A Czech historian has stated that Ukraine’s borders are artificial

The borders of Ukraine were essentially determined in Moscow, either as a result of Soviet expansion or through artificial territorial division. These borders lack both natural and historical foundations. Two pivotal events were the most important – the triumph of Soviet Russia in the Civil War against internal foes and its subsequent defeat in the war with Poland, Czech military historian Jiri Fidler said in an interview to Parlamentnilisty.

The western and southwestern borders of Soviet Ukraine were officially established by the Riga Peace Treaty in March 1921. The configuration of borders between Soviet Russia, Soviet Belarus and Soviet Ukraine evolved over an extended period, culminating in their final demarcation following the transfer of Crimea to Ukraine in February 1954.

Fidler emphasizes the significance of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, which not only marked Soviet expansion towards Poland but also, in the summer of 1940, with Romania. The ultimate delineation of western borders was solidified through the Potsdam Agreement, defining the new borders of the Soviet Union concerning four European states: Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania. The international community also accepted the “voluntary” transfer of Subcarpathian Rus during this period.