ABSTRACT
In 1914 present-day Ukraine was divided between Austria and Russia. The vast majority of some 30 million Ukrainians lived in southwestern Russia. Fewer than 20 percent lived in East Galicia, controlled by Austria-Hungary. Ukraine's manpower (3.5 million Ukrainians served in the Russian army and 250,000 in the armed forces of the Dual Monarchy) and its important food production and raw materials made it vital to both sides. World War I stirred Ukrainian hopes for autonomy within their respective countries. Independence was only a remote hope, but with the beginning of the war a nationalist movement formed, known as the League for the Liberation of Ukraine. It included Ukrainians under Austrian control as well as those in Russia.
