Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language Taras Kremin states that the state budget for 2021 does not provide for the allocation of funding for the state program to promote the development of the state language and courses on free study of the state language.

"According to the law, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy is responsible for the development of such a state program. It should have been approved at the beginning of 2020. Today there is only an action plan, but still no strategy," Kremin said in an exclusive interview with Interfax -Ukraine.

According to the Ombudsman, after repeated appeals from the Ombudsman's Secretariat to the Ministry of Culture and the Prime Minister, it was possible to get this situation underway as well.

In particular, at the moment there is already a government decree on the approval of the implementation plan for the Strategy for the popularization of the Ukrainian language until 2030. Next, the concept of the state program must be approved, then the program itself.

"As an authorized person, I am ready to help so that this document, which is extremely important for the approval of the state language, is developed as soon as possible. In addition, it is desirable that such a program will be funded in 2021," added Kremin.

In addition, he stressed that courses on free study of the state language, which should be available to citizens of Ukraine, should become an integral attribute of humanitarian changes, as defined by the language law.

"Now the budget for 2021 does not have funds either for the state program or for courses. I am telling about this all the time. I hope the Ukrainian authorities will manage to do it," the ombudsman said, adding that such courses will start working only after the financing is provided.