In June 1996, the last strategic nuclear warhead was removed to Russia. Also that month Parliament approved a new constitution that allows for private ownership of land. An agreement was signed in May 1997 on the future of the Black Sea fleet, by which Ukrainian and Russian ships will share the port of Sevastopol for 20 years. Ukraine and Russia also signed a 10-year political treaty three days later, by which, among other provisions, Russia recognized the political and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula. Ukraine remains saddled with its Soviet-era economy, and most of its major industries are still under state control.
Corruption is rampant, and western investors have shown only minimal interest.
The election of the reform-minded Viktor Yushchenko as prime minister in Dec. 1999, however, was greeted with optimism by the west. He was also highly popular among ordinary Ukrainians. In the winter of 2001 violent demonstrations rocked Ukraine, with protestors demanding the resignation and impeachment of authoritarian President Leonid Kuchma. Critics accuse Kuchma of involvement in the murder of a journalist critical of government corruption. Kuchma was recorded on tape urging that the journalist be disposed of.