Part of my work requires me to listen from time to time to Rush Limbaugh. Yesterday, I heard him making fun of people in the impeachment hearings who make the name of the Ukrainian capital rhyme with “Steve” instead of pronouncing it “kee-YEV”, as he thinks it should be pronounced.
Limbaugh is, as usual, full of s**t. The name indeed has two syllables, but the accent is on the first one. In Russian, it is spelled “Киев”, which transliterates as “Kiev”; but in Russian, an unaccented “е” is pronounced “i”, so the correct pronunciation is approximately “KEE-if” (the final “v” being devoiced). In Ukrainian, the spelling is “Київ”, and my understanding is that it is pronounced much the same as in Russian. There ain’t no “ye” sound in Kiev, Rush; once again you reveal yourself to be an ignoramus.
By the way, an accented “е” in Russian can be “ye” (as in “Yeltsyn”) or “yo” (as in “Gorbachev”, which is properly “gar-ba-CHYOV”).