Ukraine is the second-largest European country by area in Eastern Europe. Ethnic Ukrainians belong to the Slavic nationality group. The capital of Ukraine is Kyiv. The national groups residing in Ukraine include Ukrainians, Russians, Belarusians, Bulgarians, Crimean Tatars, Moldovans, Jews, and Hungarians. Russians account for about a sixth of Ukraine's population. Most of the people in the Crimean Peninsula are of Russian ethnicity. Ukraine is one of the world's leading farming regions. During A.D. 800s, Kyiv became the center of a Slavic state that modern historians call Kievan Rus (also spelled Kyivan Rus). Parts of Ukraine were under Polish, Lithuanian, and Austrian control until the late 1700s, when almost all of Ukraine came under Russian control. In 1922, Ukraine became one of the four original republics of the Soviet Union (USSR), but in 1991, Ukraine declared its political independence from the USSR. Ukraine has a significant history of movement for national independence with strong aspirations to join the European Union in recent years. During the post-Soviet period, some Ukrainian citizens left the country for economic reasons and have been working abroad and supporting families at home. In 2014, Maidan Revolution in Kyiv led to the removal of the Ukrainian president from office and the beginning of civilian unrest in the Eastern part of the country and Crimea. In February 2022, the Russia-Ukraine war started, contributing to millions of Ukrainian citizens escaping war zone and significant number of citizens volunteered joining military units on the front line or at the local territorial defense units. A new wave of Ukrainian immigrants to the United States comprised of younger generation Ukrainians who are usually well-educated or have good vocational skills. Many are proficient in English and can find gainful employment upon arrival in the United States. Recently immigrated Ukrainians may have higher level of medical and psychological needs due to exposure to war (Popova and Shevel 2024).
