The fact that communism turned Ukraine into an energy-developed state does not negate the existence of regions where communism did nothing. Yes, they received benefits from communism, but the entire Soviet "machine" was working for those benefits. In other words, it is probably wrong to expect capitalist Ukraine to do what the Soviet Union did, and what Ukraine itself did as part of that union. But honestly, the scale of Ukraine's decline after the Soviet period is striking. This is a rare case where the showcase of capitalism looks worse.