Myths and Stereotypes vs. Historical Reality.
Myth: The "Novorussia" (New Russia) originally had no relation to Ukraine.
Reality: The beginning of the Novorussia became the lands taken away from the Zaporozhian Cossacks.

Let us turn to perhaps the first English speaking map in which was found the Novorussia: "Europe, divided into it's empires, kingdoms, states, republics etc. by Kitchin, Hydrographer to THE KING, with many Additions and Improvements..." of Mr.D'Anville. London, 1795. It is divided into large pieces, one of which is called "The Eastern part of the Mediterranean sea, with the coasts of Turky Anatolia, Syria, Egypt and Barbary." There is also the New Russia. It occupies presicely the western part of lands, which until 1775, one hundred years before, in all the international treaties of the Moscow State (in particular the Andrusovo armistice of 1667 and the "Eternal Peace" of 1686) was called the "Liberties of the Zaporozhian Lower Cossack Host," that is, were the Cossacks' lands. After the previous expulsion by Peter I (1709) the Cossacks in 1734 were invited to return under the Russian protectorate. But in 40 years their center - the New Sich - was destroyed by the troops of Catherine II in 1775, but in this map the Cossacks are still marked further to the East: "Zaporiski Cosaks."

Then the Russian Empire actively expanded through a series of the successful Russo-Turkish wars. Russia treated all the land acquisitions (very different) the same as the United Kingdom  which produced the "New England" and the "Nova Scotia" in America, the "New France" in France,  the "New Spain" in Spain. Nobody cared about the local population and its name in the imperial capitals. Note that the vast majority of the current advocated by Moscow "Novorussia" here is called "Little Tartaria." Here is shown an initial phase of the "New Russia's" creation - after the Küçük Kaynarca peace treaty of 1774 and the destruction of the Sich in 1775. So far these are purely Ukrainian lands, not even the Turkish (Ottoman) and Tatar. The New Russia is depicted in a the same manner by the hostile to Britain French atlas of 1806.

Below, for comparison - the lands of the New Zaporozhian Sich (circa 1750).

See also: "Was the Novorussia established in the lands liberated  during the Russian-Turkish wars?" http://likbez.org.ua/novorossia-founded-on-lands-liberated-during-the-russian-turkish-wars.html

Source: http://likbez.org.ua/2607.html