Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has stated once again that the Ukrainian language will be the only official language in the country.
“A lot of us speak Russian but think different than in Russia. Speaking with soldiers in the counterterrorist operation area or a military hospital, I’ve seen and heard that they love Ukraine in Russian just as deeply as in Ukrainian,” Poroshenko said at a flag raising ceremony on the Sofiyska Square in Kyiv on Aug. 23.
“I know now that nobody will ever split us based on language. I am a principled defender of the position that Ukrainian should remain the only official language,” he said.
At the same time, Poroshenko insisted that the contribution that Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine have made to the Ukrainian state’s defense should be appraised properly.
