parts of speech in english and ukrainian

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Ukrainian: A Comprehensive Grammar

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Ukrainian: A Comprehensive Grammar is a complete reference guide to modern Ukrainian grammar. The authors have consulted a great number of sources, in addition to a wide range of native speakers. The result is the first true reference grammar of Ukrainian to be published outside Ukraine, it will be the standard reference work for years to come. The volume is organized to enable students of the language to find the information they seek quickly and easily, and to promote a thorough understanding of Ukrainian grammar. It presents the complexities of the language in a systematic and user-friendly form. Features include * detailed tables in each chapter for easy reference * numerous examples throughout * thorough descriptions of all parts of speech * list of grammatical terms in English and Ukrainian * complete descriptions of the word-formational processes of Ukrainian * an overview of past and present changes in the language * bibliography of works relating to Ukrainian * full index.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter | 17  pages, introduction, chapter 1 | 29  pages, sounds and spelling, chapter 2 | 97  pages, chapter 3 | 28  pages, the adjective, chapter 4 | 16  pages, the pronoun, chapter 5 | 14  pages, the numeral, chapter 6 | 67  pages, chapter 7 | 16  pages, the adverb and adverbial constructions, chapter 8 | 20  pages, the conjunction.

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• Introduction

Conjunctions

Prepositions, interjections, categorizing the parts of speech.

part of speech

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• Table Of Contents

part of speech , lexical category to which a word is assigned based on its function in a sentence.

There are eight parts of speech in traditional English grammar: noun, pronoun, verb , adjective , adverb , conjunction, preposition , and interjection . In linguistics , parts of speech are more typically called word classes .

A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea. There are many subcategories of nouns, including common nouns, proper nouns, collective nouns, and abstract nouns.

Common nouns name basic things that can be seen and touched. Examples of common nouns include dog , banana , table , and book .

• The dog ate a banana .
• The book was on the table .

Proper nouns name specific people, places, and things, and they begin with a capital letter . Examples of proper nouns include George, New York City , Empire State Building , and Atlantic Ocean .

• George sailed the Atlantic Ocean .
• The Empire State Building is in New York City .

Collective nouns name groups of people or things. Examples of collective nouns include team , flock , litter , and batch .

• The team won the game.
• The flock flew south for the winter.

Abstract nouns name things that cannot be seen or touched. Examples of abstract nouns include happiness , truth , friendship , and beauty .

• He brings her so much happiness .
• The friendship is a strong one.

A pronoun is used in place of a noun. There are many subcategories of pronouns, including but not limited to personal pronouns, possessive pronouns, and reflexive pronouns.

Personal pronouns replace names of people, places, things, and ideas. Examples of personal pronouns include she , he , it , and they .

• They enjoyed the party.
• Mikey likes it .

Possessive pronouns replace nouns and indicate ownership. Because they modify nouns, they are also frequently categorized as adjectives. Examples of possessive pronouns include his , its , mine , and theirs .

• The house is theirs .
• The parrot knows its name.

Reflexive pronouns replace nouns when the subject and object in a sentence are the same. Examples of reflexive pronouns include myself , herself , themselves , and oneself .

• She baked a cake all by herself .
• They prepared themselves for the adventure.

A verb indicates a state of doing, being, or having. There are three main subcategories of verbs: doing verbs, being verbs, and having verbs.

Doing verbs indicate actions. Examples of doing verbs include run , wash , explain , and wonder .

• Oliver washed the windows.
• I wonder where the cat is hiding.

Being and having verbs do not indicate action and are considered relating (or linking) verbs because they connect one piece of information to another. Examples of being and having verbs include am , are , has , and own .

• We are at the store.
• John has a red baseball cap.

An adjective describes or modifies a noun or pronoun.

Adjectives provide information about the qualities or classifications of a person or thing. Examples of adjectives include tall , purple , funny , and antique .

• The Willis Tower is a tall building.
• There were several antique cars in the parade.

An adverb describes or modifies verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Adverbs provide information about the manner in which things are done, as well as when, where, and why they are done. Examples of adverbs include quickly , extremely , fiercely , and yesterday .

