Background: Ukraine was the center of the first eastern Slavic state Kyivan Rus which during the 10th and 11th centuries was the largest and most powerful state in Europe. Weakened by internecine quarrels and Mongol invasions Kyivan Rus was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and eventually into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The cultural and religious legacy of Kyivan Rus laid the foundation for Ukrainian nationalism through subsequent centuries. A new Ukrainian state the Cossack Hetmanate was established during the mid-17th century after an uprising against the Poles. Despite continuous Muscovite pressure the Hetmanate managed to remain autonomous for well over 100 years. During the latter part of the 18th century most Ukrainian ethnographic territory was absorbed by the Russian Empire. Following the collapse of czarist Russia in 1917 Ukraine was able to achieve a short-lived period of independence (1917-20) but was reconquered and forced to endure a brutal Soviet rule that engineered two forced famines (1921-22 and 1932-33) in which over 8 million died. In World War II German and Soviet armies were responsible for some 7 to 8 million more deaths. Although final independence for Ukraine was achieved in 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR democracy and prosperity remained elusive as the legacy of state control and endemic corruption stalled efforts at economic reform privatization and civil liberties. A peaceful mass protest 'Orange Revolution' in the closing months of 2004 forced the authorities to overturn a rigged presidential election and to allow a new internationally monitored vote that swept into power a reformist slate under Viktor YUSHCHENKO. Subsequent internal squabbles in the YUSHCHENKO camp allowed his rival Viktor YANUKOVYCH to stage a comeback in parliamentary elections and become prime minister in August of 2006. An early legislative election brought on by a political crisis in the spring of 2007 saw Yuliya TYMOSHENKO as head of an 'Orange' coalition installed as a new prime minister in December 2007. Viktor YANUKOVUYCH was elected president in a February 2010 run-off election that observers assessed as meeting most international standards. The following month the Rada approved a vote of no-confidence prompting Yuliya TYMOSHENKO to resign from her post as prime minister.

Geographic coordinates: 49 00 N 32 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 603,550 km²
Rank: 46
Land: 579,330 km²
Water: 24,220 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Texas

Land boundaries
Total: 4,566 km
Border countries: (7) Belarus 891 km; Hungary 103 km; Moldova 940 km; Poland 428 km; Romania (south) 176 km; Romania (southwest) 362 km; Russia 1576 km; Slovakia 90 km

Coastline: 2,782 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 m or to the depth of exploitation

Climate: temperate continental; Mediterranean only on the southern Crimean coast; precipitation disproportionately distributed highest in west and north lesser in east and southeast; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland; summers are warm across the greater part of the country hot in the south

Terrain: most of Ukraine consists of fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus mountains being found only in the west (the Carpathians) and in the Crimean Peninsula in the extreme south

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Hora Hoverla 2,061 m

Natural resources: iron ore coal manganese natural gas oil salt sulfur graphite titanium magnesium kaolin nickel mercury timber arable land

Land use
Arable land: 53.8%
Permanent crops: 1.5%
Other: 44.7% (2005)

Irrigated land: 21,790 km² (2008)

Total renewable water resources: 139.5 km³ (1997)

Natural hazards: NA

Geography
Note: strategic position at the crossroads between Europe and Asia; second-largest country in Europe

Population: 45,134,707 (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 28
Growth rate: -0.622% (2011 est.)
Growth rate rank: 224
Below poverty line: 35% (2009)

Nationality
Noun: Ukrainian
Adjective: Ukrainian

Ethnic groups: Ukrainian 77.8% Russian 17.3% Belarusian 0.6% Moldovan 0.5% Crimean Tatar 0.5% Bulgarian 0.4% Hungarian 0.3% Romanian 0.3% Polish 0.3% Jewish 0.2% other 1.8% (2001 census)

Languages: Ukrainian (official) 67% Russian 24% other (includes small Romanian- Polish- and Hungarian-speaking minorities) 9%

Religions: Ukrainian Orthodox - Kyiv Patriarchate 50.4% Ukrainian Orthodox - Moscow Patriarchate 26.1% Ukrainian Greek Catholic 8% Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox 7.2% Roman Catholic 2.2% Protestant 2.2% Jewish 0.6% other 3.2% (2006 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 13.7%
15-64 years: 70.8% (male 15,282,749/female 16,673,641)
65 years and over: 15.5% (male 2,294,777/female 4,682,865) (2011 est.)

