Liliya Podkopayeva on switching to Ukrainian: After the invasion, I can’t speak the dog language

The legendary Ukrainian gymnast, Olympic champion, and multiple-time world championship medalist Liliya Podkopayeva noted that after the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, she switched to the Ukrainian language. This was reported by 'Glavcom' referencing the athlete's statement in an interview with Hromadske.

In the mentioned interview, Podkopayeva talked about her negative attitude towards the Russian language and the radical change in her perception of language after the aggression from the Russian Federation.

«I didn’t speak Ukrainian for a long time. Even when President Viktor Yushchenko actively started the Ukrainization, I felt such resistance. It was convenient, familiar, comfortable to watch movies in Russian. I couldn’t perceive Ukrainian. It seemed artificial», - she stated.

According to the athlete, in 2022, with the onset of a new stage of aggression from the Russian Federation against Ukraine, she developed a desire to speak exclusively in Ukrainian, so she even started taking lessons with a teacher to improve her pronunciation and understanding of the language.

«But after the full-scale invasion, I can’t speak the dog language. And I switched to Ukrainian. I have online lessons with a teacher every week. She knows how to adjust me, even when I am tired».

Plans of the new commissioner for the protection of the state language

In her new position, the commissioner for the protection of the state language, Olena Ivanovska, plans to put more effort into representing the Ukrainian language in video games and electronic services, and also to strengthen the positions of the Ukrainian sign language.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, for his part, stated that Russia «does not demand» Ukraine to grant the status of state language to Russian within the framework of a peace agreement.

Ukrainian gymnast Liliya Podkopayeva stated that after the invasion of the Russian Federation into the territory of Ukraine, she decided to switch to the Ukrainian language after a long resistance. She shared that she even started taking classes with a teacher to improve her understanding and pronunciation of the language. At the same time, the commissioner for the protection of the state language plans to focus on the presence of the Ukrainian language in video games and electronic services, as well as to develop the Ukrainian sign language.