It is similar to other European steppe cattle breeds such as the Hungarian Grey and the Italian Podolica.

[3]: 319  Until the beginning of the twentieth century the Ukrainian Grey was the principal cattle breed of Ukraine.

[5]: 36  It was hardy, frugal and well adapted to the steppe environment, and was used principally as a draught animal; when heavy horses began to replace oxen in agriculture in the nineteenth century, the breed started to decline.

[5]: 36  A herd-book was started in 1935, at which time it represented about 6.4% of the total cattle population in Ukraine.

[3]: 319 [4] A conservation programme was begun in the 1960s, and two conservation herds were established, one at Polivanovka in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and another at Askania-Nova in Kherson Oblast; in 1982 a small herd of 125 animals was moved from Askania-Nova to Cherga in the Altai Republic.