No, you cannot compare Ukraine to anywhere else

There is quite a bit of history in this region: especially since it is between Asia and Europe. The term "Rus" comes from the Vikings since they owe quite a lot to the Varangians. Although, there is some controversy over the origin of the name "Rus": Is it a nordic term? Or a derivation from the Greek Ρωσία, which in turn derives from Ῥῶς?

While the term Rus may be up in the air, the fact that Kyiv is in the middle of a trade route between the Varangian Vikings and the Greek world is not. 

The reason I put in the picture of this stamp is that Ukraine has been a part of many different nations states over the millenium, yet there has been an interest in nationhood. What I will call the age of Nationism brought about the rise of people like Stepan Bandera who wanted their own land. Ukraine, like Poland, may have existed for some time, but it was never truly a nation for a good part of that existence.

Again, the map for refresher on European history and nationalism:

A very short form of Ukraine's history from Wikipedia:

The territory of modern Ukraine has been inhabited since 32,000 BC. During the Middle Ages, the area was a key centre of East Slavic culture, with the loose tribal federation Kievan Rus' forming the basis of Ukrainian identity. Following its fragmentation into several principalities in the 13th century and the devastation created by the Mongol invasion, the territorial unity collapsed and the area was contested, divided, and ruled by a variety of powers, including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Tsardom of Russia. The Cossack Hetmanate emerged and prospered during the 17th and 18th centuries, but its territory was eventually split between Poland and the Russian Empire. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, a Ukrainian national movement for self-determination emerged, and the internationally recognised Ukrainian People's Republic was declared on 23 June 1917. The Ukrainian SSR was a founding member of the Soviet Union in 1922. The country regained its independence in 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Following its independence, Ukraine declared itself a neutral state.

That was to just give a short taste of the complex history of this region. And, yes, it leaves out a whole lot of the story. Since I sincerely doubt Vladmir Vladimirovich Putin would have been so foolish as to have gone on this path had he contemplated Ukraine's history.

This was the land of partisan warfare, Vladmir Vladimirovich. They will lure you in the way the Red Army lured in the Germans in Stalingrad.

Threatening the use of nuclear weapons only shows your weakness.

Again, you cannot claim to be protecting the people of Ukraine, yet willing to destroy them in your imperialist war of aggression.

I mention the Banderists since they are what you have chosen to fight. You know them.

Why are you acting like an idiot, Vladmir Vladimirovich Putin?