Wrestler Zhan Beleniuk at the Office of the President of Ukraine in Kyiv

Afro-Ukrainians or Black Ukrainians ( uk, Афроукраїнці, uk, Темношкірі ''Dark-skinned''), are

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian. The majority of Ukrainians are Eastern Ort ...

of Sub-Saharan African descent, including Black people who have settled in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. Black Ukrainians are multi-lingual, knowing both Russian and Ukrainian in addition to their native languages, and are aware of the cultural conflict in Ukraine between the

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

and Russian languages. The population of Afro-Ukrainians is rather small and is mostly concentrated in the major cities of Ukraine, such as

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

History

Nehr

The Ukrainian word ''nehr'' ( uk, негр) is widely used and is a nativized

loan word A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because the ...

from the french: nègre, ,

Negro In the English language, ''negro'' is a term historically used to denote persons considered to be of Black African heritage. The word ''negro'' means the color black in both Spanish and in Portuguese, where English took it from. The term can be ...

, itself a nativized loan, into French, from the es, negro and the pt, negro.Melnychuk (2003), ''Etymolohichnyi slovnyk Ukraïnsʹkoï movy'' (Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, p 63. While in modern French, ''nègre'' is considered offensive, same as ''nehr''/''неɾр'' in Ukrainian language (as ''negro'' is in Spanish and Portuguese). The native Slavic words for things that are actually black (e.g. a car with black paint) are ''chórnyy'' ( uk, чо́рний).

Notable Afro-Ukrainians

* Aderinsola Habib Eseola, Nigerian-Ukrainian football player * Aleks Chidomere, Nigerian-Ukrainian football player * Antoniy Emere, Nigerian-Ukrainian football player * Berta Vázquez, Ukrainian-born Spanish actress of Ethiopian-Ukrainian descent * Colince Ngaha Poungoue, Cameroon-born football player and manager * Daniel Ehbudzhuo, Nigerian-Ukrainian football player * Denys Ndukve, Nigerian-Ukrainian football player * Gaitana, Congolese-Ukrainian singer *

Ismail Sillakh Ismail Sillakh (born February 9, 1985 in Zaporizhia) is a Ukrainian professional boxer who has medaled in important international tournaments as an amateur. Amateur career Ismail Sillakh was born in Zaporizhia, then he moved with his ...

, Sierra Leonean-Ukrainian boxer *

Issuf Sanon Issuf Vladlen Sanon ( uk, Іссуф Санон; born October 30, 1999), also spelled Yusuf Sanon, is a Ukrainian professional basketball player for Prometey of the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League. Standing , the combo guard has experience wi ...

, Burkinabé-Ukrainian basketball player *

Joel Bolomboy Joel Bolomboy (russian: Джоэл Боломбой, Joel Bolomboy) (born January 28, 1994) is a Ukrainian-born Russian-American professional basketball player for Olympiacos of the Greek Basket League and the EuroLeague. He played college baske ...

, Ukrainian-born Congolese-Russian basketball player * Mark Mampassi, Congolese-Ukrainian football player * Olavale Fabunmi, Nigerian-Ukrainian football player * Philippe Hamilton-Rollings, Ghanaian-Ukrainian football player *

Quedjau Nhabali Quedjau Frantsiskovych Nhabali ( uk, Кеджау Францискович Ньябалі; born 8 July 1990) is a Ukrainian judoka. He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of Janua ...

, Bissau-Guinean-Ukrainian judoka * Roland Bilala, Congolese-Ukrainian football player * Şeref Osmanoğlu, Ukrainian-born Turkish athlete of Sudanese-Ukrainian descent * Vladis-Emmerson Illoy-Ayyet, Congolese-Ukrainian football player * Zhan Beleniuk, Rwandan-Ukrainian wrestler and politician

References

External links

Chornobrivci website

How do in general Afro-Ukrainians live?
a blog of the Ukrainian born

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

national Dmytro Yatsiuk
Orange Mozambique
Vakhtang Kipiani website. * Huzio, H.
Gaitana: Women should be first to give freedom to feelings
'. Interview to "Vysokyi Zamok". Art Vertep. {{portal bar, Ukraine, Africa African diaspora in Europe

Ethnic groups in Ukraine