The key facts
- Ukraine's language ombudswoman stated that Budanov admitted the violation and procedures have been launched
- The incident occurred on November 2 during protests in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka near Kyiv
- The fine amount — from 3,400 to 6,800 hryvnias — is cited by Strana.ua with reference to Gazeta.Ru
Ombudswoman reports an admitted violation
Kirill Budanov, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, will have to pay a fine for using Russian during protests in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka near Kyiv. This was announced on November 7 by the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, Elena Ivanovskaya: according to her, the violation has been admitted 'without attempts to find excuses or switch into defensive reactions,' legal procedures have already been launched, and the fine will be paid within the terms established by law. She also called not to turn the situation into a pretext for public harassment. The admission of the violation was reported by Life.ru, while Ivanovskaya, according to Gazeta.Ru, made the statement on Facebook.
What happened on November 2
The incident took place on November 2 near a building in whose basement, according to Ukrainian media reports, people may have been illegally held. Law enforcement officers and Budanov himself arrived at the scene, and he spoke with the protesters — including in Russian with a 14-year-old teenager who found himself at the center of the scandal — and addressed the crowd: 'Thank you all very much. Let's gradually disperse.' According to Gazeta.Ru, the video of the conversation displeased Ukrainian users of Threads: the teenager, they said, was answering Budanov in Ukrainian. The publication cites the possible amount of the penalty, referring to the Telegram channel of Strana.ua — from 3,400 to 6,800 hryvnias (from 6,150 to 12,300 rubles).
Reaction and what remains unclear
The situation has also acquired a foreign-policy dimension: Maria Zakharova, official spokesperson of the Russian Foreign Ministry, according to Life.ru, drew attention to the video recordings of Budanov speaking Russian and asked about the possible size of the fine. Neither the final amount of the penalty nor the outcome of the state inspection that, according to the ombudswoman, is ongoing is yet known — it is only known that the fine must be paid within the terms provided by law.
