DISINFO: Ukraine is a Russian territory
SUMMARY
Ukraine is our territory, Russian.
We will attack them every day ... Our territory is not Zaporizhzhia, not Kherson, our territory is Odesa, Kyiv, Kharkov, all regions and Ukraine in general, this is our territory, Russian.
We have already decided not to defend, but to attack everywhere. It will be so.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlet justifying the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, occupation in parts of Ukraine via illegitimate referenda, discrediting Ukrainian statehood. It offers an absurd interpretation of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine with the use of the classic disinformation narrative about the Russian world.
The notion that Ukraine is not a country, but a historical part of Russia, appears to be deeply ingrained in the minds of Russian leadership (see here, here and here.)
Ukraine is a well-defined nation-state with a long history and its own identity, despite foreign rule for long periods of time. The "all-Russian big nation" is an imperial Russian and Russian revanchist ideology that is a favoured pro-Kremlin narrative aimed at weakening the national identity of Ukrainians, as well as undermining the state sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state with an internationally recognised territory and borders, democratically elected president and parliament. It is a member of many international organisations, such as the United Nations and the Council of Europe, and a party to international agreements. Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected by almost the whole world with Russia as the key exception.
The occupied Ukrainian territories are not Russian and not "liberated", but temporarily occupied territories as a result of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. The referendums are shams, conducted in haste and under military repression and as far from the "public will of the people" as imaginable.
Pro-Kremlin media outlets often cast doubts on Ukrainian statehood and claim that Ukraine either does not exist as a state or is going to tumble down very soon, or it is a colony of the West. In reality, present-day Ukraine has been on the world map since 1991 when the Soviet Union disintegrated. It has elected six presidents since then and changed parties in government several times which illustrates political diversity and democratic dynamics even during economic hardship in the wake of Russian aggression in 2014.
Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity have been violated by continuous acts of aggression by Russian armed forces since 2014 and culminated in an aggressive attack on a neighbouring country on February 24, 2022.
See similar disinformation cases that target Ukraine: that There is no Ukraine: Russia liberates Russian cities; that Ukraine does not exist as a state; that Ukraine will be split up; that Ukraine is a quasi-state with a failed economy; that modern Ukraine was created as a country for death in the name of American interests and others.