You're reading: Language bill will make Russian de facto official language, expert says

The adoption of the law on principles of state language policy destroys the very concept of the state language, Director of the Institute of the Ukrainian Language at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Pavlo Hrytsenko has said.

“The application of this law destroys the very concept of the state language, since the official language cannot necessarily be used by a significant part of society and can be easily replaced in official communication,” he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Friday.

In addition, Hrytsenko said that the Ukrainian language would cease to be compulsory in the system of education in Ukraine. Government officials will also be able to easily ignore the use of the Ukrainian language during the fulfillment of their duties, he added

“Russian will de factor become the official language in Ukraine,” Hrytsenko said.