Zakharova mocked Budanov for speaking Russian with a teenager

Ironic questions about fines

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova ironically asked how much Kirill Budanov, the head of Volodymyr Zelensky's Office, would have to pay for speaking Russian with a 14-year-old teenager. The occasion was a video filmed during a scandal surrounding an alleged underground prison in Kyiv region, the Life.ru outlet reported.

The gist of the diplomat's complaint

Zakharova pointed out that Budanov spoke with the boy in Russian, despite the language policy of the Ukrainian authorities. «How much will Budanov be fined? How much will the teenager be fined?» she wrote. The Foreign Ministry spokesperson also asked whether Budanov's merits and the minor's age would be taken into account when decisions are made. She addressed separate questions to the journalists who spread the video of the conversation: what fines they might face and whether their merits and age would be taken into account.

Context: the scandal around a building near Kyiv

According to Life.ru, it was previously reported that an alleged underground prison existed near Kyiv, where, according to initial reports from Ukrainian media, about 40 people could have been held. Then local residents tried to break into the building, but gas was used against them, and after the conflict a doctor and a police officer were allowed inside. Note that information about the facility itself is based on publications and reports about the conflict, not on independent confirmation; the editorial staff has no data on the results of the examination by the doctor and the police officer. Kirill Budanov has been added by Rosfinmonitoring to its list of terrorists and extremists.