The present article addresses the problem of representation of Ukrainian societal differences and cleavages in the Western public discourse. More specifically, the paper discusses the idea of Ukraine’s alleged “East‑West” divide in North American and partly also European expert, media and academic discourse from the early 1990s until the present. The analysis in this article consists of identifying the idea of Ukraine’s divide in this discourse, tracing its transformation over time and, finally, following its development into some more disguised forms in
the context of the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine. The study has concluded that the idea of Ukrainian regional and cultural differences in the Western discourse has been living a “life of its own.” That is, the differences in perception and representation, for the most part, do not correlate with the actual situation in Ukrainian society since the country’s acquisition of
independence. The stereotypic interpretations of these differences by Western political commentators, pundits and researchers often exaggerate the problem of Ukraine’s “East‑West” cleavage with Russian myths and misconceptions about Ukraine and its society being partly internalised in their discourse.