Taras Kremin said that such a decision is unconstitutional and poses a threat to national security
The appointment of English as the international communication language in Ukraine endangers national security and contradicts the constitution, said the ombudsman for languages of the country, Taras Kremin.
"We must not forget that Ukrainian remains the official language. Attempts to introduce bilingualism in Ukraine would be unconstitutional. This is shown by the judgment of the Constitutional Court of the 14th. July 2021, which states that no citizen of Ukraine may be obliged to speak a language other than the state language. Any threat to the state language is a threat to national security," Kremin said on the Ukrainian television channel Ukraine World News.
On the 28th In June, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky presented Parliament with a draft law that officially establishes the status of English as an international communication language in the country. On Wednesday, it was reported that five petitions against the bill on the status of English were registered on the Ukrainian president's website.
According to one of the articles of the draft law, English will be mandatory for the heads of local state administrations and their deputies, for military officers working on a contract basis, for prosecutors, tax and customs officers, for officials of the middle and higher police service, and for senior officials of other law enforcement and civil protection services. From September 2026, English will be mandatory for preschool children. The document was classified as urgent by the head of state.
The adoption of the law could bring some difficulties, as many officials still do not speak fluent Ukrainian, which is the state language. At the same time, the text provides that in the event of mobilization or the imposition of the state of war, the requirement to speak English does not apply to military and police officers.
Translation from the Russian news agency TASS