Ukraine gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and has since veered between seeking closer integration with Western Europe and being drawn into the orbit of Russia, which sees its interests as threatened by a Western-leaning Ukraine.
Europe’s second largest country, Ukraine is a land of wide, fertile agricultural plains, with large pockets of heavy industry in the east.
While Ukraine and Russia share common historical origins, the west of the country has closer ties with its European neighbors, particularly Poland, and nationalist sentiment has been strongest there.
A significant minority of the population uses Russian as its first language, particularly in the cities and the industrialized east.