The premise of the article is not to discuss linguistics, I don't speak Russian, so I won't get into that discussion, the premise is to demonstrate that there's a different view on Ukraine or The Ukraine as we used to call it - one being a sovereign nation, the other being a territory of the Soviet Union.

I'm trying to be difficult or funny here, I'm merely stating that what the Chinese Ambassador to France stated was not wrong in general and has never been tested in any legal challenge - in other words, he's entitled to hold that opinion based on his interpretation of the wording and, I'm certain he has had more legal and linguistic training, or at least advice from others who have, to know the opinion is valid - it doesn't mean I agree, nor does it mean he's right - it just means he was not wrong to assert his opinion