“Ukraine may have existed, but it was not an independent country until 1992. And was a Russian client until 2014.”
Do you mean because it had agreements with Russia? Because if that is your criterion, half the nations on the planet would qualify as “Russian clients.”
No
Because Russia had full control over their political and economic systems before the coup/color revolution of 2014.
Some think that was bad, some think it was good.
But it was the reality.