Ukraine: 60-year-old nationalist murdered, known for her opposition to Russian language

A gunman shot and wounded a nationalist and former member of parliament Ukrainewith its open Ukrainian language.

Police have launched a manhunt for the man suspected of shooting dead 60-year-old Irina Farion (above, Reuters/Roman Baluk) on the way The city of Lviv.

He once called on Ukrainians to “hit everyone who speaks Russian on the chin”

Interior Minister Ihor Klimenko initially described the case as “attempted murder”. He added: “The victim is in a critical condition and doctors are working to save her life.”

However, soon after, it was revealed that Falion had died and was in a coma at the hospital where she was taken.

“Unfortunately, despite the doctors’ best efforts, Irina Farion could not be saved,” Lviv Oblast Governor Maxim Kozytsky wrote on Telegram.

President Vladimir Zelensky said he was regularly informed of the investigation into the gunman’s arrest and condemned any form of violence.

Farion, a linguist, joined the nationalist Svoboda (“Freedom”) party in 2005 and was elected to parliament for the first and last time in 2012. She is also a member of the Lviv regional council.

Derogatory comments

She is known for her activities to promote the Ukrainian language and her disparaging remarks about Russian-speaking public officials.

In 2018, as Ukraine was fighting pro-Russian separatists who had seized territory in eastern Ukraine, he called on his countrymen to “hit everyone who speaks Russian on the chin.”

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Farion even condemned the Russian-speaking fighters of the Azov Battalion who had defended Mariupol for months.

Although Ukrainian is the only official language in Ukraine, for many residents Russian is their mother tongue, a legacy of the Soviet era.

Linguistics has been a thorny issue in the country, and parliament has passed laws to promote the Ukrainian language in government and service agencies.