There is archeological evidence to suggest that Jews have been present in Ukraine since at least the Roman era. The earliest evidence comes from the ruins of a synagogue that was discovered in the city of Chersonesus, which was founded by Greek colonists in the 5th century BCE and later became part of the Roman Empire.

The synagogue was discovered in the 1990s, and it is believed to have been built in the 2nd or 3rd century CE. The ruins include a mosaic floor with a Greek inscription that mentions the names of several donors, including one that is clearly Jewish.  The archaeologists who excavated the site found several artifacts that suggest a Jewish presence, including a menorah and fragments of stone tablets with Hebrew inscriptions.