Foreign Ministry criticizes UN marking Russian Language Day amid Kakhovka dam explosion

The Kyiv Independent news desk, Teah Pelechaty
·1 min read

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko criticized the United Nations for commemorating UN Russian Language Day on June 6 amid Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka dam the same day.

“Russian commanders will have given the order to blow up the Kakhovka Dam in Russian. What a day at the UN to celebrate Russian Language!” Nikolenko said via Twitter.

A few hours after Russian forces destroyed the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant’s dam, causing a humanitarian disaster that has forced nearly 900 civilians to evacuate thus far and been condemned by the international community for being a war crime, the UN posted a tweet to mark UN Russian Language Day.

The UN’s tweet pointed to the organization’s Sustainable Development Goals, and its message included a “universal call” to “protect the planet and ensure that all people live in peace and prosperity.”

Nikolenko said that the UN “tweets about cultural diversity, ignoring the biggest catastrophe in decades caused solely by Russia. Why be silent?”

UN Russian Language Day is celebrated annually on June 6.

Russian forces destroy Kakhovka dam, triggering humanitarian disaster
The dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant across the Dnipro River, occupied by Russian forces, was destroyed on the morning of June 6, sparking a large-scale humanitarian and environmental disaster across southern Ukraine. Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command reported early in the morning…
The Kyiv IndependentOlena Goncharova