Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
Eventually, after the creation of the Communist Party (Bolshevik) of Ukraine in Moscow, a third Ukrainian Soviet government was formed on 21 December 1919 that initiated new hostilities against Ukrainian nationalists as they lost their military support from the defeated Central Powers. Eventually, the Red Army ended up controlling much of the Ukrainian territory after the Polish-Soviet Peace of Riga. On 30 December 1922, along with the Russian, Byelorussian, and Transcaucasian republics, the Ukrainian SSR was one of the founding members of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Ukraine national football team
Prior to Independence in 1991, Ukrainian players represented the Soviet Union national team. After the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Russia took the place of the Soviet Union national team in the qualifying tournament for the 1994 World Cup. The national team of Ukraine was excluded from the 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification. Meanwhile, some of the best Ukrainian players of the beginning of the 1990s (including Andrei Kanchelskis, Viktor Onopko, Sergei Yuran, Yuri Nikiforov, Ilya Tsymbalar and Oleg Salenko) chose to play for Russia, as it was named the official successor of the Soviet Union.