• The boy ran quickly through the rainstorm.
• That was a fiercely competitive game yesterday.

A conjunction links words, phrases, and clauses. There are two main subcategories of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions.

Coordinating conjunctions link words, phrases, and clauses that are equally important in a sentence. Examples of coordinating conjunctions include and , but , or , and so .

• The students read short stories and novels.
• Liz went to the movies but not to dinner.

Subordinating conjunctions link subordinate clauses to a sentence. Examples of subordinating conjunctions include because , although , before , and since .

• The team is cheering because it is excited.
• Henry had Swiss cheese on his burger although he preferred cheddar.

A preposition provides information about the relative position of a noun or pronoun. Prepositions can indicate direction, time, place, location, and spatial relationships of objects. Examples of prepositions include on , in , across , and after .

• The cat ran across the road.
• The pencil is in the drawer.

An interjection acts as an exclamation. Interjections typically express emotional reactions to information in an adjoining sentence. Examples of interjections include eek , wow , oops , and phew .

• Eek ! That was a huge spider.
• Oops ! I didn’t mean to slam the door.

Although the number of parts of speech is traditionally fixed at eight, some grammarians consider there to be additional parts of speech. For example, determiners (also called determinatives) modify nouns and are therefore generally considered to be adjectives, but they differ from other adjectives in that their exact meaning is supplied by context . They include articles, demonstrative pronouns, possessive pronouns, and quantifiers. Examples of determiners include the , an , that , your , and many .

Over the years grammarians have also proposed changes in how parts of speech are categorized. The 2002 edition of the Cambridge Grammar of the English Language , for example, placed pronouns as a subcategory of nouns.

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Translation of part of speech – English–Ukrainian dictionary

Part of speech.

(Translation of part of speech from the PASSWORD English–Ukrainian Dictionary © 2022 K Dictionaries Ltd)

Examples of part of speech

Translations of part of speech.

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serious and determined, especially too serious and unable to find your own actions funny

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• Parts of speech

The 8 Parts of Speech | Chart, Definition & Examples

A part of speech (also called a word class ) is a category that describes the role a word plays in a sentence. Understanding the different parts of speech can help you analyze how words function in a sentence and improve your writing.

The parts of speech are classified differently in different grammars, but most traditional grammars list eight parts of speech in English: nouns , pronouns , verbs , adjectives , adverbs , prepositions , conjunctions , and interjections . Some modern grammars add others, such as determiners and articles .

Many words can function as different parts of speech depending on how they are used. For example, “laugh” can be a noun (e.g., “I like your laugh”) or a verb (e.g., “don’t laugh”).

Table of contents

• Prepositions
• Conjunctions
• Interjections

Other parts of speech

Interesting language articles, frequently asked questions.

A noun is a word that refers to a person, concept, place, or thing. Nouns can act as the subject of a sentence (i.e., the person or thing performing the action) or as the object of a verb (i.e., the person or thing affected by the action).

There are numerous types of nouns, including common nouns (used to refer to nonspecific people, concepts, places, or things), proper nouns (used to refer to specific people, concepts, places, or things), and collective nouns (used to refer to a group of people or things).

Ella lives in France .

Other types of nouns include countable and uncountable nouns , concrete nouns , abstract nouns , and gerunds .

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A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. Pronouns typically refer back to an antecedent (a previously mentioned noun) and must demonstrate correct pronoun-antecedent agreement . Like nouns, pronouns can refer to people, places, concepts, and things.

There are numerous types of pronouns, including personal pronouns (used in place of the proper name of a person), demonstrative pronouns (used to refer to specific things and indicate their relative position), and interrogative pronouns (used to introduce questions about things, people, and ownership).

That is a horrible painting!

A verb is a word that describes an action (e.g., “jump”), occurrence (e.g., “become”), or state of being (e.g., “exist”). Verbs indicate what the subject of a sentence is doing. Every complete sentence must contain at least one verb.

Verbs can change form depending on subject (e.g., first person singular), tense (e.g., simple past), mood (e.g., interrogative), and voice (e.g., passive voice ).

