Welcome to the 21st century. It's Ukraine, not "the Ukraine." Illiterates still use the definitive article "the" before the country name "Ukraine" - which suggests the latter is a region and not an independent state. Ukraine exists as an independent and sovereign country, and (thankfully) has been free of the Soviet empire and Russian domination for a quarter of a century. Please check the Globe and Mail style manual before posting comments. Thank you for your consideration.