Median age
Total: 39.9 years
Male: 36.7 years
Female: 43.1 years (2011 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.622% (2011 est.)
Rank: 224

Birth rate: 9.62 births/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 198

Death rate: 15.74 deaths/1000 population (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 6

Net migration rate: -0.09 migrant(s)/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 121

Urbanization
Urban population: 69% of total population
Rate of urbanization: -0.1% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Environment
Current issues: inadequate supplies of potable water; air and water pollution; deforestation; radiation contamination in the northeast from 1986 accident at Chornobyl' Nuclear Power Plant
International agreements party to: Air Pollution Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides Air Pollution-Sulfur 85 Antarctic-Environmental Protocol Antarctic-Marine Living Resources Antarctic Treaty Biodiversity Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Environmental Modification Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea Marine Dumping Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants Air Pollution-Sulfur 94 Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.065 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.85 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 8.54 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 158
Male: 10.71 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 6.23 deaths/1000 live births (2011 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 68.58 years
Rank: 150
Male: 62.79 years
Female: 74.75 years (2011 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.28 children born/woman (2011 est.)
Rank: 211

Drinking water source:

Physicians density: 3.1254 physicians/1000 population (2006)
Rank: 35

Hospital bed density: 8.73 beds/1000 population (2006)
Rank: 6

Sanitation facility access:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 1.1% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 44
People living with hivaids: 350,000 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 17
Deaths: 24,000 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 15

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 4.1% (2000)
Rank: 93

Education expenditures: 5.3% of GDP (2007)
Rank: 48

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99.4%
Male: 99.7%
Female: 99.2% (2001 census)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 15 years
Male: 14 years
Female: 15 years (2008)

Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Ukraine
Local long form: none
Local short form: Ukrayina
Former: Ukrainian National Republic Ukrainian State Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic

Government type: republic

Capital
Name: Kyiv
Note: pronounced KAY-yiv
Geographic coordinates: 50 26 N 30 31 E
Time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions: 24 provinces (oblasti singular - oblast') 1 autonomous republic* (avtonomna respublika) and 2 municipalities (mista singular - misto) with oblast status**; Cherkasy Chernihiv Chernivtsi Crimea or Avtonomna Respublika Krym* (Simferopol') Dnipropetrovs'k Donets'k Ivano-Frankivs'k Kharkiv Kherson Khmel'nyts'kyy Kirovohrad Kyiv** Kyiv Luhans'k L'viv Mykolayiv Odesa Poltava Rivne Sevastopol'** Sumy Ternopil' Vinnytsya Volyn' (Luts'k) Zakarpattya (Uzhhorod) Zaporizhzhya Zhytomyr
Note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)

Independence: 24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union); notable earlier dates: ca. A.D. 982 (VOLODYMYR I consolidates Kyivan Rus) 1648 (establishment of Cossack Hetmanate)

National holiday: Independence Day 24 August (1991); note - 22 January 1918 the day Ukraine first declared its independence (from Soviet Russia) and the day the short-lived Western and Greater (Eastern) Ukrainian republics united (1919) is now celebrated as Unity Day

Constitution: adopted 28 June 1996

Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Viktor YANUKOVYCH
Head of government: Prime Minister Mykola AZAROV (since 11 March 2010); First Deputy Prime Minister Andriy KLYUYEV (since 11 March 2010); Deputy Prime Ministers Borys KOLESNIKOV and Serhiy TIHIPKO (both since 11 March 2010)
Cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers nominated by the president and approved by the Rada
Note: there is also a National Security and Defense Council or NSDC originally created in 1992 as the National Security Council; the NSDC staff is tasked with developing national security policy on domestic and international matters and advising the president; a Presidential Administration helps draft presidential edicts and provides policy support to the president
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 17 January 2010 with runoff on 7 February 2010 (next to be held in 2015)
Election results: Viktor YANUKOVYCH elected president; percent of vote - Viktor YANUKOVYCH 48.95% Yuliya TYMOSHENKO 45.5% other 5.6%

