Slovakia–Ukraine border
A short Carpathian border made in 1945, when Czechoslovakia handed its easternmost province, Ruthenia, to the Soviet Union. It mostly follows the old line between Slovakia and Ruthenia, except near Chop, where the Soviets took a key railway junction.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 29 September 2026Suggest a correction
See it on the globe:Slovakia →Ukraine →
Ruthenia
Ruthenia, on the southern slopes of the Carpathians, was part of the Kingdom of Hungary until 1918. After World War I it was joined to the new Czechoslovakia, mainly so that the new state would have a border with friendly Romania, and its people were promised autonomy. In March 1939 Hungary annexed it as Slovakia declared independence.[1]
Soviet forces occupied Ruthenia in the last months of World War II, and by a treaty signed in June 1945 Czechoslovakia ceded it to the Soviet Union. It became the Zakarpattia region of Soviet Ukraine. Most of its people were close to Ukrainians in religion, culture and speech, and the province gave the Soviet Union a position across the Carpathians with direct land access to Czechoslovakia and Hungary.[1]
The line and the Chop junction
A mixed commission marked the border by early 1946. For most of its length it follows the old provincial boundary between Ruthenia and Slovakia, running south along Carpathian ridges from Mount Kremenec to the plain north of Uzhhorod. On the plain, though, it leaves the old line to put the important rail junction of Chop in Soviet territory.[1]
In 1967 the US Geographer knew of no disputes over the line. The 1945 treaty let the people of the transferred area choose Czechoslovak or Soviet citizenship, and a 1957 agreement set rules for border traffic and incidents.[1]
Timeline
1918
Ruthenia to Czechoslovakia
The former Hungarian province joins the new state.[1]
1939March 1939
Hungary annexes Ruthenia
Slovakia declares independence at the same time.[1]
194529 June 1945
Moscow agreement
Czechoslovakia cedes Ruthenia to the Soviet Union.[1]
1946
Demarcation
A mixed commission marks the new border.[1]
1957
Frontier agreement
Rules are set for border traffic and incidents.[1]
More borders
Sources
- [1]International Boundary Study No. 77: Czechoslovakia – U.S.S.R. Boundary · US Department of State, Office of the Geographer · 15 June 1967
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.