DISINFO: Ukraine fights against the Russian language
SUMMARY
On January 16, the fight against the Russian language will officially begin in Ukraine. The fight is exactly the same – there is no question of protecting the functioning of the Ukrainian language.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin propaganda narrative about the alleged discrimination of Ukraine's Russian-speaking minority and the country's ubiquitous Russophobia.
On April 25, 2019, the Verkhovna Rada passed the law
“on ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as a state language”.
This law does not discriminate against any other languages. The law establishes mandatory use of the Ukrainian language in most areas of public and communal life, including the mass media, education and science. However, the law does not forbid the use of Russian, or other languages, in private communication and religious ceremonies.
Moreover, Russian and other languages can be present in book publishing, the press, radio, television, education, and the service sector. The law also allows the use of other languages in the healthcare system and law enforcement.
Regarding the date referred to in the article, in Ukraine, service workers must start a conversation in Ukrainian from January 16, 2021, but they can change the language of communication at the request of the client.
Read a similar case: In Ukraine, it will be forbidden to communicate in Russian from January 2021