Canadian, UK ambassadors to Ukraine criticize ban on 'Russian-language products' in Lviv region

18:18, 20.09.2018 1 min read

Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine Roman Waschuk has criticized legislation passed by the Lviv Regional Council on imposing a moratorium on the public use of "Russian-language cultural products" in the region's territory.

"The Lviv oblast ban as formulated is narrow-minded, discriminatory and #justplaindumb. And I say this as a diasporic native speaker of Ukrainian, and consistent advocate of affirmative action for cultural products in that language - but also #diversity," Waschuk wrote on Twitter.

United Kingdom Ambassador to Ukraine Judith Gough shared Waschuk's opinion.

"I couldn't agree more. C'mon Lviv oblast, you're better than this... (And I say this as a fan/student of both the Ukrainian and Russian languages)," Gough wrote on Twitter.

It had been reported that 57 of the 84 members of the Lviv Regional Council voted on September 18 "to impose a moratorium on the public use of Russian-language cultural products in any form in the territory of Lviv region until the complete termination of the occupation of Ukrainian territory."