Regular verbs are verbs whose simple past and past participle are formed by adding“-ed” to the end of the word (or “-d” if the word already ends in “e”). Irregular verbs are verbs whose simple past and past participles are formed in some other way.

“I’ve already checked twice.”

“I heard that you used to sing .”

Other types of verbs include auxiliary verbs , linking verbs , modal verbs , and phrasal verbs .

An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun. Adjectives can be attributive , appearing before a noun (e.g., “a red hat”), or predicative , appearing after a noun with the use of a linking verb like “to be” (e.g., “the hat is red ”).

Adjectives can also have a comparative function. Comparative adjectives compare two or more things. Superlative adjectives describe something as having the most or least of a specific characteristic.

Other types of adjectives include coordinate adjectives , participial adjectives , and denominal adjectives .

An adverb is a word that can modify a verb, adjective, adverb, or sentence. Adverbs are often formed by adding “-ly” to the end of an adjective (e.g., “slow” becomes “slowly”), although not all adverbs have this ending, and not all words with this ending are adverbs.

There are numerous types of adverbs, including adverbs of manner (used to describe how something occurs), adverbs of degree (used to indicate extent or degree), and adverbs of place (used to describe the location of an action or event).

Talia writes quite quickly.

Other types of adverbs include adverbs of frequency , adverbs of purpose , focusing adverbs , and adverbial phrases .

A preposition is a word (e.g., “at”) or phrase (e.g., “on top of”) used to show the relationship between the different parts of a sentence. Prepositions can be used to indicate aspects such as time , place , and direction .

I left the cup on the kitchen counter.

A conjunction is a word used to connect different parts of a sentence (e.g., words, phrases, or clauses).

The main types of conjunctions are coordinating conjunctions (used to connect items that are grammatically equal), subordinating conjunctions (used to introduce a dependent clause), and correlative conjunctions (used in pairs to join grammatically equal parts of a sentence).

You can choose what movie we watch because I chose the last time.

An interjection is a word or phrase used to express a feeling, give a command, or greet someone. Interjections are a grammatically independent part of speech, so they can often be excluded from a sentence without affecting the meaning.

Types of interjections include volitive interjections (used to make a demand or request), emotive interjections (used to express a feeling or reaction), cognitive interjections (used to indicate thoughts), and greetings and parting words (used at the beginning and end of a conversation).

Ouch ! I hurt my arm.

I’m, um , not sure.

The traditional classification of English words into eight parts of speech is by no means the only one or the objective truth. Grammarians have often divided them into more or fewer classes. Other commonly mentioned parts of speech include determiners and articles.

• Determiners

A determiner is a word that describes a noun by indicating quantity, possession, or relative position.

Common types of determiners include demonstrative determiners (used to indicate the relative position of a noun), possessive determiners (used to describe ownership), and quantifiers (used to indicate the quantity of a noun).

My brother is selling his old car.

Other types of determiners include distributive determiners , determiners of difference , and numbers .

An article is a word that modifies a noun by indicating whether it is specific or general.

• The definite article the is used to refer to a specific version of a noun. The can be used with all countable and uncountable nouns (e.g., “the door,” “the energy,” “the mountains”).
• The indefinite articles a and an refer to general or unspecific nouns. The indefinite articles can only be used with singular countable nouns (e.g., “a poster,” “an engine”).

There’s a concert this weekend.

If you want to know more about nouns , pronouns , verbs , and other parts of speech, make sure to check out some of our language articles with explanations and examples.

Nouns & pronouns

• Common nouns
• Proper nouns
• Collective nouns
• Personal pronouns
• Uncountable and countable nouns
• Verb tenses
• Phrasal verbs
• Types of verbs
• Active vs passive voice
• Subject-verb agreement

A is an indefinite article (along with an ). While articles can be classed as their own part of speech, they’re also considered a type of determiner .

The indefinite articles are used to introduce nonspecific countable nouns (e.g., “a dog,” “an island”).

In is primarily classed as a preposition, but it can be classed as various other parts of speech, depending on how it is used:

• Preposition (e.g., “ in the field”)
• Noun (e.g., “I have an in with that company”)
• Adjective (e.g., “Tim is part of the in crowd”)
• Adverb (e.g., “Will you be in this evening?”)

