Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov is obliged to pay a fine for using the Russian language during an incident in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka. This was announced by State Language Protection Commissioner Olena Ivanovska in her Facebook post, cited by RBC-Ukraine. According to her, state oversight of the case is ongoing, and communication with the participant of the incident has already taken place, which, as the official noted, 'occurred without unnecessary publicity and within the legal framework.'
Chronology of the Incident
The events that prompted the inspection took place on November 2 in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, where, according to sources, clashes broke out between local residents and law enforcement officers near a National Guard deployment point. Budanov arrived at the scene and, according to the language ombudsman, used the Russian language during communication. It was this episode that served as the basis for recording a violation of the state language legislation.
Position of the Language Ombudsman
Olena Ivanovska urged not to escalate public discussion around the incident and to wait for the results of the procedures prescribed by law. She emphasized that the state language law should fulfill its function rather than become a reason for division or unrest in social networks. 'Any of us in stressful, everyday, or extreme circumstances can slip up, but the maturity of a society is measured by its ability to admit this and bear responsibility,' the ombudsman noted.
Legal Consequences and Amount of the Fine
According to Ivanovska, Budanov admitted the fact of the violation without trying to make excuses or avoid responsibility. Now the head of the President's Office is obliged to pay a fine within the established timeframe. According to data provided by the Minval publication, the amount of the penalty for violating language legislation ranges from 3,400 to 6,800 hryvnias. The ombudsman emphasized that the incident should be resolved in a legal manner — through recording the violation and fulfilling the requirements stipulated by law, rather than public condemnation in social networks.
Context: Language as an Instrument of State Policy
The case with Budanov once again brings to the forefront the discussion on the application of the state language law in stressful situations. For a high-ranking official responsible for the work of the President's Office, public admission of the violation and payment of the fine become, in fact, a precedent: the state demonstrates that language norms apply to everyone without exception, including the closest circle of the head of state. At the same time, as the ombudsman herself notes, the emphasis is placed not on moral condemnation, but on compliance with the procedure, which, in her belief, is a sign of a mature society.
