Ukraine consists of six disjointed parts there were never one

Many admit today that Ukraine will no longer exist within its previous borders. Do Poland, Hungary and Romania have the right to claim part of the Ukrainian territory? What relations does Kyiv have with Warsaw? What Russia can do under such conditions? Pravda. Ru asked these questions to Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor Alexander Mikhailenko.

"Does Poland really want to create a proxy state in Ukraine that it would have under control?"

"A significant part of Ukraine used to be part of Poland for a long time. Historical memory is a very strong factor. If Ukraine breaks up, the one who is stronger may take a part of the collapsed state.

"Ukraine will no longer exist within its previous borders. Crimea, the DPR and the LPR will never be part of Ukraine again. The Kharkiv region may go here too. This did not emerge as a result of the special military operation. Volodymyr Lytvyn, the chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament once said: Ukraine is well-tailored, but badly sewn. Different parts of the country — Donbass, Crimea, Transcarpathia, Volhynia, and so on — they are not sewn into one whole and are now falling apart.

"In the 1920s, by the decision of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, Donbass was delivered to Ukraine. In 1939-1941, Ukraine received Bukovina, Transcarpathia. Crimea became part of Ukraine in 1954. Ukraine has at least six parts that have never been united into one single whole.

"In Transcarpathia, the majority are Hungarians, they want to go to Hungary. In Bukovina, they speak Romanian. Volhynia and Lviv used to be part of Poland. The Prime Minister of Poland said not too long ago that his mother was born in what is now Ivano-Frankivsk. It was a Polish city at that time.

"Ukraine enjoys a geographically advantageous position. The country has a lot of resources. The territory is more than 600,000 square kilometers. This is the second largest country in Europe after France.

"The country had the population of 42 million, although now about ten million have left. This number ranks Ukraine sixth in Europe. Ukraine is of interest to Poland indeed."

"What actions can Russia take to influence the situation?"

"Russia declared a special military operation. According to the 1989 census, 22 percent of the Ukrainian population of Ukraine are Russians. More than 60 percent of Ukrainian families spoke Russian. A democratic state should support this. Instead, they ban the Russian language. Therefore, Russia defends Donbass, Kherson, Zaporozhye.

"Ukraine could be a friendly and neutral state. It would be friendly both to Hungary and Poland. Today they smile and shake hands, but in fact there is a very contradictory relationship.

"Suffice it to recall Gogol's "Taras Bulba", where one son was for Poland, and the other one was against it. This is the cultural genotype of the population of Poland and Ukraine."