Since the founding of the state, Ukraine has been discussing its national identity. Initially, it had a political understanding of nationhood. Since 2014, it follows a linguistic-ethnic model that discriminates against other language communities, including Russian-speaking Ukrainians. The Minsk agreements still aimed at a consensual solution to the internal conflict. However, Kiev was not willing to make any concessions to the minority, such as local or regional autonomy, but risked a military confrontation with the separatists in eastern Ukraine and with Russia.