"Kiev, the cradle of Russian Orthodoxy, was now transformed into the "ancient capital of the Ukraine" and the town of residence of the new Hetman, but it had changed very little. The people continued to speak Russian, although the signboards and street names were written up in a dialect which neither the Russians nor the Little Russians understood. The Hetman had given instructions that the official language was to be the Ukrainian tongue. The best of the thing was that the Hetman, although of Little Russian descent, could understand neither the Little Russian language nor his own native tongue, the so-called "Ukrainian." Skoropadsky’s first words were. "I am relying on you: would you like to be my chief-of-staff? We will soon have a powerful Ukrainian army."
I answered that since I had no stake in the Ukraine and knew nothing about local conditions, it would not be right for me to occupy the position. The two of us talked at great length. I was sure that the World War, which was still going on, would end in the defeat of Germany, and that the Germans, who were supporting the Hetman, would be forced to evacuate Russia. Once this happened, the Hetman's Government would fall, and furthermore, since Germany was lending her support for purely selfish reasons, she would never tolerate the formation of a strong Ukrainian army. "