The Eastern Slavs (a collection of tribes which had evolved from the Indo-European populace of Eastern Europe and who are the director ancestors of modern-day Ukrainians) already lived in the area which is now Ukraine. In the 9th century AD, small groups of Viking warrior-merchants appeared in the territories of the Eastern Slavs. Although culturally they had a minimal impact on the locals, politically their contribution was monumental. The Slavic-Scandinavian relationship generated the medieval state of Kyivan Rus. The first few rulers had Scandinavian names.

Kyivan Rus lasted from 900 AD to 1200 AD. It extended from the Baltics to the Black Sea, from the Volga to the Tisza rivers