Because even educated people aren't educated in every area of knowledge. Your average American newspaper reader doesn't know too much about Ukraine. That's not a good or a bad things, just a fact. Much like I don't expect an average European newspaper reader to know too much about Kentucky or Paraguay.

And in the service of serving the audience, providing some background in an approachable listicle format is quite useful. Especially considering that many readers probably know that Ukraine is in the midst of turmoil, but they may not understand the root causes.