The political path of independent Ukraine from the national-state revival to its place in the modern historical process

The relevance of the stated research subject is conditioned upon the fact that at the beginning of 2022, Ukraine faced new challenges that threaten its sovereignty and territorial integrity and are related to russia's armed aggression. The full-scale invasion is frequently justified by russian politicians as a “fall from grace” and a historical misunderstanding. However, there are hundreds of facts that confirm the thesis that Ukrainian statehood is the result of the centuries-long struggle of the Ukrainian people for independence from the empire. The purpose of this research is to analyse the political path of Ukraine from the period of national and state revival to the present stage of historical development. To address the tasks set, the author used a range of general scientific and special research methods, including historical and genetic, political and legal analysis, and comparative and institutional analysis. The results obtained in the course of the study should be considered as the identification of the main stages of the establishment of Ukrainian statehood and the analysis of the events that established and strengthened Ukraine's independence. In addition, the author identifies the reasons for the strengthening of national-democratic movements and ideas during the Ukrainian Revolution in the late 1980s and in independent Ukraine, explains the content of national revival processes in different historical periods, and analyses the prospects for the development of the state against the backdrop of the war with russia. The materials of this study can be used in research and applied fields, and to explore the issues of Ukrainian state-building, nation-state building in the context of independence and transformation of political institutions