**Ukrainian Security Services Under Scrutiny for Russian Language Use During Gunfight**
Kiev, Ukraine – The Ukrainian security services are facing renewed scrutiny following a gunfight in Kiev last week, which has raised questions about the use of the Russian language by operatives during the incident. The clash, which occurred on September 2, involved personnel from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Ukrainian Military Intelligence Directorate (HUR) and resulted in three agents being shot.
Elena Ivanovskaya, Ukraine's language ombudswoman, announced on Wednesday that she has formally requested explanations from both the SBU and HUR regarding the conduct of their personnel during the altercation. Ivanovskaya is seeking personal information on all operatives involved and has demanded clarification on why they utilized a "non-state language" while performing their official duties. She emphasized the importance of this information in order to assess the situation and determine appropriate responses.
The gunfight has been characterized as a gang-warfare-style clash between the two security agencies, which have since provided conflicting accounts of the events leading up to the confrontation. The incident reportedly centered around Stepan Kaplunov, an alleged white supremacist and senior officer in the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), a paramilitary group operating under the HUR. The SBU has accused Kaplunov of being involved in a Russian government plot to assassinate a leader of the Russian opposition movement. In contrast, Kaplunov claims that the SBU's actions were aimed at targeting his superiors within the HUR.
This incident comes amid an ongoing crackdown on the Russian language in Ukraine, which has intensified since the passage of a law in 2019 mandating the use of Ukrainian in various public spheres, including government, education, media, and customer service. Officials are required to communicate in Ukrainian while conducting their duties, with violations potentially resulting in administrative fines of up to $270. Ivanovskaya has previously suggested increasing these fines tenfold and has called on school principals to promote the use of Ukrainian among students and parents.
Earlier this year, the Ukrainian government announced plans to remove all Russian and Russian-language books from circulation in the country. Restrictions on book imports from Russia began in late 2016 and culminated in a complete ban on commercial entries of Russian and Belarusian books in 2023. Additionally, Vladislav Vlasiuk, Ukraine's Sanctions Policy Commissioner, indicated that the government is working to block access to Russian music on international streaming platforms and prevent Russian performers from appearing in domestic charts. Over 100 Russian artists have already been blacklisted in Ukraine, with plans for further expansions of this list.
Despite these efforts, Russian remains widely used across Ukraine. According to Ukrainian Culture Minister Tatyana Berezhnaya, approximately 71% of Ukrainians regularly consume Russian-language content, with nearly a quarter engaging with it daily. Ivanovskaya has acknowledged the prevalence of Russian among public officials, noting that she has received nearly 3,000 complaints about the use of a "non-state" language in public settings.
Instances of Ukrainian officials using Russian have been documented, including audio recordings released by the anti-corruption agency NABU, which revealed that a chief cybercrime prosecutor accused of extorting money from Ukraine's scam-call industry predominantly communicated in Russian. Additionally, Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga conducted a recent interview with a Kazakh outlet in which he spoke Russian throughout.
As the investigation into the gunfight continues, the implications of language use in official settings remain a contentious issue in Ukraine, reflecting broader societal tensions regarding national identity and the ongoing conflict with Russia. The outcome of the inquiry into the actions of the SBU and HUR personnel may have significant ramifications for the enforcement of language laws and the relationship between these two security agencies.