The Dnieper River /ˈniːpər/ is one of the major rivers of Europe (fourth by length) that flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea. The total length is 2,285 kilometres (1,420 mi) and has a drainage basin of 504,000 square kilometres (195,000 sq mi). The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations. The Dnieper is an important navigable waterway for the economy of Ukraine and is connected via the Dnieper-Bug Canal to other waterways in Europe.

In antiquity, the river was known to the Greeks as the Borysthenes and was part of the Amber Road. Arheimar, a capital of the Goths, was located on the Dnieper, according to the Hervarar saga.

The name Dnieper is derived from Iranic Sarmatian Dānu apara "the river on the far side". (By contrast, the Dniester derives from "the close river".)

In the three countries through which it flows it has essentially the same name, albeit pronounced differently:

The river is mentioned by the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus in the 5th century BC as Borysthenes (Βορυσθένης), as well as by Strabo; this name is Scythian (cf. Iranian *varu-stāna) and meant "wide land", referring most likely to the Ukrainian steppe.^{[citation needed]} The late Greek and Roman authors called it Δάναπρις - Danapris and Danaper respectively - (dana in Old Persian meant "river"); The name Dnieper probably derives from that Greek word.^{[citation needed]} Its Old East Slavic name used at the time of Kievan Rus' was Slavuta or Slavutych, the Huns called it Var, and Bulgars - Buri-Chai.^{[citation needed]} The name in Crimean Tatar: Özü.