 Let's talk about the history of Ukraine. The area belonging to Ukraine today had been inhabited by Slavic tribes since the 4th century AD, with Kyiv as its chief town. In the mid-13th century, the Mongols conquered the area. For the next 450 years, portions of Ukraine were ruled by Lithuania, Poland, and Russia. Then, in the 18th century, most of Ukraine fell under Russian rule. In the aftermath of World War I, most of the Ukrainian region became a Republic of the Soviet Union. However, parts of Western Ukraine were divided between Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia. Under the rule of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Ukraine suffered a severe famine in 1932-33, as Stalin attempted to rapidly collectivize all farming. Then, in 1941, during World War II, Ukraine was overrun by Axis armies and was consequently further devastated, only to be retaken by the Soviets in 1944. By the end of the war, the borders of the Ukrainian Republic of the Soviet Union had been redrawn to include the Western Ukrainian territories. For nearly half a century after this, Ukraine remained part of the USSR. In 1991, with the collapse of communism in Soviet Russia, Ukraine finally became independent. Unfortunately, during the 1990s, Ukraine experienced more turmoil, as the government tried to implement economic and political reforms suited to the nation's newly found independence. This culminated in a disputed presidential election in 2004. The mass protests that followed became known as the Orange Revolution. Since then, the country remained divided along regional and ethnic lines. In 2014, another mass protest movement that took place on Kiev's Independence Square toppled the government. As the interim government struggled to resolve the country's dire economic situation, Russian troops occupied the autonomous Ukrainian Republic of Crimea. Shortly thereafter, in March 2014, Crimea declared independence from Ukraine and was annexed by Russia. The conflict between pro-Russian separatist militias and Ukrainian government forces remained ongoing in eastern Ukraine. In late 2021, Russia began a military buildup along its border with Ukraine, and in February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Hopefully, a peaceful solution can quickly be found for the conflict that continues to ravage Ukraine since this invasion.