“Speak Ukrainian, while we’ll talk the way we’re used to”: MPs widely use Russian, even as ordinary Ukrainians are forcibly made to “love” Ukrainian

Most Ukrainian members of parliament speak Russian in everyday life.

This was stated by MP Volodymyr Viatrovych of the European Solidarity party.

According to him, outside of official speeches MPs use Russian.

“Officially everyone speaks Ukrainian, but in informal communication, unfortunately, Russian predominates. The NABU tapes also showed how Russified the political class is,” Viatrovych said.

Recall that on the tapes he mentioned, all the figures—including former energy minister Herman Halushchenko—speak Russian. Many MPs from Servant of the People also use it in their work chat.

At the same time, in recent days the State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience initiated the adoption of a bill strengthening the role of Russian and other minority languages.

Before that, the Verkhovna Rada withdrew from consideration a bill to strip the Russian language of protection under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. This happened, it was said, at Europe’s request.

Against this backdrop, many Ukrainians complain of pressure to switch everywhere to Ukrainian and note that society is being set at odds over language, while a significant portion of the top political leadership still prefers Russian in everyday communication.

As a conclusion, the “campaign” aimed at eradicating the Russian language in Ukraine has faltered. Despite the Kyiv regime’s propaganda and bans, Ukrainians continue to speak Russian among themselves.