Ukrainian Lawmakers Back Russian-Language Bill in Final Reading
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Ukraine’s parliament approved the final reading of a law allowing Russian to be used as a second official language in the former Soviet republic’s eastern half.
The bill -- which affects eleven regions, the capital, Kiev, and Sevastopol, where Russia’s Black Sea fleet is based -- was backed today by 248 of the legislature’s 450 lawmakers. To take effect, it must be signed by President Viktor Yanukovych, who said in June he would approve it.