Legislative branch: unicameral Supreme Council or Verkhovna Rada (450 seats; members allocated on a proportional basis to those parties that gain 3% or more of the national electoral vote; members to serve five-year terms)
Elections: last held on 30 September 2007 (next must be held in 2012 or sooner if a ruling coalition cannot be formed in the Rada)
Election results: percent of vote by party/bloc - Party of Regions 34.4% Block of Yuliya Tymoshenko 30.7% Our Ukraine-People's Self Defense Bloc 14.2% CPU 5.4% Lytvyn Bloc 4% other parties 11.3%; seats by party/bloc - Party of Regions 175 Block of Yuliya Tymoshenko 156 Our Ukraine-People's Self Defense 72 CPU 27 Lytvyn Bloc 20

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court

Political parties and leaders: Block of Yuliya Tymoshenko-Batkivshchyna (BYuT-Batkivshchyna) [Yuliya TYMOSHENKO]; Communist Party of Ukraine or CPU [Petro SYMONENKO]; European Party of Ukraine [Mykola KATERYNCHUK]; Forward Ukraine! [Viktor MUSIYAKA]; Front of Change [Arseniy YATSENYUK]; Lytvyn Bloc (composed of People's Party and Labor Party of Ukraine) [Volodymyr LYTVYN]; Our Ukraine [Viktor YUSHCHENKO]; Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs [Anatoliy KINAKH]; Party of Regions [Viktor YANUKOVYCH]; Party of the Defenders of the Fatherland [Yuriy KARMAZIN]; People's Movement of Ukraine (Rukh) [Borys TARASYUK]; People's Party [Volodymyr LYTVYN]; Peoples' Self-Defense [Yuriy LUTSENKO]; PORA! (It's Time!) party [Vladyslav KASKIV]; Progressive Socialist Party [Natalya VITRENKO]; Reforms and Order Party [Viktor PYNZENYK]; Sobor [Anatoliy MATVIYENKO]; Social Democratic Party [Yevhen KORNICHUK]; Social Democratic Party (United) or SDPU(o) [Yuriy ZAHORODNIY]; Socialist Party of Ukraine or SPU [Oleksandr MOROZ]; Strong Ukraine [SERHIY TIHIPKO]; Ukrainian People's Party [Yuriy KOSTENKO]; United Center [Viktor BALOHA]; Viche [Inna BOHOSLOVSKA]

International organization participation: Australia Group BSEC CBSS (observer) CE CEI CICA (observer) CIS (participating member has not signed the 1993 CIS charter although it participates in meetings) EAEC (observer) EAPC EBRD FAO GCTU GUAM IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICRM IDA IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITU ITUC LAIA (observer) MIGA MONUSCO NAM (observer) NSG OAS (observer) OIF (observer) OPCW OSCE PCA PFP SECI (observer) UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNMIL UNMISS UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Oleksandr MOTSYK
In the us chancery: 3,350 M Street NW Washington DC 20,007
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 333-0606
In the us fax: [1] (202) 333-0817
In the us consulate general: Chicago New York San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador John F. TEFFT
From the us embassy: 10 Yurii Kotsiubynsky Street 01901 Kyiv
From the us mailing address: 5,850 Kyiv Place Washington DC 20,521-5,850
From the us telephone: [380] (44) 490-4,000
From the us fax: [380] (44) 490-4,085

Flag description: two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grain fields under a blue sky

National symbols: trident (tryzub)

National anthem
Name: 'Sche ne vmerla Ukraina'
Lyricsmusic: Paul CHUBYNSKYI/Mikhail VERBYTSKYI
Note: music adopted 1991 lyrics adopted 2003; the song was first performed in 1864 at the Ukraine Theatre in Lviv; the lyrics originally written in 1862 were revised in 2003

