ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Left-bank Ukraine

Okay, imagine you and your friends are playing a game of basketball. You all know the rules and you play on a court that you all agree on. But what if someone decides they want to play by different rules or on a different court than everyone else? That would make things confusing and maybe even cause arguments.

Something like that is happening in Ukraine right now. There is a region called "Left-Bank Ukraine" which is mostly made up of people who speak Ukrainian and follow Ukrainian traditions. But there is a smaller group of people in this region who speak Russian and have different opinions and beliefs than the rest of the people there. These people want to do things their own way and may not always agree with the rest of Ukraine.

This has caused some problems because Ukraine wants to be a united country where everyone works together and follows the same rules. But the people in Left-Bank Ukraine who speak Russian and have different beliefs don't always want to do that. It's kind of like if you were playing basketball and one person decided to dribble with their hands instead of a ball – it would make things confusing and wouldn't be fair to everyone else who is trying to play by the same rules.

So Ukraine is trying to figure out how to make everyone happy and work together, but it can be difficult when there are different groups with different opinions. Just like in a game of basketball, sometimes it takes teamwork and compromise to make things work out.