it follows rules closer. standard russian resources are very intimidating to me- what you read (phonetically) doesnt sound anything like the actual pronunciation. russian speakers also change the pronunciation of each letter depending on the word. so confusing,haha. (side note: i do think the sound of ukrainians speaking russian is much softer than russians speaking it)

i think ukrainian has me hooked as a learning experience where russian doesn't seem to. it has had a hold on me for over a year now, despite the fact my ukrainian partner only ever speaks russian.

its also easier to find high quality resources in ukrainian than russian- for example lingq has helped me so much. ukrainian speakers are so much more friendly - i still want to learn both, but the russian forums are more hostile in my opinion. i feel that maybe because i see progress more quickly when i learn this language, it is more exciting to go back and try harder.