During World War II, the Soviet Union experienced significant human and material losses, with an estimated 8.6 million Soviet combatants and around 18 million civilians lost. Ukraine, a part of the Soviet Union, suffered greatly, with 6.8 million of its civilians and military personnel killed, 3.9 million evacuated to the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and 2.2 million sent to forced labor camps by the Germans. Material devastation in Ukraine was extensive due to Hitler's orders to create "a zone of annihilation" in 1943 and the Soviet military's scorched-earth policy in 1941, resulting in the destruction of over 28,000 villages, 714 cities and towns, and leaving 19 million people homeless. The industrial and agricultural infrastructure also faced massive destruction.

Post-war, the Ukrainian SSR's territory expanded, gaining western Ukraine from Poland up to the Curzon Line, areas near Izmail from Romania, and Carpathian Ruthenia from Czechoslovakia, adding approximately 167,000 square kilometers (64,500 sq mi) and 11 million people to its population. Amendments to the Constitution of the Ukrainian SSR post-World War II allowed it to act as a separate entity in international law while remaining part of the Soviet Union. These amendments enabled Ukraine to become one of the founding members of the United Nations and serve on the United Nations Security Council in 1948–1949 and 1984–1985, reflecting its increased post-war stature and territorial gains.