Ukraine: Zelensky's chief of staff fined for speaking Russian

In Ukraine, officials are allowed to speak Russian in private, but not in an official capacity. Anyone who violates this for the first time will have to pay a fine of up to 170 euros. This caught the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, as the representative for the protection of the state language, Olena Iwanowska, announced on Facebook.

Iwanowska does not mention the name Kyrylo Budanov. However, she describes the incident in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff switched to Russian.

Budanov spoke partly Ukrainian and partly Russian

On Monday, several hundred people protested in front of a makeshift military prison in a suburb of the capital Kyiv. They suspected the National Guard of mistreating deserters arrested there. The Ukrainian justice system is investigating whether military personnel exceeded their authority. But she is also investigating the suspicion that the riot was deliberately fomented.

Ex-secret service general Budanov tried to calm the situation. A video shows him talking to an injured 14-year-old protester - partly in Ukrainian, partly in Russian. He answers the injured man's sister on the phone in Russian and also gives instructions in Russian.

The conversation situation is typical for Kyiv, where many people switch between the two languages ​​in everyday life. Ukrainian is also the language of command in the military, but many soldiers still speak Russian to one another. However, officials must use the state language, Ukrainian.

Because of his daring secret service operations, Budanov enjoys a reputation as a hero in Ukraine. However, he has now been accused on social media of speaking the language of the enemy Russia. Language representative Iwanowska said on Facebook that the accused had admitted the violation and would pay the fine on time. Budanov did not comment.