Adopted in 1918 and 1992, early history from 1848. The flag of Ukraine has two equal horizontal bands of azure (top) and golden yellow represent grain fields under a blue sky. Early flags of 1848 had reversed colors , yellow over blue. Independence: 1991. Ukraine was the earliest independent Slavic state dating 10th and 11th centuries. It was subsequently controlled at times by the crowns of Lithuania, Poland, and Austria-Hungary, with the southern region along the Black Sea (Crimea) and eastern regions at times under both Czarist Russia and Ottoman Empire rule.