Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Central and Eastern Europe. Kiev is the capital and largest city. Belarus was a part of the Soviet Union until 1991.

History of hockey in Ukraine
The first ice hockey games in Ukraine where played in 1912 when two teams from Kharkov played exhibition games against each other. In 1946-47, Spartak Uzgorod was invited to join the Soviet Championship League for its inaugural season. In 1963, Dynamo Kiev, which became Sokol Kiev in 1973, was founded. The club would become the best team in Ukraine, and it finished in third place in the Soviet League in the 1984-85 season.

Before the Soviet Union dissolved, the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine was part of the Soviet Ice Hockey Federation. It became independent in 1992, and Ukraine joined the IIHF on May 6 of the same year.

The Ukrainian Hockey League was first played in the 1992-93 season. Sokol Kiev has won the league title 12 times. Since independence, Sokol Kiev has also participated in the International Hockey League, Eastern European Hockey League, and the Belarusian Extraliga.

The men's national team frequently participated in the Winter Spartakiad when the country was part of the Soviet Union. Their first game after independence was a friendly game against Kazakhstan, which they lost 5-1. They participated in the C Pool Qualification tournament in 1992, and made their debut at the World Championships in 1993, playing in the C Pool. Ukraine won the C Pool in 1997, and won the B Pool the following year. They played in the top division of the World Championships every year between 1999 and 2007. They finished in 10th place at the 2002 Olympics held in Salt Lake City, their only Olympic appearance to date.

The women's national team participated in the Women's European Championships in 1993 and 1995, playing in Pool B both years. In 1994, they competed at the Moscow Tournament, finishing in fourth and last place.

The junior national team participated in the World Junior Championship Group C Qualification tournament in 1992. They made their debut at the world juniors in 1993, playing in Pool C, which they won, and were promoted to Pool B for 1994. They then won Pool B, and made their first appearance in the top division in 1995. Their best finish was eighth place in the top division in 1995.