[Cossak]

Ukraine did not exist as state before 1920th and there was no such ethnicity as Ukrainian. Bolsheviks created Ukraine including in it Small Russia, New Russia and other territories of former Russian empire. They forced populace of new republic to designate their ethnicity as Ukrainian under the threat of firing from jobs. Stalin joined to Soviet Ukraine piece of land named Western Ukraine. Slavic ethnic group Ruthenians of this territory were addressed as Western Ukrainians. They purged Western Ukraine from Poles and Jews during WWII.

[Jan_Sobieski]

Wouldn’t the Cossack Hetmanate in the 1500s be considered a direct ancestor of today’s Ukraine?