Director of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance Volodymyr Viatrovych has said Ukraine’s transition to the Latin alphabet may contribute to Russification in the country and prevent many citizens from switching to the Ukrainian language.
“‘Giving up the Cyrillic alphabet will safeguard us from Russia and bring us closer to Europe’ is the main argument of the advocates. However, in reality, changing the letter may do a disservice – enhance Russification. In recent years, more and more Russian-speaking citizens are switching to Ukrainian. The introduction of the Latin alphabet will create an additional barrier and will prevent many of them from doing this,” he wrote on Facebook.
