“You can be a Ukrainian speaker and still be a jerk”: Ukrainian woman criticized bloggers for bullying Russian-speaking children

A young Ukrainian woman condemned bloggers who criticize Russian-speaking citizens, especially children.

Her video message was shared by several Telegram channels.

“How rotten and corrupt must you be to broadcast to such a large audience that Ukrainian children who speak Russian are second-class! Is this what victory looks like, tell me? That we tear each other apart over language, over who left, who stayed, who is a patriot and who is not? This is such a show-off, such degradation — to push your child onto a chair during a minute of silence just to film it on camera and then tell everyone this is the right way! And those who don’t do it are traitors and not patriots. You’ve completely lost it. It’s a disgrace. I want to express words of support for all Russian-speaking Ukrainians. It doesn’t matter what language you speak. What matters is what kind of person you are. You can be Ukrainian-speaking and still be a terrible person,” the woman said.

The reason for her address was comments made by Lviv blogger Kateryna Lutsyshyn, who in mid-September said her children would never study Russian, and that children raised by Russian-speaking parents are “second-class.”

Earlier, another blogger, Olena Mandziuk, stated that her children “might beat up another child who speaks the language of terrorists,” for which a criminal case was opened against her.