As a part of speech, and is classed as a conjunction . Specifically, it’s a coordinating conjunction .

And can be used to connect grammatically equal parts of a sentence, such as two nouns (e.g., “a cup and plate”), or two adjectives (e.g., “strong and smart”). And can also be used to connect phrases and clauses.

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Maps: Ukraine's incursion into Russia forces Moscow to make an important decision

Ukraine's shock incursion across the Russian border into Kursk Oblast may force important strategic decisions on Moscow as President Vladimir Putin's troops are taken as prisoners of war and supply lines are threatened. The Ukrainian attack took Russian forces by surprise, according to one U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly .

According to the Institute for the Study of War , Ukraine’s cross-border gambit allowed Kyiv to seize the battlefield initiative, long held by Russian forces who were able to dictate the time and place of fighting and force Ukrainian troops to expend manpower and equipment on defensive operations.

“It's been a very real success,” former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, now a senior director at the Atlantic Council , told USA TODAY. “The latest data, not confirmed, says they've taken as much as 750 square kilometers (289.5 square miles) and may have gone as far as 35 kilometers (21.75 miles) from the border.” 



One week in Kursk : See evolution of Ukraine's incursion across Russian border

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The war institute says Putin may have incorrectly assessed that Ukraine did not have the capacity for such an attack − and that Russia’s treatment of the international border as a dormant front line represents a strategic failure.

Seth Jones, director of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies told USA TODAY that the attack was a "huge psychological success and morale success for the Ukrainians because it puts the Russians on their back foot. It surprised the Russian military. It makes them look incompetent for not protecting their border, and I think it's a huge morale boost to a Ukraine that's really needed something recently, even though it's had successes in the Black Sea, including against the Russian Navy and in Crimea."

"The tables have been turned, at least slightly and at least temporarily, with the Ukrainian incursion," said Jones, "This is a Ukrainian offensive operation. It looks very different from those we saw in 2023 or 2022, which were trying to retake territory that the Russians had seized in Ukraine. This is moving into Russian territory, which I think took the Russians by surprise. This was a real surprise attack."

The push into Kursk may force Russia into a decision to treat the border as a front rather than a dormant area, with implications for Moscow's deployment of personnel and materiel within Ukraine. The war study institute reports that Russian defensive forces appear to be hastily assembled and may be below intended strength and that Russian conscripts stationed in Kursk were unable to retreat and return to their units. The capture or death of conscripts poses a political risk to Putin because he would need to explain the casualties to the Russian public, according to the war study institute.



"It's almost certain that the Russians are reconsidering force deployments, but reconsidering is not the same as deciding to change those deployments in a major way," Herbst said.

"Russia, politically, can't afford to let this happen again," said Jones, "I think it'll force them both to keep an eye on intelligence indications and warnings and also devote more forces to protecting the border."

A video posted online showed a "heavily damaged" Russian convoy in Kursk filmed early Friday, according to BBC Verify . The uploader was later arrested by Russian authorities.

Herbst said that “Russian efforts to stop (Ukrainian forces) have so far been at best fruitless and at worst disastrous. The destruction of that armor column a few days ago was a disaster. There are still not enough Russian forces to stop this offensive.”
 But Herbst cautioned that more Russian personnel and equipment may be headed to the area and may be able to resist Ukrainian forces.

Reuters reports that Russian tanks, artillery and rocket systems were moved to the southern Kursk region as Moscow "imposed anti-terrorism measures" .

The operation could present a real problem for Putin according to Herbst, who suggests the Russian leader may be downplaying the severity of the incursion by declaring a counterterrorism operation . "A counterterrorism operation is not the same as a war where you have opposing troops on your soil, which of course is what you have here."

The incursion comes as prominent Russian oligarchs are speaking out against the war in Ukraine. In an interview with Nikkei Asia , Oleg Deripaska, a billionaire metal magnate with close ties to Putin, called the war "mad" and criticized Russia's defense spending. "If you want to stop the war, first you need to stop the fire," he said, calling for an "immediate, unconditional cease-fire" in Ukraine.

