Quote Originally Posted by UhOhXplode View Post
Eric also appreciates epic music and when he says that Ukraine and Russia are two different countries, he's right.
President Putin said, "Only God knows why Crimea was ever given to Ukraine.". He also said the same thing about NovoRossiya. But he's wrong.
The Kremlin knows why. Kievan-Rus is where Belarus, Russia, and the borderlands were born. And it's really sad that the birthplace of Russia was neglected but it was. So now Russia and it's birthplace are 2 sovereign nations. That's why President Putin can't interfere militarily without creating an International issue. I mean, "Only God knows why..." isn't a good explanation for giving up the birthplace of a nation.
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You strangely jump from Kievan-Rus to 21st century forgetting about Russian Empire and the USSR all together.
Ukraine is only independent for 23 years, before that were no Ukraine as a state.
Misunderstanding between the West and the East of Ukraine(excluding Crimea) however was not born in 21st century, neither it was created during USSR times. It goes back to Russian Empire times.
And "thanks" to modern politics of external influencers those misunderstandings were blown up to enormous hatred.

The US, the EU and Russia are all guilty of creating that hatred.
However when Russia protects its national security, the EU protects its economical projects and the US cherishes its goal of political and economical hegemony.
And Ukrainians are deliberately and methodically torn apart based on those misunderstandings that were created during Russian Empire times.