Russian telegram channels are again trying to spread the idea that Ukrainians as an ethnic group have supposedly only existed since the beginning of the 20th century. They use the sayings of UPA commander Vasyl Kuk, who in one of his interviews noted that during Austrian times the concept of “Ukrainians” did not exist. Instead, he said, everyone was known as “Ruthenians” or “Rusyns”. He also explained that the term “Ukrainians” appeared later after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. However, the interpretation is a manipulation of the Russians.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that Kuk was talking about a period of a specific historical era, and not about the entire history of Ukraine. The term “Ukrainians” was used already in the 17th century, as certified in a letter to Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi in 1657. In addition, the word Ukraine is found in the Kyiv Chronicle of 1187.

The terms “Ruthenians” or “Rusyns” have also been used to refer to Ukrainians throughout history. For example, in the Lithuanian-Russian chronicles of the XIV-XVI centuries and under the Cossack state. However, these terms did not exclude the existence of the Ukrainian people, but only reflected different aspects of their identity.

Therefore, attempts to present Kuk's words as evidence that Ukrainians as an ethnic group did not exist before 1918 are mistaken. This is just an attempt to distort historical facts for political purposes.