Economy overview: After Russia the Ukrainian republic was far and away the most important economic component of the former Soviet Union producing about four times the output of the next-ranking republic. Its fertile black soil generated more than one-fourth of Soviet agricultural output and its farms provided substantial quantities of meat milk grain and vegetables to other republics. Likewise its diversified heavy industry supplied the unique equipment (for example large diameter pipes) and raw materials to industrial and mining sites (vertical drilling apparatus) in other regions of the former USSR. Shortly after independence in August 1991 the Ukrainian Government liberalized most prices and erected a legal framework for privatization but widespread resistance to reform within the government and the legislature soon stalled reform efforts and led to some backtracking. Output by 1999 had fallen to less than 40% of the 1991 level. Ukraine's dependence on Russia for energy supplies and the lack of significant structural reform have made the Ukrainian economy vulnerable to external shocks. Ukraine depends on imports to meet about three-fourths of its annual oil and natural gas requirements and 100% of its nuclear fuel needs. After a two-week dispute that saw gas supplies cutoff to Europe Ukraine agreed to 10-year gas supply and transit contracts with Russia in January 2009 that brought gas prices to 'world' levels. The strict terms of the contracts have further hobbled Ukraine's cash-strapped state gas company Naftohaz. Outside institutions - particularly the IMF - have encouraged Ukraine to quicken the pace and scope of reforms. Ukrainian Government officials eliminated most tax and customs privileges in a March 2005 budget law bringing more economic activity out of Ukraine's large shadow economy but more improvements are needed including fighting corruption developing capital markets and improving the legislative framework. Ukraine's economy was buoyant despite political turmoil between the prime minister and president until mid-2008. Real GDP growth exceeded 7% in 2006-07 fueled by high global prices for steel - Ukraine's top export - and by strong domestic consumption spurred by rising pensions and wages. Ukraine reached an agreement with the IMF for a $16.4 billion Stand-By Arrangement in November 2008 to deal with the economic crisis but the Ukrainian Government's lack of progress in implementing reforms has twice delayed the release of IMF assistance funds. The drop in steel prices and Ukraine's exposure to the global financial crisis due to aggressive foreign borrowing lowered growth in 2008 and the economy contracted more than 15% in 2009 among the worst economic performances in the world; growth resumed in 2010 buoyed by exports. External conditions are likely to hamper efforts for economic recovery in 2011.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 40
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 93

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 133
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 9.4%
Industry: 33.6%
Services: 57% (2010 est.)

Agriculture products: grain sugar beets sunflower seeds vegetables; beef milk

Industries: coal electric power ferrous and nonferrous metals machinery and transport equipment chemicals food processing

Industrial production growth rate: 11.2% (2010 est.)
Rank: 18

Labor force: 22.02 million (2010 est.)
Rank: 29
By occupation agriculture: 15.8%
By occupation industry: 18.5%
By occupation services: 65.7% (2008)

Unemployment rate: 8.8% (2009 est.)
Rank: 93
Note: officially registered; large number of unregistered or underemployed workers

Population below poverty line: 35% (2009)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 4.1%
Highest 10: 22.6% (2008)

Distribution of family income gini index: 29 (1999)
Rank: 128

Budget
Revenues: $39.62 billion
Expenditures: $49.89 billion
Note: this is the planned consolidated budget (2010 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -7.5% of GDP (2010 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 180

Taxes and other revenues: 29% of GDP (2010 est.)
Rank: 96

Public debt: 34.7% of GDP (2009 est.)
Rank: 68

Inflation rate consumer prices: 15.9% (2009 est.)
Rank: 197

Central bank discount rate: 10.25% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 28

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 20.863% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 20

Stock of narrow money: $29.27 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 50

Stock of broad money: $60.71 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 58

Stock of domestic credit: $101.3 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 47

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 63

Current account balance: -$1.732 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 169

Exports: $40.39 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 52
Commodities: ferrous and nonferrous metals fuel and petroleum products chemicals machinery and transport equipment food products
Partners: Russia 24.1% Turkey 5.9% Italy 4.7% (2010)

Imports: $44.7 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 43
Commodities: energy machinery and equipment chemicals
Partners: Russia 33.9% China 8.5% Germany 8.1% Poland 5.4% Belarus 4.1% (2010)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $26.51 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 45

Debt external: $99.51 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
Rank: 38

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $46.81 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 52

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $2.067 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 65

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 172.9 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Production rank: 22
Consumption: 134.6 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 22
Exports: 4 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Imports: 6.73 billion kWh (2008 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 20.26 billion m³ (2009 est.)
Production rank: 30
Consumption: 44.16 billion m³ (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 19
Exports: 2.8 billion m³ (2009 est.)
Exports rank: 34
Imports: 26.7 billion m³ (2009 est.)
Imports rank: 11
Proven reserves: 1.104 trillion m³ (1 January 2011 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 25

Telephones
Main lines in use: 12.941 million (2010)
Main lines in use rank: 20
Mobile cellular: 53.929 million (2010)
Mobile cellular rank: 23

