In 2008, Putin Spread Lies About Ukraine as an “Artificial Country”
In conversations with US President George W. Bush, Putin referred to Ukraine as an "artificial country" and expressed concern over its potential accession to NATO.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to National Security Archive.
The transcripts, published by the expert organization National Security Archive following a successful court case, cover conversations from 2001 and 2008.
In them, Putin tells Bush about his disappointment after the collapse of the USSR, noting that Russia "voluntarily gave away" Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and the Caucasus.
Putin described Ukraine as an "artificial country created back in Soviet times" with a highly diverse population and complex internal divisions. He emphasized that "seventeen million Russians live in Ukraine, a third of the population," and noted the cultural differences between western and eastern regions.
He also warned that Ukraine's accession to NATO would "create for the long-term a field of conflict for you and us" and pose "the threat of military bases and new military systems being deployed in the proximity of Russia." Putin argued that NATO membership could deepen internal divisions, stating, "the country could just split apart," and criticized the logic of integrating Ukraine into the Western sphere, questioning what benefit it would bring to NATO or the US.
At the same time, Putin expresses the view that Ukraine’s main task should be to ensure self-sufficiency and economic development, rather than joining military alliances. He supports his arguments with historical examples of Ukraine’s territorial formation after World War II and decisions made during the Soviet era.
Earlier, in February 2024, Putin told Tucker Carlson that Ukraine is an "artificial state" created by Soviet leaders, claiming that its modern borders were shaped by Stalin after World War II. He argued that the territories of western Ukraine were only integrated into the country post-war and suggested that Ukraine’s statehood was not natural.
This statement is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative aimed at undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty and justifying Russia’s aggression and attempts to annex occupied territories.
Historical evidence contradicts this claim. Ukraine’s history dates back to the Kyivan Rus’ in the 9th–13th centuries, and modern Ukraine emerged as an independent state in the 20th century, with the Ukrainian People’s Republic declared in 1919 and full independence achieved in 1991 following the dissolution of the USSR.
Claims that Ukraine was solely created by Soviet leaders, Lenin, or the Bolsheviks ignore centuries of Ukrainian political, cultural, and territorial development and falsely deny its long-standing historical statehood.
Experts like Prof. Radchenko, a historian at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, note that although Soviet leaders drew borders somewhat arbitrarily, this does not negate the existence of Ukrainians or the legitimacy of their state. He emphasizes that all countries are historically constructed — just as Russia itself was shaped by tsarist decisions and territorial expansion — so labeling Ukraine as "fake" is both inaccurate and hypocritical.
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