The History of Internet in Ukraine

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Launch of Ukraine’s Popular News Portal Ukr.net

In 1998, Ukr.net, Ukraine’s most popular news Internet service, was founded. Even today, it remains among the top ten most visited websites in the Ukrainian segment of the Internet, marking a major milestone in the development of online news and information services in the country.

As of January 2022, Ukr.net ranked 8th among the most visited websites in Ukraine. Every day, about 30,000 news items from more than 1,500 sources are automatically added to its news feed. Updates are collected every minute and categorized by topic, with the most popular stories highlighted on the homepage using an algorithm. The portal also provides a feed of regional news.

Importantly, Ukr.net’s editorial team does not produce original news but instead manages automated categorization, filters content, and prevents duplicate publications. The platform presents news independently of the political stance or ideology of the publishing websites.

In addition to news, Ukr.net offers an email service with a trilingual interface (Ukrainian, Russian, and English). Launched in 2000, it was one of the first free email services in Ukraine.

In the past, the portal also provided services such as video hosting (Play.ukr.net), job search (Job.ukr.net), a city directory (City.ukr.net), and an auction platform. Today, one of its key components is the weather forecasting site Sinoptik.ua.

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