Zelenskyi announces a draft law on Ukraine’s national communities

National communities in Ukraine must be an integral part of Ukrainian society, without losing their identity. To this end, work is currently underway to develop a draft law on Ukraine's national communities.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyi spoke about this at the opening of the All-Ukrainian Forum "Ukraine 30. Humanitarian Policy" in Kyiv, Rubryka reports.

"Good morning to everyone! Sabalar hayir! Dobroe utro! Dobrai ranitsy! Jó reggelt kívánok! Boker tov! Bune dimineata! I'm sure that with these words every morning our equal beloved citizens greet each other in different parts of Ukraine. And it's clear proof of how colorful, multinational, but united our country is. I think that's the most important thing," he said.

President pointed out that, under the Constitution of Ukraine, the Ukrainian people are Ukraine's citizens of all ethnicities.

"And it's the first issue that needs attention. Many ethnicities have lived together in Ukraine for many years. Unfortunately, the legislation in this area hasn't been improved for the same number of years. Both the President's Office and I have been tasked with developing qualitatively new and progressive legislation. And now we're actively working on the law on Ukraine's national communities," Volodymyr Zelenskyi said.

The head of state stressed that they were talking about communities, not national minorities.

"Because no ethnicity in our state should feel like a minority, less important, or less protected, or less happy. No one can be in the minority, because we're all citizens of Ukraine, we're all equal. We're all worthy, and native. And there's our great state. Ukraine is our great common home, kind, warm, and strong. And every community should feel it," President said.

According to President, national communities should be an integral part of Ukrainian society, without losing their identity, language and traditions.

Answering journalists' questions after the speech, Zelenskyi clarified that, in his opinion, even the very phrase used today, "national minority," makes a person feel unequal to other citizens.

"We should feel equal. There are many different national communities," Volodymyr Zelenskyi stressed, adding that traditions, language, and religion should be protected in the same way, regardless of whether they're indigenous peoples or national communities. That is why a corresponding draft law on Ukraine's national communities began to be worked on, and many people joined in writing it.