Vladimir Putin's Russian forces have stunned the world with a "barbaric" invasion of the sovereign nation of Ukraine.
Ukraine has been independent since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, but there have long been disputes about its territory, due to its close cultural ties with Russia.
Regardless, cultural bonds do not make up enough of a reason for a violent invasion of a country under various charters around the world set up to try and prevent this sort of thing from happening.
Ukraine is the second-biggest country in Europe and has a long and proud history like any of the independent countries that emerged from behind the Iron Curtain in the early 1990s, when communism disintegrated and a huge change in the world dynamic took place.
So how big is it and who borders Ukraine?
How big is Ukraine?
Ukraine is around 233,000 square miles, making it the second-largest country in Europe behind Russia and the 45th largest country in the world.
It is far bigger than the UK, which is only around 93,000 square miles.
To the south of Ukraine is the Black Sea and geographically speaking, one thing the country is known for is how flat it is, with its mountainous regions on its border making up only 5% of its land.
The current disputed regions are Crimea in the south and the Donetsk and Luhansk in the east.
In 2014, Russia annexed two areas, the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol in March 2014, and they have both now switched to Russian time.
This led to an uprising in Luhansk and Donetsk, with rebel forces wanting their regions to become part of Russia, and Ukraine has had little control of these areas since.
Together, Luhansk and Donetsk is a region known as the Donbas and is one of the justifications Putin gave behind his decision to invade Ukraine, as the Russian president claimed their independence.
What countries border Ukraine?
Ukraine's significant size means it borders a total of seven countries, four of which are in the European Union.
Ukraine's border countries are:
- Moldova
- Belarus
- Hungary
- Russia
- Poland
- Slovakia
- Romania
Several countries declared their independence from the Soviet Union upon its collapse and many have become members of NATO and the European Union, including ones on Ukraine's western border.
Russia takes exception to this and the geographical location of Ukraine is an important factor in the crisis.
Ukraine - not an official member of NATO but has outlined its intentions to join at some point in the future - is perceived partly as a threat by Russia on its own border.
This fear stems partly from a now-debunked 'pledge' that NATO expansion eastwards would not occur after the fall of the Soviet Union.
