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Ukraine celebrates Independence Day on August 24, 2025, as on that day in 1991, Ukraine’s legislature, the Verkhovna Rada, passed the Act of Declaration of Independence. The photo below is from the floor of the Verkhovna Rada as the Declaration was passed, showing mostly members of Rukh, which formed in 1989 and became essentially the independence movement.
But the Declaration itself did not mean independence. Rukh was all about the People of Ukraine and a democratic state. The Declaration of Independence conditioned actual independence on a vote of the people – a popular referendum.
The vote on the referendum was set for December 1, 1991, and its result would mean whether Ukraine would become independent or not.
While we of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, who had an office and staff in Ukraine for over a year, were confident the referendum would pass easily - as was Jon Gunderson, United States chargé d'affaires, who had been in the country by then for months – there was serious doubt elsewhere, including in Washington.
In anticipation of the December 1 referendum, President George H. W. Bush held a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on the Wednesday before the Sunday vote on the referendum. In attendance were leaders of Ukrainian American organizations, Ukrainian Churches, and I also attended.
During the meeting, President Bush said, “If Ukraine votes for independence, there are things I will want before recognizing its independence.” I was stunned by the word “if,” as there should have been no doubt about the outcome.
But we later learned Jon Gunderson’s dispatches back then could not be sent directly to Washington. They had to be couriered by his aide to the American Embassy in Moscow, which was under the influence of the Kremlin, and thought there was a serious question whether the referendum would pass. As a result, the dispatches received in Washington said the outcome was in doubt.
At the meeting in the Roosevelt Room, the President said there were several things he would want before recognizing an independent Ukraine if the referendum passed. He listed them and turned to his National Security Advisor, Brent Scowcroft, and asked, “Anything else?” To which Scowcroft indicated nothing else. As the President was giving his list, I was writing rapidly, and at one point, the President asked, “Bob, did you get that?”
I wrote everything down, and after the meeting, I wrote a memo to Ivan Plyushch, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, reporting on the meeting and specifically on what President Bush would want before recognizing independent Ukraine. I wrote that knowing what the President had said was important because I would expect that the Department of State would add to the list, but it was the President who made the decisions.
I transmitted the memo to our Kyiv office, and it was translated and delivered to Plyushch.
The rest of the story – The referendum passed with over 93% of the vote with strong majorities in every oblast, and Ukraine became independent on December 1, 1991.
On Monday, December 2nd, at a press conference, Chairman Plyushch was asked when he thought Ukraine would meet a long list of conditions for recognition set by the United States. The list was much longer than that of President Bush.
Plyushch responded by pulling out the memo from his pocket and saying that he did not know what the Department of State’s list might be, but he had the President’s list stated at a meeting the previous Wednesday and that Ukraine already had or would shortly have met all the President’s conditions, and it is the President who makes the decision on recognition.
Ukraine was independent, and the United States recognized that independence on December 25, 1991.
This is the country and people Vladimir Putin denies and wants to eliminate. These are people who know what living under the Kremlin’s demonic thumb means. They have tasted freedom and know what they are fighting for.
Over the years, through our Captive Nations resolutions and rallies, the Budapest Memorandum, and more, we – the United States – have committed to support for an independent and sovereign Ukraine. It is long past time we stop marginalizing our commitment and support Ukraine fully so it can drive Russia off its sovereign territory.
ROBERT MCCONNELL
Co-Founder, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation
Director of External Affairs, Friends of Ukraine Network