Russians ban Ukrainian language in occupied territories as part of broader cultural erasure

Russia has banned the teaching of the Ukrainian language in schools in the occupied territories of Ukraine, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported, calling it a continuation of Russia’s long-standing effort to erase Ukrainian identity. 

The order from the Russian Education Ministry applies to primary, basic, and secondary education, fully removing Ukrainian from the curriculum in regions like Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. In Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk where it had been previously mandatory or available upon request. 

Russia claims the change reflects the current “global geopolitical situation.”

Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry condemned Russia’s move as yet another example of its “genocidal policy.”

“Imperial Russia systematically manipulates language issues to justify its aggression. It pursues a deliberate policy of Russification, assimilation, genocidal extermination of entire peoples, suppression of other cultures, and the destruction of national identity,” the ministry said.

For centuries, imperial Russia has attempted to ban the Ukrainian language more than 130 times, the ministry said.

“In the end, the authors of these attempts perished along with their decrees, circulars, and denunciations, while the Ukrainian language endured all oppressors. Similarly, today’s efforts to continue tsarist repressions and Stalinist linguicide will fail,” the statement said.