The issue of the Ukrainian language and who speaks it has become highly politicised during the Russian invasion. Vladimir Putin has even used it as a cover to annex some occupied areas of Ukraine with large numbers of Russian speakers.
Based on the 2001 census, about 14.3 million Ukrainian people (29% of the population) speak Russian as a first language, although by some estimates it is higher. The reasons for this lie in the history of the spread of the Ukrainian language and the formation of the borders of modern Ukraine.
