Vladimir Zelensky was not fined for speaking Russian, write Ukrainian publications with reference to the secretariat of the Language Commissioner of Ukraine Elena Ivanovskaya.
At the end of October, Zelensky switched to Russian in an interview with the American TV channel ABC. During the conversation he encountered difficulties with the translation, and he turned to his assistants with a question in Russian.
Ivanovskaya claims that there is no reason to fine Zelensky, because this was done in an interview with a foreign media outlet and "is not a violation of the language legislation."
In the past, she threatened to fine Zelensky's chief of staff, Kirill Budanov (listed as a terrorist and extremist in Russia) for using the Russian language when communicating with people during confrontations at a torture facility near Kiev.