English should be second language in Ukraine - Danilov

He said this at the All-Ukrainian Forum "Ukraine 30. Culture and Media. Tourism" in Kyiv on Tuesday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Unfortunately, for 30 years we have not defined the Ukrainian language as the primary fundamental language of our independence. The second question is that, unfortunately, for 30 years we have not realized the importance of […] English, which must be the second language in our country in order for you and me to be protected from the attacks from which we suffer today from the Russian Federation," Danilov said.

He stressed that today Russia uses the language issue in its war with Ukraine. According to him, Ukraine can defend itself by actively introducing the English language.

"Young people's knowledge of English is the key to the independence of our state. English should be used from kindergarten, at school," Danilov said, adding that English is currently widely studied in Ukraine, but, unfortunately, few people know and use this language.

He also said that when society is able to freely use English-language publications, then the issue of the "linguistic war" waged by the Russian Federation may gradually disappear.

Earlier, in an interview with Ukrinform, Danilov said that the spread of Russian narratives is dangerous for many countries around the world. In particular, Moscow may try to "protect Russian-speakers," despite the consent of the states where they live, he said.

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