  the territory of ukraine has been inhabited for at least 44,000 years. prehistoric ukraine as part of the pontic steppe has been an important factor in eurasian cultural contact, including the spread of the chalcolithic, the bronze age, indo-european expansion and the domestication of the horse.matossian shaping world history p. 43 part of scythia in antiquity and settled by getae, in the migration period, ukraine is also the site of early slavic expansion, and enters history proper with the establishment of the medieval state of kyivan rus, which emerged as a powerful nation in the middle ages but disintegrated in the 12th&nbsp;century. by the middle of the 14th century, present ukrainian territories were under the rule of three external powers: the golden horde, the grand duchy of lithuania, and the kingdom of poland, during the 15th century these lands came under the rule of the crown of the kingdom of poland, polishâlithuanian commonwealth (since 1569), and crimean khanate. after a 1653 rebellion against dominantly polish catholic rule, an assembly of the people (rada) agreed to the treaty of pereyaslav in january 1654. soon, the southeastern portion of the polish-lithuanian empire east of the dnieper river came under russian rule, for centuries. after the partitions of poland (1772â1795) and conquest of crimean khanate, ukraine was divided between the tsardom of russia and habsburg austria. a chaotic period of warfare ensued after the russian revolution. the internationally recognized ukrainian people's republic emerged from its own civil war. the ukrainianâsoviet war followed, in which the red army established control in late 
History_of_Austria-Hungary History_of_Ukraine Ukrainian_studies