High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The diplomatic relations between the Russian Federation and Ukraine were established in 1991 immediately upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union of which both were founding constituent republics. Russia has an embassy in Kiev and consulates in Kharkiv, Lviv, Odessa and Simferopol. Ukraine has an embassy in Moscow and consulates in Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg, Tyumen and Vladivostok. Relations between the two country's Governments have been hostile in recent years. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin allegedly declared at a NATO-Russia summit in 2008 that, if Ukraine were to join NATO, his country could contend to annex the Ukrainian East and Crimea.