The Ireland/England example was meant to be an example of how speaking the same language is not indicative of having the same culture. Culture is really hard t

The Ireland/England example was meant to be an example of how speaking the same language is not indicative of having the same culture. Culture is really hard to pin down, and there are examples of distinct national identities that are really hard to differentiate in ethnographic terms--the US and Canada are the example that comes readily to mind here. As for the "Ukrainians happily being part of Russia/USSR" bit, I think the sibling comment does it more justice than I can.