Another violation of the rights of Russian-speaking Ukrainians: A Kyiv resident called the police after a conflict in a café with men, demanding they not speak Russian

Another language-related conflict and perceived discrimination against Russian-speaking Ukrainians occurred in the Kyiv bookstore-café “Sens.”

Conductor and co-founder of the art space, where Russian is prohibited, Kateryna Kosetska, shared details of the incident on her Facebook.

According to her, she visited the café for coffee and to engage with like-minded people, but noticed that patrons at a nearby table were speaking Russian. She and her partner approached them and “politely asked” them to switch to Ukrainian. Kosetska mentioned that a sign on the café’s door requests patrons not to use Russian, although, notably, there is no law prohibiting customers from speaking Russian in public spaces.

Kosetska claimed that the men reacted aggressively, mocking them and expressing disdain for the Ukrainian language. She recounted that one of the men, sitting closest to her, first verbally insulted her and then threatened her partner. To document the incident, she attempted to record it on camera. However, at that moment, the man allegedly grabbed her left arm forcefully and took her phone from her.

In the video she shared of the incident, after losing her phone, she is seen reacting forcefully by restraining the man who had taken her device and grabbing him by the head.

Kosetska subsequently filed a report with the police.