Servant of the People 229
  • Other members 163
  • Empty seats 58

Portrait (2019): Office of the President of Ukraine, CC BY 4.0

Who are Ukraine's allies and rivals?

Since July 2025 US weapons have mostly reached Ukraine through NATO's PURL scheme. Other countries pay the United States for the weapons. Germany is the largest European country donor. The EU lent Ukraine €90 billion for 2026 and 2027. The EU opened membership talks with Ukraine in June 2024. Ukraine is not a NATO member. In 1994 Ukraine gave up about 1,900 nuclear warheads. The United States, the United Kingdom and Russia gave Ukraine security assurances in return. Belarus, North Korea and Iran have helped Russia's invasion.

Allies and partners

  • United StatesLargest donor until 2025, allies now buy its weapons
  • GermanyLargest European donor country, €9 billion in 2025
  • United Kingdom100-year partnership treaty, signed January 2025
  • PolandMain route for Western weapons
  • European Union€90 billion loan, membership talks opened 2024

Rivals

  • RussiaInvaded February 2022, holds about 19% of Ukraine
  • BelarusLet Russian troops invade from its territory
  • North KoreaSent about 11,000 troops to Russia's Kursk region
  • IranSupplied Shahed attack drones to Russia
Map of Eastern Europe: Ukraine, its partners Poland, Germany, Romania, Moldova and the Baltic states, and its rivals Russia and Belarus
  1. Crimea Annexed by Russia in March 2014
  2. Donbas Almost all of Luhansk and most of Donetsk held by Russia
  3. Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant Europe's largest nuclear plant, held by Russia since March 2022
  • Ukraine
  • Partner
  • Rival

How much of Ukraine does Russia control?

Russia holds about 19% of Ukraine's territory, about 116,800 square kilometers. Before 2022 Russia and its proxies held about 7%. Russia controls almost all of Luhansk, about 81% of Donetsk and about three-quarters of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is the largest in Europe. Russian forces have held the plant since March 2022. In 2025 Russia gained about 4,300 to 4,800 square kilometers. In 2026, by President Zelensky's count, Russia took about 890 and Ukraine took back about 800. Russia's condition for a ceasefire is that Ukraine withdraws from the rest of Donetsk.

Who does Ukraine trade with?

Ukraine exported $40.3 billion in 2025 and imported $84.8 billion. Ukraine imported more than twice what it exported. The EU took 57.8% of exports. China was the largest source of imports, with 22.7%. Food and farm products were 56% of exports. Sunflower oil was the top export at $5.2 billion. In August 2023 Ukraine opened its own Black Sea shipping corridor. Traffic largely stopped from late July 2026 after a Russian missile strike on a ship.

Sells to

Share of Ukraine's exports

  1. Poland12.6%
  2. Turkey6.8%
  3. Germany6.1%
  4. Italy5.7%
  5. Netherlands4.8%

Buys from

Share of Ukraine's imports

  1. China22.7%
  2. Poland9.4%
  3. Germany7.8%
  4. Turkey7.3%
  5. United States5.5%

Goods trade, 2025. State Customs Service of Ukraine.

How strong is Ukraine's military?

SIPRI estimates Ukraine spent $84.1 billion on its military in 2025. That was 39.6% of GDP, the highest share of any country. The IISS counts about 677,000 active troops. In 2024 Ukraine created the Unmanned Systems Forces, the world's first military branch for drones. President Zelensky said Ukraine produces 10 million drones a year. Ukraine strikes deep inside Russia with drones and its Flamingo cruise missile. Prosecutors opened about 311,000 desertion cases between 2022 and October 2025.

Military spending, 2025

Full ranking →
  1. Russia est.$190bn
  2. Germany$114bn
  3. United Kingdom$89.0bn
  4. Ukraine$84.1bn
  5. France$68.0bn
  6. Poland$46.8bn

SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, 2026 edition

7 days free cancel anytime
Get the app