Dnipro

Dnipro is <a href="/facts/Ukraine/Qof0uqAj">Ukraine</a>'s fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, 391 km (243 mi) southeast of the Ukrainian capital <a href="/facts/Kyiv/uVAMxK8R">Kyiv</a> on the <a href="/facts/Dnieper_River/RLJ1G8pH">Dnipro River</a>, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is the <a href="/facts/Capital_(political)/p06rGdJC">administrative centre</a> of <a href="/facts/Dnipropetrovsk_Oblast/HEw6EvUG">Dnipropetrovsk Oblast</a>. It hosts the administration of Dnipro urban <a href="/facts/Hromada/GY6tGaxw">hromada</a>. Dnipro has a population of 968,502 (2022 estimate).
Archeological evidence suggests the site of the present city was settled by <a href="/facts/Cossacks/gqGJ4JKe">Cossack</a> communities from at least 1524. Yekaterinoslav ("glory of Catherine") was established by decree of the <a href="/facts/Emperor_of_all_the_Russias/IKwkRYnQ">Russian Empress</a> <a href="/facts/Catherine_the_Great/FTVM1heM">Catherine the Great</a> in 1787 as the administrative center of <a href="/facts/Novorossiya_Governorate/Ujqool6Q">Novorossiya</a>. From the end of the 19th century, the town attracted foreign capital and an international, multi-ethnic workforce exploiting <a href="/facts/Kryvbas/bkyyxxI4">Kryvbas</a> iron ore and <a href="/facts/Donbas/R0SRLmoj">Donbas</a> coal.
Renamed Dnipropetrovsk in 1926 after the Ukrainian <a href="/facts/Communist_Party_of_the_Soviet_Union/1PFHfjJE">Communist Party</a> leader <a href="/facts/Grigory_Petrovsky/KIjuJylP">Grigory Petrovsky</a>, it became a focus for the <a href="/facts/Stalinism/rrkfMruT">Stalinist</a> commitment to the rapid development of heavy industry. After <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">World War II</a>, this included <a href="/facts/Nuclear_power/jzSyvxSn">nuclear</a>, <a href="/facts/Arms_industry/A8mywI9w">arms</a>, and <a href="/facts/Soviet_space_program/Nz5vfPGg">space</a> industries whose strategic importance led to Dnipropetrovsk's designation as a <a href="/facts/Closed_city/VYTh93hp">closed city</a>.
Following the <a href="/facts/Euromaidan/m41YETnk">Euromaidan</a> events of 2014, the city politically shifted away from pro-Russian parties and figures towards those favoring closer ties with the European Union. As a result of <a href="/facts/Decommunization_in_Ukraine/xzajJulj">decommunization</a>, the city was renamed Dnipro in 2016. Following the <a href="/facts/2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine/TTeQCgSl">Russian invasion of Ukraine</a> in February 2022, Dnipro rapidly developed as a logistical hub for humanitarian aid and a reception point for people fleeing the various battle fronts.

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Dnipro