Budanov will pay a fine for speaking Russian during clashes near Kyiv

The Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, will pay the statutory fine for using Russian during the incident on November 2 in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka. Olena Ivanovska, the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, wrote about this on her Facebook page.

Legal proceedings concerning the violation have already begun. State oversight is continuing in accordance with the established procedure, and the language ombudswoman has already spoken with the official.

“The violation has been acknowledged, without any attempt to find excuses or adopt a defensive stance. The statutory fine will be paid within the prescribed period,” said Olena Ivanovska, the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language.

In her view, a hallmark of a state governed by the rule of law is its ability to document a mistake, acknowledge it and remedy it through legal means, rather than through public harassment. Ivanovska urged people not to use this case to target Budanov on social media and stressed that such situations must be resolved exclusively through legal channels.

The incident involving the language violation took place on November 2, 2026: mass clashes broke out near a private house in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, Kyiv region. Witnesses claimed that men were being held inside against their will. The Head of the Office of the President, Kyrylo Budanov, and the Commander of the National Guard, Oleksandr Pivnenko, arrived at the scene.

On November 3, SBU Deputy Head Ivan Rudnytskyi reported that the agency had identified around 100 active participants in the unrest. According to investigators, the action had been prepared in advance, and its organizers intended to abduct a National Guard service member.

On November 4, the Solomianskyi District Court of Kyiv ordered Valentyna Moloda held in pretrial detention for two months without bail in connection with the clashes. The court also ordered two months of detention for another suspect, Tetiana Kirieieva. Investigators believe that they acted in collusion with an ambulance driver to disrupt the work of a military unit.

We previously reported:

• Russian-language content may be banned in public, regardless of the performers’ citizenship
• Fines for violating language law: Odesa region ranks second in Ukraine by number of rulings
• In Odesa region, violation reports were filed against six session participants for using Russian
• “A language lesson”: Senkevych asked the head of “Mykolaivvodokanal” not to switch to Russian
• Language fines totaling UAH 200,000: Ombudsman Kremin explains who is penalized and why