Due to the ongoing armed aggression by the Russian Federation, there can be no Russian national minorities in Ukraine at the moment, said the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk during a telethon.
"I am very grateful to both the Venice Commission and the European Commission for listening to the arguments and understanding that there should be, again, a principle of mutual respect. If this nation does not show respect, but on the contrary, carries out aggression against Ukraine, then its rights should be infringed upon in this regard. We found complete mutual understanding here. That is why there are no Russian national minorities in Ukraine and cannot be," the speaker said.
He also explained that the law on national minorities of Ukraine adopted in December 2022 does not apply to national communities representing the aggressor country.
"And in general, we are not even ready to discuss any exceptions with our colleagues, because representatives of the people who are currently committing genocide against the Ukrainian people, committing aggression, waging war against Ukraine, cannot have any privileges in our country regarding any nuances related to their national minority," Stefanchuk emphasized.
