Ukrainian state language protection commissioner says concept of separate ‘Russian-speaking’ population product of Russian ideology, ‘we are all Ukrainians’

In response to a question about whether, in his opinion, Russian-speaking people can be called Ukrainians, Ukrainian State Language Protection Commissioner Taras Kremin said that the concept of a “Russian-speaking” population in Ukraine is purely Russian ideology, and that “we are all citizens of Ukraine.”

Kremin added that since the beginning of the full-scale war, the Ukrainian language has become a way of determining “friend or foe” on the front line.

Military personnel on the front have repeatedly mentioned that the first reaction to hearing Russian is to shoot. So Ukrainian is a security factor.

At the beginning of November, politician Iryna Farion stated that she does not consider Russian-speaking soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to be Ukrainians. After this, she faced criticism, including from the military. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) opened a case against Farion under articles about insulting the honor and dignity of a military serviceman, as well as about the violation of citizens' equality.