Don't you think that more to do with communist ideology than some ethnic sentiment towards Ukrainians? Massive numbers of Russians were victims of communism too, and communism would have tried to do this to the whole world if it could.
Well, except for the fact that the Russians were continually oppressing the Ukraine for over 300 years. That suggests it wasn't just the Communist ideology at work.
hell the Russians called us " malo- rus", "little Russians". Pretty much denied us our individual national identity.