DISINFO: Ukraine has no sustainable statehood
SUMMARY
No sustainable statehood has ever been established in Ukraine. Modern Ukraine was created by communist Russia and the state can be named Ukraine after Vladimir Lenin.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives designed to denigrate the history of Ukraine, Ukrainian statehood and its independence, claiming that Ukraine is a failed state.
The claim from President Putin that Ukraine is an artificial or even failed state is unsubstantiated. See this debunk. Pro-Kremlin media outlets often cast doubts on Ukrainian statehood and claim that Ukraine either does not exist as a state or is going to tumble down very soon. In reality, present-day Ukraine has been on the world map since 1991 when the Soviet Union disintegrated. It has elected six presidents since then and changed parties in government several times which illustrates political diversity and democratic dynamics even during economic hardship in the wake of Russian aggression in 2014. Ukraine's Western partners have been providing it with financial and technical assistance.
Moreover, the history of Ukraine dates back to the era of the Kyivan Rus’ in the 9th-13th centuries. A fully independent Ukraine only emerged in the 20th century, after long periods of successive domination by Poland-Lithuania, Russia, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Under Lenin's leadership at the beginning of the 20th century, Ukraine was occupied by the Bolsheviks and for decades was under communist control. When the Soviet Union began to unravel in 1990–91, the legislature of the Ukrainian S.S.R. declared sovereignty (July 16, 1990) and then outright independence (August 24, 1991).
On 21 February 2022, in violation of international law, President Putin recognised the independence of two Russia-backed breakaway regions of Ukraine and ordered Russian forces to perform so-called 'peacekeeping' functions.
Several countries, including the EU, are expected to introduce sanctions against Russia in response to the move.