Zelensky issued decree ‘On the territories of Russia historically inhabited by Ukrainians’
Source: President’s website
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky published the text of Decree No. 17/2024 ‘On the territories of the Russian Federation historically inhabited by Ukrainians’.
The document expresses concern about the systematic actions of the Russian Federation aimed at destroying the national identity and oppressing Ukrainians in the territories historically inhabited by them.
The decree concerns the areas in Krasnodar, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, and Rostov regions, which were historically inhabited by Ukrainians.
The document says that Russia must comply with international obligations and provide Ukrainians living in its territories with the right to receive education in the Ukrainian language and its free use, guarantee their civil, social, cultural and religious rights, as well as access to Ukrainian-language mass media and the right to peaceful assembly.
President Volodymyr Zelensky instructed the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to develop, involving international experts, an action plan to preserve the national identity of Ukrainians in the Russian Federation.
This plan should include such aspects as collecting and studying the facts of crimes against Ukrainians, the policy of Russification, political repressions and deportations, as well as the support of historical memory and countering Russian disinformation and propaganda.
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