BBC explainer: What do Ukrainians really think of the Russians?

By Andriy Kravetts, BBC Ukraine editor

The Ukraine story has dominated news headlines this year.

It began in February when we saw huge protests in the capital Kiev, against the pro-Russian President, Viktor Yanukovych, who eventually fled to Russia, but not before his security forces had killed many protesters.

In March Russian forces seized power in Crimea, prompting the biggest East-West showdown since the Cold War.

And we have the specter of pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine stoking separatist feelings there.

But given all of the above, do we really understand what's going on in Ukraine, and what ordinary Ukrainians themselves think of the Russians?

Let me - someone who was born and brought up in Ukraine - give you a sense of how people in Ukraine see the situation.

What we often forget about when we talk about the crisis in Ukraine, is that the bond between Russia and Ukraine has always been strong.

After all, eastern parts of Ukraine were once a part of Russia.

And at the time of the Soviet Union many ethnic Russians were moved from Russia into Ukraine to promote Russian language and culture there.

The influence is so strong that nowadays, it's often hard to hear the Ukrainian language being spoken on the streets of eastern Ukraine.

They're speaking Russian. And they prefer to watch Russian TV.

Since the collapse of the USSR Ukraine has been almost split in half between those who favor closer ties with Russia, and those who prefer closer integration with Europe.

The reason for this partly lies in our history: Western Ukraine was once part of the Austro-Hungarian empire and then part of Poland.

It only joined the rest of Ukraine and the USSR during World war II.

So there's really no surprise that when trying to escape the economic hardships in Ukraine in the 90's and ever since, many western Ukrainians went to Europe to find jobs.

And many in the east went to Russia to find a better life.

Despite this historic split between west and east, I would argue there is also an emerging generational split in the east - between young and old.

Older people seem still to look to Russia.

But many younger Ukrainians from the east have travelled in the west more than their parents, and may even have been to school in the US or UK.

That means that now, many younger Ukrainians from the east will tend to prefer closer ties with Europe, not Russia.

One of them is Sonya.

The BBC talked to her while she was celebrating her 23rd birthday in a busy club in the eastern city of Donetsk, near where a lot of the fighting has been taking place between the Ukrainian army, and pro-Russian separatists. "I do not believe these people who say they want to be... you know, like Soviet Union," says Sonya. "Come on people! I was born in Ukraine, I do not want to be Soviet Union any more. Like, no way!"

Sonya goes on to say she hopes the pro-Russian separatists nearby would not get what they wanted, and that they would soon tire of the fight and, as she put it "go back home."

You could argue Sonya is typical of the pro-European young professional class emerging in eastern Ukraine.

Despite these divisions in Ukrainian society, it should also be said that since the Russian annexation of Crimea earlier this year, many Ukrainians - from east and west - feel Russia has gone too far, and has destabilized their homeland.

There are still questions of course about who is arming those balaclava-wearing pro-Russian separatists we see on our TV screens.

Russia denies that it's involved - talking instead of its "brotherly love" for Ukraine.

But many Ukrainians insist they are tired of this "brotherly love" -- especially when Moscow acts as the older brother.