A city with special status (), formerly a "city of republican subordinance", is a type of first-level

administrative division of Ukraine The administrative divisions of Ukraine ( ) are under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Ukraine, Ukrainian Constitution. Ukraine is a unitary state with three levels of administrative divisions: 27 regions (24 Oblasts of Ukraine, oblasts ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

and

Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...

are the only two such cities. Their administrative status is recognized in the

Ukrainian Constitution The Constitution of Ukraine (, ) is the fundamental law of Ukraine. The constitution was adopted and ratified at the 5th session of the ''Verkhovna Rada'', the parliament of Ukraine, on 28 June 1996. The constitution was passed with 315 ayes o ...

in Chapter IX: Territorial Structure of Ukraine and they are governed in accordance with laws passed by

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

's parliament, the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

. Most of Ukraine's 27 first-level administrative divisions are

oblast An oblast ( or ) is a type of administrative division in Bulgaria and several post-Soviet states, including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Historically, it was used in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The term ''oblast'' is often translated i ...

s (regions).

Overview

Although Kyiv is the nation's capital and its own administrative region, the city also serves as the

administrative center An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgiu ...

for

Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast (, ), also called Kyivshchyna (, ), is an Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special sta ...

(

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

). The oblast entirely surrounds the city. In addition, before 2020 Kyiv also served as the administrative center for the oblast's

Kyiv-Sviatoshyn Raion Kyiv-Sviatoshyn Raion () was a raion (district) in Kyiv Oblast of Ukraine, adjacent to the city of Kyiv which served as the administrative center for the raion. The city of Kyiv itself did not belong to the raion. The raion was abolished on 18 J ...

(

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

). Sevastopol is also administratively separate from the

Autonomous Republic of Crimea The Autonomous Republic of Crimea is a ''de jure'' administrative division of Ukraine encompassing most of Crimea that was unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2014. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea occupies most of the peninsula,Soviet times The history of the Soviet Union (USSR) (1922–91) began with the ideals of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, ...

as a

closed city A closed city or town is a settlement where travel or residency restrictions are applied. Historically, the construction of closed cities became increasingly common after the beginning of the Cold War, particularly in the Soviet Union. Since t ...

, serving as a base for the former

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...

. The city was home to the

Ukrainian Navy The Ukrainian Navy (), is the Navy, maritime force of Ukraine and one of the eight Military branch, service branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The naval forces consist of five components: surface forces, submarine forces, Ukrainian Naval ...

as well as the Russian Black Sea Fleet, although since the Crimean crisis, both Crimea and Sevastopol were annexed by Russia as federal subjects, a move declared illegal by both the Ukrainian government and a majority of the international community.

List of cities

Historic predecessors

Similar status existed at times of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and many of them were located on shores of

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

. Among the first city municipalities that were established on territory of modern Ukraine in the beginning of 19th century were Odesa, Taganrog and Feodosia. * Odesa (1803–1838, 1856–1920) * Feodosia (1804–1829) * Kerch-Yenikale (1821–1920) * Izmail (1830–1835) * Sevastopol (1872–1920), in 1805–1864 part of Mykolaiv military governorate * Mykolaiv (1900–1917), in 1805–1900 as a separate military governorate * Yalta (1914–1917) * Taganrog (1802–1887), Taganrog and its vicinities were taken away from Ukraine in 1925 after signing of the 1922 Union treaty.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Ukraine, National Cities

Special status Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer * Special police forces ...

Administrative divisions of Ukraine Ukraine 1

Overview

List of cities

Historic predecessors

See also

References

External links