Ukraine's National Security Head Calls For Abolishing Russian Language In Country

Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council head Oleksiy Danilov said on Friday that the Russian language should be completely abolished in Ukraine, noting that reaching an understanding with the Russian-speaking part of Ukrainian population poses a threat to the state

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st October, 2022) Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council head Oleksiy Danilov said on Friday that the Russian language should be completely abolished in Ukraine, noting that reaching an understanding with the Russian-speaking part of Ukrainian population poses a threat to the state.

"The Russian language in general should disappear from our territory as an element of hostile propaganda and brainwashing of our population," Danilov said on a national talk show.

Danilov claimed that the "narrative" about the need to reach mutual understanding with Russian-speaking Ukrainians is highly dangerous for the state. At the same time, the official called for the compulsory study of English in the country in addition to the Ukrainian language.

"To plant these Russian narratives here is a very, very dangerous thing. Presumably, we have to understand each other, who they are, what they are. Look, we don't need anything from them. Let them get rid of us, let them go to their swamps and croak in their Russian language," Danilov said.

Danilov complained about a large number of Ukrainian political experts who regularly appear on television using Russian as the main language.

In response to this, the show host proposed to create and broadcast a list of Ukrainian public figures that speak Russian.

Based on the 2001 census, over 14.3 million Ukrainians, or almost 30% of the country's population, called Russian their native language. Since the Maidan coup in 2014, Kiev has adopted a number of policies aimed at regulating and limiting the use of the Russian language on tv and in public places, including in education and service sector.

The discrimination of the Russian-speaking population led to a civil war in Ukraine, which resulted in the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics declaring their independence and, finally, appealing to Russia for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian aggression in late February.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on October 14 that the very question of the abolition of the Ukrainian language in Russia is illegal, since it is one of the state languages in the Russian Federal subject of Crimea.