 Complete the following phrase:  Ukraine officially declared itself an independent state on August 24, 1991, when the communist Supreme Soviet parliament of Ukraine proclaimed that Ukraine would no longer follow the laws of the USSR, and only follow the laws of the Ukrainian SSR, de facto declaring Ukraines independence from the Soviet Union. On December 1, Ukrainian voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum formalising independence from the Soviet Union. Over 90 of Ukrainian citizens voted for independence, with majorities in every region, including 56 in Crimea, which had a 75 ethnic Russian population. The Soviet Union formally ceased to exist on December 26, when the presidents of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia the founding members of the USSR met in 