"Ukraine" as a country never existed until the Bolsheviks created it in 1918. Before that regions of it were a part of Poland, the ottoman empire, and Russia. Before that the region was Kievan Rus, which is the earliest Russian state. The people living in eastern Ukraine have always been "Russian".
"Ukraine" as a country never existed until the Bolsheviks created it in 1918. Before that regions of it were a part of Poland, the ottoman empire, and Russia. Before that the region was Kievan Rus, which is the earliest Russian state. The people living in eastern Ukraine have always been "Russian".