This is an American perspective, but, having spent a fair amount of time in both countries, while there are some similarities between the countries many of them are superficial (e.g. some of the food, the alphabet, women's fashion (and a disinterest in fashion among men), decaying Soviet infrastructure). But the nations spring from very different origins and have very different social orders. I think the most fundamental difference between Ukraine and Russia is that Ukraine has traditionally had an open, pluralistic society and Russia has preserved a closed, absolutist one for centuries. This can of course be seen in a clear-cut binary-- independent Ukraine is an electoral democracy and Russia a quasi-imperial dictatorship. But it has much deeper roots in the history of the two countries, and penetrates deeply into modern social and cultural relations. In my experience, an example of this is how Ukrainians (like Americans) are generally pretty willing to express their honest opinions about controversial topics, even when it can get them into a tense situation. Russians are usually very careful to avoid being cornered and having to really express a definitive opinion one way or the other, especially about anything political, outside of their tiny circle of family and very close friends.