Most of Ukraine's oblasts are named after their respective administrative centers, which are also the largest and most developed cities in the region. Oblast populations range from 904,000 in Chernivtsi Oblast to 4.4 million in the eastern Donetsk Oblast.
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, centered in Dnipropetrovsk (subdivided into raions)
Kharkiv Oblast, centered in Kharkiv (subdivided into raions)
Kyiv Oblast, centered in Kyiv (subdivided into raions)
Odesa Oblast, centered in Odesa (subdivided into raions)
Vinnytsia Oblast, centered in Vinnytsia (subdivided into raions)
raions of republican subordination (directly to Kharkiv)
Later there were added
Donetsk Oblast, centered in Stalino (initially – Artemivsk) (created on 17 July 1932 out of raions of Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts and raions of republican subordination)
Chernihiv Oblast, centered in Chernihiv (created on 15 October 1932 out of raions of Kharkiv and Kyiv oblasts)
The Ukrainian constitution establishes Ukraine as a unitary state. The specific text of the constitution that refers to the territorial structure is as follows.
The territorial structure of Ukraine is based on the principles of unity and indivisibility of the state territory, the combination of centralisation and decentralisation in the exercise of state power, and the balanced socio-economic development of regions that takes into account their historical, economic, ecological, geographical and demographic characteristics, and ethnic and cultural traditions.
Each of Ukraine's oblasts has its own legislative and executive authority, most of which is subordinate to the central government authorities in Kyiv. Each region is administered under laws passed by the Ukrainian government and the Constitution of Ukraine. Each region levies its own taxes and, in return, receives a portion of its budget from Kyiv, which gives them a portion of the taxes it levies.[3]
Executive power in each of the oblasts (as well as in other subdivisions of Ukraine) is exercised by local elected administrations.[4] The heads of local administrations are in turn appointed and dismissed by the President of Ukraine upon nomination by the Cabinet of Ministers.[4][5] Since Ukraine is a unitary state, there is little true political power and weight that these local administrations actually hold. Carrying out their authority, the heads of local administrations are accountable to the President and are subordinate to higher bodies of executive leadership.[4] According to the Constitution the head of the heads of the local Oblast administrations should resign after a new President is elected.[6]
Legislative power in the oblast governments is exercised by their respective oblast councils, which in turn supervise the activities of local administrations.[4] They also have considerable budgets managed by an oblast council (Ukrainian: обласна рада) made up of people's deputies (representatives) voted into office in regional elections every four years, the last of which took place in 2020.
The name of each oblast is a relativeadjective, formed by adding a feminine suffix to the name of respective center city. E.g. Poltava is a center of Poltavs'ka oblast' (Poltava Oblast). Most of them are also sometimes referred to in a feminine noun form, following the convention of traditional regional place names, ending with the suffix "-shchyna". E.g. Poltava Oblast is also called Poltavshchyna (Ukrainian: Полтавщина).
Exceptions to this rule include two oblasts, Volyn and Zakarpattia, which retain the names of their respective historical regions, Volyn (Volhynia) and Zakarpattia (Transcarpathia), whose respective capitals are Lutsk and Uzhhorod.[7]
The capital cities of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and Kirovohrad Oblast were renamed to Dnipro and Kropyvnytskyi in 2016 as part of a process of replacing Soviet toponyms. As the names of the oblasts are mentioned in the Ukrainian Constitution changing them requires a complicated and lengthy process, thus as of 2024 the two oblasts still formally retain their Soviet names.[7]
According to the Ukrainian constitution, Ukraine is divided into 24 oblasts.[8] However, 4 oblasts are disputed and mostly de facto under control of Russia.[9] These oblasts are written in the italic typeface.
Map of the administrative divisions of the Ukrainian SSR from 1946–1954 shows the Izmail Oblast and Drohobych OblastMap of Ukraine with oblasts and largest cities
Stalino Oblast was the name of Donetsk Oblast 1938–41 and 1943–61 (created out of the united Donetsk Oblast 1932–38, German occupation 1941–43)
Akkerman Oblast was the name of Izmail Oblast 1940
Stanislav Oblast was the name of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast 1939–41 and 1944–62 (German occupation 1941–44)
Kamianetsk-Podilska Oblast was the name of Khmelnytskyi Oblast 1937–41 and 1944–54 (German occupation 1941–44, later transfer of administrative center to Khmelnytskyi)
Voroshylovhrad Oblast was the name of Luhansk Oblast 1938–42, 1943–58 and 1970–90 (German occupation 1942–43)
Tarnopil Oblast was the name of Ternopil Oblast 1939–41 (renamed soon after World War II)
The Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and Kirovohrad Oblast are pending renaming following the renaming of their capital cities to Dnipro and Kropyvnytskyi.
