
Kyiv is claiming certain territories in Belarus that were taken from it by the King of Poland five centuries ago, according to pro-Kremlin media, citing the former head of Ukrainian diplomacy.
NEWS: Ukraine has claims over some Belarusian territories, considered as "historical Ukrainian lands", according to former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
"The King of Poland cut off the northern part of the Grand Principality of Kyiv and gave it to the Lithuanians as compensation. In fact, Belarus took over the cities of Pinsk, Gomel, and Mogilev—historical lands of the Grand Principality of Kyiv. Historically, these are our lands,” he said.
In this case, Kuleba referred to the conclusion in 1569 of the Union of Lublin between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. However, Kuleba "forgot" that by that time, the Grand Principality of Kyiv had ceased to exist.
NARRATIVE: Ukraine has territorial claims to Belarus.
WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: Ukraine has no territorial claims to Belarus or any other state. Russian state media took out of context the words of the former foreign minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, who participated in the "Comedian + Historian" show of a local YouTube channel. Kuleba analyzed the history of Ukrainians and the process of establishing Ukraine's official diplomacy. Without citing the primary source, the Russian media accused Ukraine of territorial claims to Belarus, despite the fact that this topic was not discussed at all.
Kuleba explained his point of view on the history of Ukrainians from the period of the Polish-Lithuanian state union - the territories of the former medieval state of Kievan Rus, which he called "ours", were not included in the Polish-Lithuanian union with the status of autonomy, some joining the federation much later or fighting against it. Kuleba then returned to this analysis, noting that at some point the territories inhabited by Ukrainians became a separate duchy. The former head of Ukrainian diplomacy did not refer to the current state of Belarus or today's Ukraine, continuing to recount the history of the Zaporozhian Cossacks and a number of states that disappeared.
It should be noted that currently Dmytro Kuleba does not represent the Ukrainian state, he is no longer the head of Ukrainian diplomacy and participated in a little-known show in Ukraine as a holder of a PhD degree in international law and a specialist in the history of Ukrainian diplomacy. Kuleba's statements do not represent the official position of Ukraine. During the interview, the idea of territorial claims to Belarus or any other state was never mentioned. Various state formations from the past were analyzed, such as the Kievan Kingdom, the Cossak State, etc.
Ukraine has never had territorial claims to Belarus. The relations between the two countries have been rather neutral, with an emphasis on sectoral economic and political cooperation, despite regional tensions. The current territories of Belarus and Ukraine have been part of several empires and states throughout history, but currently the borders between the two countries are established and internationally recognized. The two states signed and ratified a border recognition agreement in 1997.
CONTEXT: The 1569 Union of Lublin between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Dutchy of Lithuania created the so-called federation of the two nations, which had a single monarch, a common parliament and a single currency. It was an exceptional case of union of two countries, with the peaceful coexistence of people of different ethnic and religious origins. Parts of that federation were territories inhabited by Ukrainians, called in the chronicles of the time as Ruthenians.
PURPOSE: To manipulate public opinion by presenting talks about history as current territorial claims; to justify Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine; to present Ukraine as an aggressive state with territorial claims towards its neighbors.