Independence had two defining dates in 1991
August 24 declared it; December 1 confirmed it in a nationwide referendum
What to notice
On August 24, the parliament of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic adopted the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine. The date became Independence Day.
On December 1, voters answered whether they confirmed the Act. Official results recorded 90.32 percent in favor across the country, with a majority in every administrative region, including Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk.
The referendum mattered domestically and internationally: it demonstrated that independence was not only a parliamentary act or a preference limited to one part of the country.
The event belongs to a longer history of Ukrainian statehood and independence movements. This beginner card should not imply that Ukrainian political identity began in 1991.