Ukraine is located at the geographic center of Europe. Next to Russia, it is the largest country in all of Europe (slightly larger than Texas). Ukraine has a highly-educated populace of around 48 million. Known as the “bread basket” of the former Soviet Union, it has some of the world’s best soil -- beside being rich in iron ore, coal, and uranium deposits. Though the official language is Ukrainian, a large part of the population speaks Russian. The most common religion is Eastern Orthodoxy; but in Ukraine this church is sharply divided in loyalty to either the Moscovite or Kievan patriarch. With a history of fighting off a great variety of invaders for 700 years, Ukrainians regained official independence in 1991. As a result of such invasions and several other factors, Ukrainians today are still in a process of discovering and formulating their national identity. It remains difficult to predict where Ukraine will be in 20 years’ time....