Two Ukrainian women forced to publicly apologize for listening to Russian-language music in Drohobych

Two Ukrainian citizens were forced to publicly apologize for listening to music in the Russian language.

The incident occurred in the city of Drohobych in Lviv Oblast, according to the outlet Strana, which published a video recording of the event.

The footage shows the women repeating words of apology being dictated to them off-camera. The conflict broke out at the end of July: the women were asked to turn off the Russian-language music but refused. Police were eventually called to the scene.

According to TASS, Ukraine has been pursuing a policy of phasing out the Russian language since 2014. In 2019, a law “On ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state language” was adopted, which significantly restricted the use of Russian and minority languages in the country.

Local authorities have introduced a complete ban on Russian-language works of art, books, films, theatrical productions, and songs, prohibited the study of Russian in schools and universities, and require schoolchildren to communicate only in Ukrainian during breaks.

A bill is currently before the Verkhovna Rada to introduce increased fines for playing Russian-language music videos and songs in cafes and restaurants.