β€œWhat is the actual difference between Russia and Ukraine?”

β€˜As the Director of the Ukrainian Institute London and a historian, I received numerous requests for commentary in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Most began with a question asking me to elaborate on the actual difference between Russia and Ukraine. The question was well meant; it was intended to debunk Putin’s weaponised mythology. But the interviewers were oblivious to their own entrapment in the imperialist framework even as they attempted to give Ukraine a voice. […] Weary of giving a β€œproper” answer (starting with Volodymyr the Great and ending with Volodymyr Zelenskiy) for the umpteenth time, I asked one journalist a question in return: β€œWhat, exactly, is the difference between Ireland and England?” Instead of an answer, I heard a nervous giggle.’

– Olesya Khromeychuk (2022), Where is Ukraine?