DISINFO: 90% of the Ukrainian population speaks Russian, Kyiv oppresses them
SUMMARY
The basis of relations between Russia and Ukraine is a common language. More than 90% of the population there spoke Russian. Every third person had some kind of family or friendly connections. General culture. A common history, finally, a common faith, coexistence with a single state for centuries and deeply interconnected economies. It was all very fundamental. All these elements together make good relations inevitable...Ukraine suddenly announced that Russians in this territory are not the titular nationality. Is this normal?
RESPONSE
This statement was made by Putin during his interview with Carlson Tucker on February 2024. Putin’s claim is designed to justify Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the attempts to illegally annex the temporarily occupied territories in Ukraine.
These claims vividly exemplify the Kremlin's narrative promoting the 'oppression of Russian speakers' in Ukraine. Concealing its intentions with strikingly similar claims in 2014, Russia initiated military and political aggression against Ukraine. In 2022, this aggression escalated into a full-scale war.
More broadly, this claim propagates the 'Russian world' narrative, a pseudohistorical doctrine asserting that territories encompassing the former Soviet Union fall within modern Russia's 'sphere of influence'.
According to a 2022 survey conducted by the Rating Group, 92% of respondents identify themselves as Ukrainian by nationality, 5% as Russian, and 3% belong to other ethnic groups.
At the end of 2023, the State Service for the Quality of Education of Ukraine unveiled the results of surveys involving over 30,000 teachers, parents, and students concerning language preferences. The findings revealed that more than 90% of respondents consider Ukrainian their native language and use it across all aspects of their lives.
The Law 'On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language,' passed by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in April 2019, does not restrict the use of any language in private communication. This legislation mandates the use of Ukrainian as the sole state language in official functions performed by state bodies and local self-government entities, as well as in various public domains of life, as specified in Article 1, paragraph 7.
Simultaneously, UN member states have acknowledged Ukraine's unequivocal right to self-identification and the revitalization of the Ukrainian language.
For further insight, refer to our analysis of the 'one nation myth' highlighted previously. See also related cases: Ukraine was created by Russia, it is historically fair that it becomes Russian again; Russia only tries to protect its people in its historical borders; The war in Ukraine is about the reunification of the Russian people.