Parents will be compelled to enroll children to Russian-language classes, and students will have to attend Russian-language groups, in case the Ukrainian parliament adopts language bill, Ukrainian opposition deputy Vyacheslav Kirilenko said.
A draft language law, which is currently discussed in the Ukrainian parliament, ensures a significant expansion in the use of Russian.
Under the draft bill, Ukrainian will remain the only state language in the country but the use of "minority" languages will expand, Vadim Kolesnichenko, a member of the ruling Party of Regions faction and head of the Russian-Speaking Ukraine public movement, said.
Russian is widely spoken in the former Soviet republic, especially in the east, Crimea and the capital.
"Parents will be compelled to send children to Russian-language classes. Higher education entities will set up small groups for Ukrainian-speakers, and all other students will be forced to attend Russian-language groups," Kirilenko said.
The status of the Russian language is a hugely controversial issue in Ukraine. After being elected president in February on the back of strong support in largely Russian-speaking regions, Yanukovych expressed the intention to grant Russian the official status of a second national language in Ukraine.
RIA Novosti
