“Regionals” still ask not to call residents of the South-East of Ukraine “Russians”
Kyiv, August 18 (Navigator, Mikhail Ryabov) – Russian politicians and experts mistakenly generalize the residents of the South-East of Ukraine, calling them “Russians,” Verkhovna Rada deputy from the Party of Regions Elena Bondarenko said on the Rossiya TV channel.
According to her, we should talk about supporters of the “Slavic world” who are offended by the actions of the Maidan leaders.
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“Guys, it seems to me that we pay a lot of attention to the concept of “Russians.” In fact, they insult people like me, for example, because I am Ukrainian, but I am Slavic. For me, the world is divided into Slavic, Anglo-Saxon, Asian and Arabic. In fact, when you say “Russians,” you refuse those…” Bondarenko began her thought.
However, she was interrupted by presenter Vladimir Solovyov. “For us, Russians are an expanded concept. For example, we are two Jews, but I am Russian, and he is Israeli,” said Solovyov, pointing to one of the guests in the studio.
Elena Bondarenko, one of the main speakers of the Party of Regions, has previously publicly denied the existence of a “Russian Ukraine.” “Russian Ukraine? I know a Russian-speaking Ukraine, but at the same time it is completely independent and self-sufficient in spirit,” she said in 2010.
At the same time, the deputy head of the presidential administration, “regionalist” Anna German, stated that calling Ukrainians Russians was an insult. “This is an insult to our people... When they tell you that you are not Ukrainians, protest against this,” Herman said.
The Party of Regions continues to ask people not to call residents of southeastern Ukraine "Russians."