“Action has meaning only in relationship and without understanding relationship, action on any level will only breed conflict. The understanding of relationship is infinitely more important than the search for any plan of action”.
Animated history of Ukraine - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJvz3Ai9Ppw
Specifically covers how the borders were changing over time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJvz3Ai9Ppw
It is difficult to talk about the relationship between Russia and Ukraine but they share a common ancestry. Over time this ancestry was more mixed and diluted due to different historical events.
However, most importantly, Kyivan Rus was the first most notable, although a loose federation of lands that encompassed many nationalities. The first mention of an established territory goes back to the year 839 when the Norse colonised that region. However, in 1043 the Slavs were already dominating the populous and the languages were predominantly Slavic.
It is hard to discuss those old times as unfortunately it is not well documented. Nevertheless, recent scholarship has attempted to move past the narrow and politicized debate on the origins, to focus on how and why assimilation took place so quickly.
Why does this matter? The annexation of the history of the Kyivan Rus, be it by appropriating Queen Anna of Kyiv or by insisting that Moscow possesses “succession rights” to the medieval kingdom, becomes a way for Russia to justify its imperial expansionism. Yet the capital of Ukraine (founded 988) is older than Moscow (founded 1147) but what is important to note:
Ukrainian Institute of Philosophy Anatoliy Kolodmyi wrote in an appeal to Mayor Vitalii Klitschko, that:
“Ukraine is Europe, the civilized world, which during the X ct existed at the level, and maybe exceeded, several European countries, that Rus naturally fit into the European search for its cultural identity, that it became the center of civilization for many eastern Slavic lands.”
Please note: the information about tribes and first settlements would be added later. (Scythians)