In the post-Cold War era, Ukraine is struggling with more than political independence, but with her very identity. However, the ingredients in her identity derive from traditions that are incommensurable: westernism and Slavophilism. On the other hand, political independence for Ukraine is largely a formality, since she will become dependent upon either Russia or the European Union and NATO in significant economic and military respects. This paper argues, in part, that Ukraine should use its connections with the West to act as a bridge between western and eastern ways of life within a Slavic and Orthodox federation dedicated to a unity of peoples, but not a unity equated with absorption. The alternative is economic exploitation from western powers at the expense of her Orthodox and Slavic culture.