That's what the Russians would say, The Ukrainians would disagree. Your claim of "ukrainians (sic) and the ruskies (sic) are both the same" is one of the oldest propaganda lines used to deny Ukraine's right to exist as a nation. It has been a staple of Kremlin messaging for decades, and it's remarkable how often it's repeated, almost word for word, by people like you in the West who imagine they're offering a nuanced take. Ukraine isn't just a Russian province. Kyiv was the centre of Kyivan Rus' centuries before Moscow emerged was anything. Ukraine developed under different states, laws, religions and cultural influences than Muscovy. Ukrainians built their own language, literature, traditions and political institutions, despite repeated attempts by the Russian Empire to suppress them. If Ukrainians are "just Russians," why did Peter the Great ban the Ukrainian language? Why did Soviet authorities crush Ukrainian independence? Why has the Kremlin spent generations insisting Ukraine isn't a real nation? Empires don't spend centuries trying to erase identities that don't exist. And if shared history means one nation forfeits its sovereignty, should Austria belong to Germany? Should Ireland belong to Britain? Should Slovakia disappear into the Czech Republic? Your poor argument collapses the moment it's applied consistently. In 1991, 90% of Ukrainians voted for independence, including majorities in every region. In contrast, about 45% of the American colonists supported the Patriots. This "they're really the same people" line is frequently echoed by sympathetic voices abroad and by others who repeat it without examining its historical basis. During the early Soviet period, Vladimir Lenin reportedly referred to certain unwitting Western supporters of Soviet interests as "useful idiots." People like you do all the work for Putin, and he's even paying you. So Lenin was right on this occasion.
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