I have no way to defend my borders but to extend them
Empress Catherine the Great of Russia
I came across this interesting map of the expansion of the Russian empire. In the 1500s Russia was small. Then over the next few centuries it conquered many lands and the Soviet Union became the largest country in the world. Even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia is still the largest country in the world in terms of land size. Modern day Ukraine was acquired by the empire somewhere between 1689 to 1801.
Click to enlarge
Source: Brittanica via The Forgotten Russian Colony in Africa, Medium