DISINFO: Ukraine is a state formation, not a country
SUMMARY
It is hard to name Ukraine a country because of external influence over it. It is rather a state formation, an engineered state.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative, challenging Ukrainian statehood and painting the West as the puppet-master of Ukrainian politics.
Ukraine is recognised in international law as a sovereign nation-state, with its own flag, nationality, language and with a democratically-elected president and parliament. Ukraine is not controlled by any foreign government, while its sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected by most of the free world but were violated by Russia in 2014. The EU works closely with Ukraine and supports the democratic development of Ukraine in accordance with the UN Charter’s principles of non-interference into internal affairs and respect towards territorial integrity and political independence.
See earlier disinformation cases claiming that Ukraine is an anti-Russian state under Western control, that Ukraine has become a vassal of Germany and Ukraine is under US control.