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Russia–Ukraine War
Kievan Rus founded
Oleg of Novgorod unites the East Slavs around Kyiv — the shared cultural origin both modern states claim.
Every move in 2024–2026 — Crimea, Donbas, NATO membership debates, the Black Sea grain corridor — is an argument over which of these chapters defines who 'owns' Ukraine. The war is not random; it is a thousand-year-old border dispute fought with drones.
Russian and Ukrainian historians disagree fundamentally on Kievan Rus: Moscow treats it as the cradle of a single Russian civilisation; Kyiv treats it as the cradle of a distinct Ukrainian one. The 1654 Pereyaslav Agreement is read by Russia as a 'reunion' and by Ukraine as a temporary military alliance Russia later betrayed.
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