Ukraine's Security Chief Says English Language Key To 'Survival'in Russian-Speaking World

Ukraine's Security Chief Says English Language Key to 'Survival'in Russian-Speaking World

Ukraine should adopt English as its secondary language, as it is a matter of "survival" in the Russian-speaking world, Oleksiy Danilov, the National Security and Defense Council secretary, said on Tuesday

KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th March, 2021) Ukraine should adopt English as its secondary language, as it is a matter of "survival" in the Russian-speaking world, Oleksiy Danilov, the National Security and Defense Council secretary, said on Tuesday.

Ukrainian is the only state language in Ukraine. The constitution at the same time guarantees free development, use and protection of the Russian language and other languages of national minorities.

"If we say that we are heading toward the EU and NATO, it is a question of our survival in the linguistic Russian-speaking world. So, unless we deal with this issue, we will be constantly exposed to Russian narratives," Danilov told a news conference.

The official expressed the belief that the English language should be mandatory in the everyday life of Ukrainians.

"In order for us to be a civilized country," Danilov explained.

According to a 2019 study by research bureau Kantar, 63 percent of Ukrainians consider Ukrainian their native language, while another 35 percent regard Russian as their mother tongue.

Over the past several years, Ukraine has been actively pursuing the monolingual policy. In 2019, then-President Petro Poroshenko signed the law "On ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state language" to promote the exclusive use of Ukrainian in almost all areas.

Before the law was passed, the country had a 50 percent quota for television and radio programs in the Ukrainian language. The quota has since risen to 90 percent.

In a fresh interview on Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the issue of language is irrelevant in the country, since the only state language is Ukrainian.