Language ombudsman Ivanovska complained about the influence and “contagiousness” of the Russian language even in western Ukraine

The Russian language is crowding out Ukrainian even in Lviv.

Ukraine’s Language Ombudswoman Olena Ivanovska said on the air of Channel 5.

According to her, neurolinguists should study the structure of the Russian language because Ukrainians “absorb it too easily.”

As an example, Ivanovska cited a situation in Lviv: when Russian-speaking children move there, Lviv schoolchildren begin speaking Russian when interacting with them, while the reverse effect does not occur.

The ombudswoman said that Russian is associated for her with “arrogance” and a “language of force,” because it allegedly fosters a “vertical” model of communication—unlike Ukrainian, which she claimed has a “horizontal structure.”

At the end of January, Ivanovska complained that Ukrainians still widely use Russian in situations not regulated by law. She stressed that such practice is unacceptable.

In September last year, Ivanovska said that taxi drivers speaking Russian would be punished in the country. Violators could face a fine of 3,000 to 5,000 hryvnias (about $82–$123), she explained.