MOSCOW, November 6. /TASS/. 40% of schoolchildren in Ukraine communicate with each other in Russian, head of the Ukrainian Central Interregional Department of the State Education Quality Service Svetlana Babinets said.

"40% of students communicate with their classmates during school breaks in Russian. Also, there is a decrease in linguistic self-identification among them. The share of students who consider Ukrainian to be their mother tongue has decreased over the past year from 71% to 64%," she said, presenting the study at a press conference.

According to Babinets, the proportion of parents of schoolchildren who consider Ukrainian their native language has decreased from 79% to 71%. "The Russian language is still widespread in everyday life. 30% of young people use it at home and with their peers," the expert added.

In Ukraine, a course has been conducted to openly displace the Russian language since 2014. In 2019, the law "On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language" was adopted, which significantly limited the use of Russian and the languages of national minorities. Local authorities have imposed a ban on Russian-language works of art, books, films, performances, and songs. It is forbidden to study Russian in schools and universities, and it is also required that students communicate only in Ukrainian during recess. At the same time, people continue to use the Russian language in everyday life widely, which constantly becomes a reason for conflicts.

In 2023, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the law on the rights of national minorities, taking into account the recommendations of the Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe. The document provides for the abolition of some language restrictions for the national minorities who use the official languages of the European Union. All restrictions on the use of the Russian language remained and became indefinite.