> It's Russia vs. the Europe/United States.

So that's one way to look at it. Here's another. It's Ukraine vs Russia. Ukraine has a culture, a history, a language. That culture, history, and language is UKRAINIAN. Not Russian.

During the USSR, Ukrainian was essentially taught as a second language. Russian was more cosmopolitan. That's like having English taught as a primary language in Paris.

After the fall of the USSR, Ukraine started clawing back its own heritage and of course, there is friction. You're witnessing that friction.