Seven decades of the existence of the USSR left a serious imprint on all countries that were under Soviet occupation. Including the colonial legacy is felt to this day in the Ukrainian language. You should get rid of its signs in your speech.

So, after decades of Soviet domination, a tradition has formed in our language of incorrectly naming some countries. First of all, we are talking about those that were also part of the USSR.

For example, in the Soviet era, Ukraine’s southwestern neighbor was usually called Moldova. But this name is wrong. After gaining independence, the state became known as the Republic of Moldova. In shortened form it should be called Moldova. The old name can only be used in historical context.

Another state that suffered from Russian colonization is Kyrgyzstan. During Soviet times, this country in Central Asia was called Kyrgyzstan. Now it is wrong to use this word, it should be abandoned.

Also, historians and linguists advise forgetting about the term Baltic. It's also colonial. It is correct to speak of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, which are friendly to Ukraine, as “the Baltic countries”.