Ukraine, formerly a part of the Soviet Union, became an independent Republic in 1991. Because of its size, many people mistakenly refer to the country as Russia. It had a population of 51,000,000 people (in the former USSR, only Russia was larger), was one of the republics that possessed nuclear weapons, and was known as the "bread basket" of the former USSR. The climate is similar to that of the Midwest in the USA.

Ukraine received international attention as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986. Currently the economy is in serious trouble. The average Ukrainian salary is between $75 and $100 per month. Ukrainians are working hard to improve the infrastructure of the country that suffered greatly since the decline of Communism. It is difficult to make a concrete statement about almost anything in Ukraine, except that everything is in a state of change.