Is there very much difference between the Ukrainian and Russian languages?

The official language of Ukraine is Ukrainian. However, Russian is spoken in most of the major cities in central and eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian language actually predates Russian and while it shares many similarities, including the Cyrillic alphabet, it more closely resembles Polish in vocabulary and sound. Due to Russian being the state language of the former Soviet Union and the large number of Russian immigrants living in Ukraine, Russian is understood by all Ukrainians and in many cases dominates media and current literature. However, contrary to popular belief, knowing one language does not ensure understanding or being able to speak the other. (Many Russian visitors to the Church of Christ in Ternopil had difficulty following the services conducted in Ukrainian, saying they could only understand about 50%. In addition, many Russian immigrants who have spent their adult lives in Ukraine can understand Ukrainian but still cannot speak it.) One of the focuses of our ministry in Ternopil was to facilitate the acquisition and translation of spiritual materials into Ukrainian.