βAs the Director of the Ukrainian Institute London and a historian, I received numerous requests for commentary in the context of Russiaβs 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 Putinβs weaponised mythology. But the interviewers were oblivious to their own entrapment in the imperialist framework even as they attempted to give Ukraine a voice. [β¦] Weary of giving a βproperβ answer (starting with Volodymyr the Great and ending with Volodymyr Zelenskiy) for the umpteenth time, I asked one journalist a question in return: βWhat, exactly, is the difference between Ireland and England?β Instead of an answer, I heard a nervous giggle.β
– Olesya Khromeychuk (2022), Where is Ukraine?