Language Ombudsman: Removal of road signs in Ukrainian language by occupiers in Kherson region is another manifestation of linguicide

15:46, 07.08.2023 1 min read

Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language of Ukraine Taras Kremen has said that the removal of the road signs with text in the Ukrainian language by the Russian occupation forces in Kherson region is another manifestation of the linguicide policy.

"The occupiers call these actions 'the measures for the support of safety on the road infrastructure.' In fact, this is deliberate erosion of the Ukrainian language as a distinctive feature of the Ukrainian nation. Any actions aimed at the narrowing of the scope of the Ukrainian language are a manifestation of a criminal policy of linguicide," he was quoted as saying by the press service on Monday.

Kremen also said that the facts of discrimination or oppression against Ukrainians on the basis of language should become a subject of international legal proceedings.

"The occupiers and collaborators, who want to force Ukrainians use their language through reproducing the Soviet Union's colonization policy on the Ukrainian land, will be punished," he said.