KYIV —
Ukrainian lawmakers backed draft
legislation Tuesday that requires would-be citizens to pass a language exam,
part of measures to strengthen the country’s language and culture after
Russia’s invasion.
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More than 300 of 450 members of parliament voted for
the bill, several lawmakers said on social media. It would still need to be
approved in a final reading.
The bill says that foreigners applying for
citizenship must know the fundamentals of Ukrainian law and history and speak Ukrainian.
Failure to pass examinations within two years of
being granted citizenship could see it revoked, the bill proposed by Prime
Minister
Denys Shmygal says.
Following the annexation of Crimea by Russia and the
war in Donbas’ in 2014, Ukraine embarked on dismantling Soviet-era monuments
and changing place names.
But since Moscow began its military operations in February,
Ukrainians are also thinking about the status of the Russian language in
private and public spaces.
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