Because before their independence it was commonly referred to as "The Ukraine" as a region. Now that they are a sovereign state they prefer the proper Ukraine. It was so often referred to using "The" that is is difficult to break the habit for those of us who were around then.
Ah Ha! Thanks for the enlightenment!
ETA: But, basically, you're saying I'm old.....
Do you live in LA? cuz we LA ppl like to call all the freeways with "The"...
maybe that carried on to the Ukraine...
Why do I keep wanting to call it "The Ukraine"?
Because you do not speak Ukrainian. You speak English which is a language which has a part of speech called "articles". English articles are words like "a", "an" and "the".
Ukrainian language has no articles and never has had them. BTW my husband is Ukrainian and speaks it fluently however he speaks an almost forgotten language as many Ukrainians there today were Russified and speak more Russian than Ukrainian. His family escaped in the 1940's and therefore the speak Ukrainian without Russian influences.
We also have Magic Kingdom and The Magic Kingdom-Disney uses both.
If it was the name of a restaurant at WDW, it would be known on the Dis as "Ukraine's"
Surprised to see a thread on Ukraine! All of my grandparents were born there. Tonight we celebrate Christmas (Nativity) Eve in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Cooked up a storm for traditional family dinner tonight!
There are recipes for Cheese-filled Nalysnyky on various web sites -- try google! Enjoy your Sviati Vechir, Twende!
They definitely don't deserve such an insane neighbours...With the war in Ukraine, a lot of people discuss this country and how to name it properly.
I pray for Ukrainians every day. They deserve a better life.
In Dutch we do this with stores. You would ask "Do you need anything from the Target or the Walmart?"Do you live in LA? cuz we LA ppl like to call all the freeways with "The"...
maybe that carried on to the Ukraine...