Ukraine gained independence in 1991 as the
Soviet Union dissolved, declaring itself
neutral. A new
constitution was adopted in 1996 as the country transitioned to a free market liberal democracy amid
endemic corruption and a legacy of state control. The
Orange Revolution of 2004–2005 ushered electoral and constitutional reforms. Resurgent political crises prompted a series of mass demonstrations in 2014 known as the
Euromaidan, leading to
a revolution, at the end of which Russia unilaterally
occupied and
annexed Ukraine's
Crimean Peninsula, and
pro-Russian unrest culminated in
a war in Donbas with Russian-backed separatists and Russia. Russia launched
a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.