About this said on the official page of Taras Kremin, Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language. He notes that he has repeatedly appealed to Odessa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov regarding the need to dismantle signs, plates, other information carriers for public viewing, as well as outdoor advertising with inscriptions in a non-state language. After all, from January 16, 2020, in accordance with Article 32 of the Law on the State Language, all advertising must be in Ukrainian.
"Back in February 2022, a corresponding letter was sent regarding the need to take measures to prevent violations of the requirements of the Law on the territory of the city of Odesa in terms of posting information for general information, as well as outdoor advertising only in a non-state language. However, as of today, there is no answer or appropriate action," Taras Kremin said in the letter.
In addition, the language ombudsman emphasized to Trukhanov the need to include in the rules of improvement of Odesa and other acts that regulate the placement of signs, plates and other information for general viewing on the territory of the city, the norms that the information on such signs, plates, etc. must be submitted in the state language with the possibility of duplication in other languages if necessary.
"The situation regarding the observance of language legislation in Odesa is extremely outrageous and unfavorable, also in light of the fact that the authorities of the Russian Federation use the Russian language as one of the tools of geopolitical expansion. The language issue is one of the main issues in the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine.
Therefore, outdoor advertising posted with violations on the streets and avenues of our cities must be removed. This is a requirement of the Law. This is the demand of time. This is one of the keys to Ukraine's victory," Kremin emphasizes and notes that he continues to receive numerous complaints due to violations of the current legislation in Odessa, namely posting information in a non-state language for public viewing.
By the way, the monitoring of local activists showed that out of 150 shops they inspected, every second one violates the language legislation.
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