[NorseViking]

What Russian influence? Yankovich wasn’t elected till 2010. Also he was as pro-Russian as Karzai is pro-American.

[Lukasz]

Too many bounds between two countries, with Ukraine being in state of dependency on too many areas. Ukraine would have more chances to succeed without eastern part of the country. Russian meddling over there started long before they seized Crimea.

On other hand Ukrainians hardly deserved to become independent country. It was granted to them after fall of the Soviet Union, they didn't really had any patriotic elites willing to run the state. Instead power was handed to oligarchic mafias with other priorities. They could not handle such oversized country with too many citizens of doubtful loyalty.