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| | Ukraine - Photos, Maps, Videos, Flags, Facts, More -- National Geographic (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-11-06) |
 | | The Carpathian Mountains rise in the west and the Crimean Mountains in the south, but the heartland of Ukraineslightly larger than Franceis the rich flat earth that stretches for 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles), known as the steppe. |
 | | Once called the breadbasket of the Soviet Union, Ukraine also has huge deposits of coal and iron that feed heavy industry, particularly in the Donbas (Donets Basin) and Kryvyy Rih regions. |
 | | At its greatest extent, about 1880, the Russian Empire encompassed 85 percent of present-day Ukraine; the remainder was under the influence of Austria-Hungary. |
| www3.nationalgeographic.com /places/countries/country_ukraine.html (572 words) |
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