Poland was the first country in the world to recognise Ukraine's independence, on 2 December 1991.
93% confidence
Foreign AffairsPoland
Omissions
Canada also recognised Ukraine's independence on the same day, 2 December 1991; the Polish Senate and several sources describe Poland and Canada jointly as 'the first countries' to do so. Polish official sources nonetheless consistently credit Poland as the first country in the world, and Canada itself states it was 'the first Western country', which is consistent with Poland having acted first overall.
The recognition followed the Ukrainian independence referendum of 1 December 1991, in which over 90% of voters backed independence — useful context for why the recognition occurred on that date.
PrimaryGov.pl — Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Ukraine, bilateral relations page"W dniu 24 sierpnia 1991 roku Ukraina ogłosiła deklarację niepodległości. Polska jako pierwsze państwo uznała niepodległość swojego sąsiada." (On 24 August 1991 Ukraine proclaimed its declaration of independence. Poland was the first state to recognise the independence of its neighbour.)
PrimarySejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (Polish Sejm, sejm.gov.pl)"Polska była pierwszym krajem, który uznał niepodległość Ukrainy. Stało się to 2 grudnia 1991 r." (Poland was the first country to recognise Ukraine's independence. This happened on 2 December 1991.)
PrimarySenat Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (Polish Senate, senat.gov.pl)"Pierwszymi krajami, które uznały niepodległość Ukrainy już 2 grudnia 1991 r. były Polska i Kanada." (The first countries to recognise Ukraine's independence as early as 2 December 1991 were Poland and Canada.)
PrimaryGovernment of Canada (canada.ca) — Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada"The very next day, Canada became the first Western country to recognize Ukraine's independence as a sovereign state." (Confirms Canada's recognition on 2 December 1991 as 'first Western country', consistent with Poland having recognised it first.)
SecondaryTVN24 (Poland)"Polska uznała niepodległość Ukrainy 2 grudnia 1991 roku, dzień po przeprowadzonym referendum, w którym Ukraińcy poparli uchwalony przez Radę..." (Poland recognised Ukraine's independence on 2 December 1991, the day after the referendum in which Ukrainians supported... the independence declared by the Council...)