I mean, I suppose you could say that Russia’s claim that Ukraine is not a real country is equally valid to Ukraine’s claim that Ukraine is a real country.
Everybody’s a bad guy in some way somehow here, and nobody’s right and wrong, etc.
I dunno. I was learning Russian in the late 1990s and I remember that it was VERY VERY IMPORTANT to get “Ukraine” vs “the Ukraine” correct. Na ukrainia vs.. I forget now.
The reason is Russia would refer to Ukraine as if it is a lost part of Russia whereas Ukraine did not see itself that way at all.