The Ukraine has been a sovereign nation since all the way back in 1991, with the breakup of the USSR.
Why was it called “The Ukraine?” Because it was for centuries just a region of Russia, and then the USSR. It’s why we call “The Midwest” The Midwest, not the sovereign nation of Midwest. The Midwest is a region of America, the way that The Ukraine was a region of Russia until 1991.
Tell me, who was the king or president of Ukraine in 1850? 1750? 1650? Please inform us.
Who was president of the US in 1850, 1750, 1650? Why does it matter now that the US is a sovereign nation, just as Ukraine is a sovereign nation? Does England maintain rights to coerce obedience because of a foothold in Jamestown in 1607?
Did Putin invade a sovereign nation in March of 2022?
“The Ukraine has been a sovereign nation since all the way back in 1991, with the breakup of the USSR.”
Same for the russian federation.
“Tell me, who was the king or president of Ukraine in 1850? 1750? 1650? Please inform us.”
Surely not the London kings and queens, that would be another country.
“Why was it called “The Ukraine?””
Why is it called “The” United States? Why is it called “The” United Kingdom? In English we tend to put “The” before the names of countries beginning with U.
I suppose your English teacher in Leningrad wasn’t so good on these more obscure English patterns.