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Kharkiv

Capital city of Kharkiv Oblast in eastern Ukraine

Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest city in Ukraine. Located in the northeast of the country, it is the largest city of the historic region of Sloboda Ukraine. Kharkiv is the administrative center of Kharkiv Oblast and Kharkiv Raion. Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, it had an estimated population of 1,421,125. Founded in 1654 as a Cossack fortress, by late 19th century Kharkiv had developed within the Russian Empire as a major commercial and industrial center. From December 1919 to January 1934, Kharkiv was the capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. During this period migration from the distressed countryside and a relaxation of restrictions on Ukrainian cultural expression changed the city's ethnic complexion: Ukrainian replaced Russian as the largest recorded nationality, however Russian remained the dominant spoken language. The city was the focus of major battles in World War II, and under German occupation witnessed the systematic destruction of its substantial Jewish population. In the last decades of the Soviet Union, it remerged as a major cultural, scientific, educational, transport, and industrial center. Among the city's principal landmarks are the Annunciation and Dormition cathedrals, the Derzhprom building in Freedom Square, the Kharkiv Railway Station, the National University of Kharkiv, and the Kharkiv Tractor Factory (HTZ). Machinery, electronics and military hardware have been the leading industries. In March and April 2014, the city saw both pro-Russia and pro-Ukrainian demonstrations, and an aborted attempt by Russian-backed separatists to seize control of the city and regional administration. Launching their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Russians reached the outskirts of Kharkiv but after several weeks of fighting were forced back toward the international border. By February 2026, four years of continued Russian shelling, drone and missile attacks, have reportedly destroyed a quarter of the city and driven much of public life underground.