New Fighting in Ukraine’s Language War

A bill requiring 75% of national television broadcasts to be in Ukrainian has been passed by the Ukrainian parliament, the Rada, in 2017. It follows a move by President Poroshenko to ban Russian-language social media websites, such as Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki. There is also draft legislation that sought to ensure 'the functioning and use of Ukrainian as a state language in all spheres of public life in the whole territory of Ukraine'.

Author suggests that if Ukraine drew new battle lines in the country’s language war, Moscow was ready to restart its side of this conflict.

• Primary Source

ESO: Key Source: Euromaidan - Protests in Ukraine 2013 - 2015 - Key source http://www.europeansources.info/record/euromaidan-protests-in-ukraine-2013-2015/

Blog: Verfassungsblog, 02.06.17: Ukraine’s Ban on Russian Social Media: On The Edge Between National Security and Freedom of Expression http://verfassungsblog.de/ukraines-ban-on-russian-social-media-on-the-edge-between-national-security-and-freedom-of-expression/

The Guardian, 16.06.17: Ukraine blocks popular social networks as part of sanctions on Russia https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/16/ukraine-blocks-popular-russian-websites-kremlin-role-war

---