We are witnessing significant changes in Ukrainian identity caused by the war. This is true, however, for both sides of the conflict. I have just taken this from my notes:
“The "big" Ukrainian political nation that emerged after 1991 no longer exists. It is fragmented and divided primarily for objective reasons caused by the war, mass emigration and occupation. A significant part of Ukrainians (at least 30% of the pre-war population) left the country since the beginning of the invasion. Many of them do not plan to return to their homeland and do not connect their future with the current government in Kyiv. Ukrainians living in the occupied territories constitute another large group of this divided nation. A very special group are the Ukrainians living in Crimea, where they have developed their own regional “dual” identity. Many of them still hold Ukrainian passports.
If Ukrainian unity has been divided by objective reasons, neither is there a “large” Russian nation. It is divided into those who left and those who stayed. Inside Russia, too, there is a clear division into supporters and opponents of the war. Fragmentation, as we can assume, will continue, in all likelihood we have entered the stage of centripetal disintegration of the East Slavic world, which has already repeated several times in history. After it, a new integration may come, but it is premature to speak about its forms.”