An issue appeared yesterday on some British and German newspapers: Ukraine warns Russia is trying to split country in two parts: East and West
Sofa, Germany:
We all are Ukrainians, and it doesn’t matter in which part of Ukraine we are, the separation is not what we need.
Tatyana, near Lviv:
On the territory of each country, there are certain features that distinguish certain parts of one country from each other (this is normal). First, there is a difference in climate (and this is also one of the factors influencing human behaviour, attitudes, etc.).
Secondly, culture, language. We know that culture is divided into: 1) culture (all-Ukrainian) 2) micro-culture (in some areas where a particular culture is created).
Also, (as in many other countries) Ukraine has its own slang (some cities have separate slang).
We all know that Ukraine has suffered from Russia for centuries, especially the Eastern part (the Russian army brutally killed Ukrainians and brazenly settled in their homes or settled their fellows there). Therefore, the difference is in the people, their thinking, consciousness which is more inclined to the Russian type of people (this is not about everyone, but about a certain part of the population that currently supports Russia in all its atrocities against Ukraine, who believe that Ukraine don’t deserve life and existence)
My answer is no. I focused more on finding the difference. Maybe it is connected with misunderstanding of the question.
We are different because all people are different, but it doesn’t mean that we must be split. These territories are hereditary for Ukraine, it has been protecting through the centuries. We all are Ukrainians. Even in Ukrainian anthem we have such words as “Станем, браття, в бій кривавий від Сяну до Дону”. Even here, we have proved that our country is indivisible.
Dmytro, Ukraine:
Today, Ukraine is as united as it hasn’t been before. In my opinion, there is no particular split into 2 parts: there is a slow change into mentality going from East to West. And it is normal for big countries, which were influenced by another countries through centuries.
But today we all can see the union of our people and I hope that this union will continue for a long time, because this feeling makes me personally proud of my country and that is why we have no chance to lose this war
Marina, Lviv:
Globally, I think we have to get rid of those therms as they only divide Ukrainians. I still hear things like “true Ukrainians” live on the West, and everyone from the East side of Ukrainian are “more russians”. And it doesn’t help us to build our country.
However, it’s understandable. After centuries of being apart, under different empires, we can’t expect fast unity. ussr propaganda didn’t help it. They created that banderivtsi therm. Kept saying East and West Ukraine on TV and in literature. Made one people want to have nothing in common with another.
The war did a lot to make Ukrainians a union. One true nation, as it’s always supposed to be. I hope, we’d keep things that way.
Sofiia, Tenerife:
Ukraine can’t be split. Yes, we have some differences between people, but we all are Ukrainians and no one can’t create an enmity between us.
Daria, Kropyvnytsky:
I do not observe any proves of being split into East and West, because it is very relative thing, based only on the East and West locations of the regions and this “division” exists in every country. But what I see is that, unfortunately, we are split into Ukrainians, who speak Ukrainian and Russian languages. One may dislike others and opposite. It is unacceptable at all, especially now
Natalia, Kyiv:
The division of the country into east and west was beneficial only to one country, people who talk about this cynically believe that we can go for it to establish peace. We have seen for eight years what russia has done with Donbass, where prosperity has gone, thousands of refugees, destroyed cities, and today talking about leaving a piece of their land to insatiable russia and dooming the inhabitants to torment and suffering is the same as building a ladder to the scaffold. Who, in their right mind, wants to live in the conditions of the russian federation.
I don’t want to talk about a hundred million mass of creatures that already live there, they did not know freedom, they are slaves, all recent events confirm this, 70 percent of russians approve of the actions of their rulers, not to mention the conversations that russian soldiers have with their mothers, all these prove only one thing: this is another, not yet studied type of humanoid creatures with which God may have mercy to meet. God grant only strength to our courageous defenders to resist this horde.
Therefore, there can be NO TALK of any division of the country, we fight to win.