What did Ukraine do wrong?

The cause of Ukraine has been often compared with the anti-colonial causes of the late 20th c. And yes - there is a significant element of truth behind that. Ukraine is a former province fighting for its independence against the former metropole¹.

BUT

Here the similarity ends, and the difference starts

How is Ukraine different from a typical case of an overseas colony, warring against the former metropole? Well, first and most importantly, there is no sea in between

Let’s look at some specific, particular example. The Netherlands and the Dutch East India, modern Indonesia. First thing you see, is that there are vast ocean spaces between the metropole (orange) and colony (green).