Questions and Answers about
Ukraine
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in PoliticsThe European Union’s embargo on Russian oil exempts which country?
Answer: The European Union’s deal to embargo Russian oil, finalized on May 30, 2022, exempts Hungary from the measure the rest of the bloc is taking to punish Russia for its brutal invasion of Ukraine._x000D_
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in Classic RockWhich 1990 song opens with the lyrics “Follow the Moskva / Down to Gorky Park”?
Answer: The Scorpions’ “Wind Of Change” used to open with the lyrics “Follow the Moskva / Down to Gorky Park,” but the band decided to make some changes. “It simply isn’t right to romanticize Russia,” lead singer Klaus Meine told Die Zeit on May 29, 2022. Instead, the revised lyrics say: “Now listen to my…
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in HistoryWhat was the first American fast-food restaurant to open in the Soviet Union?
Answer: Two months after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, McDonald’s opened its doors in Moscow – the first American fast-food restaurant to enter the Soviet Union. 33 years later, on May 16, 2022, McDonald’s confirmed that it is selling its 850 restaurants in Russia, increasing the country’s isolation over its war in Ukraine.
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in PoliticsWhere were Canada’s Justin Trudeau, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, and singer Bono visiting on May 7, 2022?
Answer: Sunday, May 7, 2022, saw Jill Biden, the US first lady, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, and singer Bono of U2, visiting Ukraine on a day of public displays of international support._x000D_
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in PoliticsWhat’s Azovstal?
Answer: Azovstal Iron and Steelworks is one of the largest steel companies in Ukraine. About 600 civilians and 2,000 Ukrainian fighters were trapped in the Mariupol steel mill for over 60 days during the destruction of the Ukrainian port town by Russian forces, beginning Feb. 24, 2022. The last civilians who found shelter in bunkers…
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in PlacesTrans-Dniester is a separatist province of which country?
Answer: Trans-Dniester lies between the eastern bank of the Dniester River in Moldova and the country’s border with Ukraine. The region declared independence in 1990 and insisted it is not part of Moldova, which declared independence in 1991._x000D_
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in HistoryWhat was the Russian cruiser Moskva?
Answer: The Russian Navy’s Moskva was a guided-missile cruiser. She led the Russian naval invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and sank 100 km off the coast of Odesa on Apr. 14, 2022. According to Ukrainian officials and the US Department of Defense, Ukraine fired two anti-ship missiles at the cruiser. The Russian Ministry of Defense…
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in HistoryWhere did Russian novelist Mikhail Bulgakov and his family spend their summers?
Answer: Author Mikhail Bulgakov (The Master and Margarita) used to spend his summers with his family in their dacha (summer vila) in Bucha, Ukraine._x000D_
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in PoliticsAs of the end of March 2022, how many Ukrainian children had to leave their homes?
Answer: The United Nations children’s agency, on March 24, 2022, reported that over half of Ukraine’s children, 4.3 million of an estimated 7.5 million, have fled their homes in the first month of the Russian invasion, including about 1.8 million child refugees who have left the country. The total number of refugees who have flooded…
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in TechnologyWhat are hypersonic missiles?
Answer: Hypersonic missiles, by definition, fly at least 5 times the speed of sound (Mach 5), can fly at up to 10 times the speed of sound, and can maneuver in mid-flight, making it harder for air-defense systems to intercept. Russia has said it has twice deployed its newest Kinzhal (Dagger) hypersonic missile in Ukraine,…
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in TechnologyAs of mid-March 2022, what’s Ukraine’s Most-Downloaded App?
Answer: On March 14, 2022, Elon Musk’s Starlink app became the most downloaded app from the Apple App Store in Ukraine, and it remained in the top spot in the days after, according to Sensor Tower, which tracks downloads. Starlink enables video calls, online gaming, streaming, and other high-data-rate activities thru Musk’s SpaceX satellites. The…
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in TechnologyWhat’s Ukraine’s most popular messaging app?
Answer: Telegram is Ukraine’s most popular messaging app. The app, which has more than 550 million monthly users globally, was banned in Russia in 2018 after its founder Pavel Durov refused to give the authorities access to its user data. Russia lifted the ban in mid-2020. Telegram became a 24-hour news source for civilians, journalists, and…
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in FoodWhat’s a Poutine?
Answer: Poutine is a classic Quebec dish of french fries and cheese curds topped with brown gravy. The dish’s name is widely believed to come from the French-Canadian pronunciation of the English word “pudding.” The famous dish shares its name – in French transliteration – with the Russian president Vladimir Putin. Poutine restaurants in France…
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in PoliticsAccording to President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address, who are the “corrupt leaders who have bilked billions of dollars off this violent regime”?
Answer: On his first state of the union address, President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. was launching a task force to go after Russian oligarchs in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine. He called the oligarchs “corrupt leaders who have bilked billions of dollars off this violent regime.” “We are coming for your ill-begotten…
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in PoliticsWhen British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace says Putin has gone “full tonto” over Ukraine, what does he mean?
Answer: When someone goes “full tonto” in English slang, he’s acting like a lunatic. The term, a former name of various subgroups of the Apache people, literally means “foolish” in Spanish. UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Feb. 23, 2022, that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had gone “full tonto” over Ukraine by invading it.…
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in HistoryWhat triggered the Soviet attack on Finland in 1939’s Winter War?
Answer: On Nov. 26, 1939, the Russian village of Mainila near the Finnish border was bombed by members of the NKVD – predecessors to the KGB. The attack was used as an excuse to launch an invasion into Finland that would later become known as the Winter War. Finland’s President, Sauli Niinistö, on Feb. 19,…
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in HistoryThe United States “temporarily relocated” its diplomatic personnel in Ukraine to Lviv in Feb. 2022. Which empire ruled Lviv until WWI?
Answer: The city of Lviv was part of Galicia, the largest, most populous, and northernmost province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the dissolution of the monarchy at the end of World War I in 1918. On the other hand, Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, was part of the Russian empire, changed hands sixteen times from 1918 to…
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in PoliticsAccording to Russia, it’s “absolutely mandatory” that which country “never, never, ever” becomes a NATO member?
Answer: After hours of negotiations between the US Deputy Secretary of State and Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister in Geneva on Jan. 10, 2022, Russia’s lead negotiator insisted that it was “absolutely mandatory” that Ukraine “never, never, ever” becomes a NATO member. His American counterpart argued that the US “will not allow anyone to slam closed…