President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he had signed a decree on the territories of Russia where Ukrainians have historically lived. He said this in an address on the occasion of the Day of Unity.
The head of state said that "today we need to take all the necessary steps not only to strengthen the unity of Ukraine and its people, but also to strengthen the unity of rights and freedoms, as well as the truth about Ukrainians."
"The truth about us and the truth about our history. For this purpose, today I have signed a decree "On the territories of the Russian Federation historically inhabited by Ukrainians," Zelensky said.
He noted that this is "the return of the truth about the historical past for the sake of the Ukrainian future."
It is not yet known what exactly the decree is about, as the document has not been published.
UPDATED
The text of Zelensky's decree "On the territories of the Russian Federation historically inhabited by Ukrainians" has been published on the president's website. The decree refers to these territories as "Kuban, Starodubshchyna, Northern and Eastern Slobozhanshchyna within the boundaries of the modern Krasnodar Territory, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, and Rostov regions of the Russian Federation."
It is stated that the Russian Federation has been "oppressing and destroying" the national identity of Ukrainians living, in particular, in this territory for centuries, and therefore it is necessary to ensure their "rights to education in the Ukrainian language and its free use, civil, social, cultural and religious rights, access to Ukrainian-language media, and the right to peaceful assembly."
The decree instructs the Cabinet of Ministers to develop an action plan "to preserve the national identity of Ukrainians in the Russian Federation, in particular on the lands historically inhabited by them."
In addition, Zelensky instructed to collect facts and evidence "about crimes committed against Ukrainians who live (lived) in the territories of Russia, historically inhabited by ethnic Ukrainians, about the policy of forced Russification, political repression and deportation of Ukrainians, restoration and preservation of historical memory."