Telephone system
General assessment: Ukraine's telecommunication development plan emphasizes improving domestic trunk lines international connections and the mobile-cellular system
Domestic: at independence in December 1991 Ukraine inherited a telephone system that was antiquated inefficient and in disrepair; more than 3.5 million applications for telephones could not be satisfied; telephone density is rising and the domestic trunk system is being improved; about one-third of Ukraine's networks are digital and a majority of regional centers now have digital switching stations; improvements in local networks and local exchanges continue to lag; the mobile-cellular telephone system's expansion has slowed largely due to saturation of the market which has reached 120 mobile phones per 100 people
International: country code - 380; 2 new domestic trunk lines are a part of the fiber-optic Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) system and 3 Ukrainian links have been installed in the fiber-optic Trans-European Lines (TEL) project that connects 18 countries; additional international service is provided by the Italy-Turkey-Ukraine-Russia (ITUR) fiber-optic submarine cable and by an unknown number of earth stations in the Intelsat Inmarsat and Intersputnik satellite systems

Broadcast media: TV coverage is provided by Ukraine's state-controlled nationwide broadcast channel (UT1) and a number of privately-owned television broadcast networks; Russian television broadcasts have a small audience nationwide but larger audiences in the eastern and southern regions; multi-channel cable and satellite TV services are available; Ukraine's radio broadcast market a mix of independent and state-owned networks is comprised of some 300 stations (2007)

Internet
Country code: .ua
Hosts: 1.098 million (2010)
Hosts rank: 42
Users: 7.77 million (2009)
Users rank: 38

Military expenditures: 1.4% of GDP (2005 est.)
Rank: 103

Military service age and obligation: 18-25 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 12 months for Army and Air Force 18 months for Navy (2010)

Airports: 425 (2010)
Rank: 19
With paved runways total: 189
With paved runways over 3047 m: 12
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 51
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 24
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 5
With paved runways under 914 m: 97 (2010)
With unpaved runways total: 236
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 7
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 12
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 214 (2010)

Heliports: 7 (2010)

Pipelines: gas 36,493 km; oil 4,514 km; refined products 4,211 km (2010)

Railways
Total: 21,684 km
Rank: 12
Broad gauge: 21,684 km 1.524-m gauge (9,854 km electrified) (2010)

Roadways
Total: 169,496 km
Rank: 30
Paved: 165,844 km (includes 15 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 3,652 km (2010)

Waterways: 2,185 km (most on Dnieper River) (2010)
Rank: 41

Merchant marine
Total: 160
Rank: 40
By type: bulk carrier 4 cargo 123 chemical tanker 1 passenger 5 passenger/cargo 5 petroleum tanker 9 refrigerated cargo 11 specialized tanker 2
Foreign owned: 1 (Iran 1)
Registered in other countries: 197 (Belize 6 Cambodia 37 Comoros 10 Cyprus 2 Dominica 2 Georgia 15 Liberia 16 Malta 30 Marshall Islands 1 Moldova 12 Mongolia 1 Panama 11 Russia 12 Saint Kitts and Nevis 10 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 12 Sierra Leone 5 Slovakia 7 Tuvalu 1 Vanuatu 3 unknown 4) (2010)

Ports and terminals: Feodosiya (Theodosia) Illichivsk Mariupol' Mykolayiv Odesa Yuzhnyy

Disputes international: 1997 boundary delimitation treaty with Belarus remains un-ratified due to unresolved financial claims stalling demarcation and reducing border security; delimitation of land boundary with Russia is complete with preparations for demarcation underway; the dispute over the boundary between Russia and Ukraine through the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov remains unresolved despite a December 2003 framework agreement and ongoing expert-level discussions; Moldova and Ukraine operate joint customs posts to monitor transit of people and commodities through Moldova's break-away Transnistria Region which remains under OSCE supervision; the ICJ ruled largely in favor of Romania its dispute submitted in 2004 over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy/Serpilor (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary delimitation; Romania opposes Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the Danube border through Ukraine to the Black Sea

Illicit drugs: limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy mostly for CIS consumption; some synthetic drug production for export to the West; limited government eradication program; used as transshipment point for opiates and other illicit drugs from Africa Latin America and Turkey to Europe and Russia; Ukraine has improved anti-money-laundering controls resulting in its removal from the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF's) Noncooperative Countries and Territories List in February 2004; Ukraine's anti-money-laundering regime continues to be monitored by FATF