Deripaska "does not seem to be a candidate for defenestration, so watching what happens to him and watching to see if there will be other voices like that could be an indication of things coming apart in Moscow," said Herbst, referring to a long string of suspicious deaths of Kremlin critics.

According to The Institute for the Study of War , the Kremlin released a half-hour video of Putin reprimanding federal and regional officials with the apparent intention of sending a message to other government officials to refrain from commenting on Ukraine's Kursk incursion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged the operation in a post Saturday to X, formerly Twitter , describing a push to drive the war into "the aggressor's territory." Zelenskyy thanked international partners for implementing sanctions against Russia and the United States for new defense aid, including Stinger missiles, HIMARS mobile artillery ammunition and 155mm artillery shells.

Beyond Kursk, Jones said Russia's main effort for offensive operations has been Eastern Ukraine. "It's been primarily to increase control of areas. We've seen a big push in Luhansk Oblast," said Jones, "The challenge has been they haven't been able to take areas quickly and they haven't been able to take advantage of changes in strategy. So they're taking huge casualties when they do it."

"Huge casualties to the degree that were somewhere around 500,000 total casualties since the war began, which is enormous. These are astronomical numbers that Russia or the Soviet Union haven't faced since World War II."

Read more about the war in Ukraine:

• One week in Kursk: Maps show Ukraine offensive as Russia builds trenches after attack
• What's behind Russia's sluggish response to Ukrainian raid?
• Ukrainian attack edges into Russian city, site of pipeline, railroad
• After Ukraine troops cross into Kursk, Putin blasts 'provocation'
• From 2023: Maps of Ukraine counteroffensive and Russian defenses show advances, battle lines
• From 2022: Fighting rages around Europe's biggest nuclear power plant

Keep up with news abroad and its impact in the US: Sign up for USA TODAY's Russia-Ukraine War newsletter.

Contributing: Carlie Procell, Tom Vanden Brook and Dan Morrison

Ukraine’s Incursion Into Russia Reveals a Dramatic Shift

The offensive was developed in secret, devised to divert Russian troops away from the front lines in Ukraine and seize territory to use as a bargaining chip.

The incursion is one example of how Ukraine is taking the initiative, exposing Russian weakness and embarrassing President Vladimir V. Putin. Credit... David Guttenfelder for The New York Times

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By Julian E. Barnes and Eric Schmitt

Reporting from Washington

• Aug. 15, 2024

Ukraine’s incursion into a sliver of Russia is likely to make it harder for Moscow to mount a major renewed offensive in Ukraine’s east and is the kind of surprise operation that could eventually impose real costs on the Kremlin, according to U.S. officials.

The Ukrainian strike, and its continued success, could ultimately have strategic significance, though U.S. officials caution that they will need to see how it plays out to draw firmer conclusions. It could also help rebuild sagging morale among Ukraine’s troops and war-weary population, the officials said.

The incursion, into the Kursk region of Russia, stands in stark contrast to Ukraine’s failed counteroffensive in southern Ukraine last summer. This offensive was developed in secret, devised to divert Russian troops away from the front lines in Ukraine and seize territory to use as a bargaining chip.

Ukraine’s monthslong buildup to the counteroffensive played out in the open. The Ukrainians had sought to retake territory but stumbled when they failed to punch through dug-in Russian defenses, which Moscow reinforced as Ukraine trained for the drive. Ukraine also split its forces during that offensive, against American advice, rather than focusing them as they have this month.

But the incursion into Russia shows how Ukraine’s army has improved its mechanized warfare skills, techniques that it failed to master a year ago.

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Long before shots were fired, a linguistic power struggle was playing out in Ukraine

Associate Professor of Linguistics, Florida International University

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What does the Russian invasion of Ukraine have to do with language?

If you ask Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian governmental policies promoting the use of the Ukrainian language are evidence of the “genocide” of ethnic Russians in the Russian-speaking east, and thus provide part of the rationale for invasion.

Propaganda like that aside, something else links war to language: power.

Long before shots were fired, a power struggle has played out in the region around language – specifically, whether or not Ukrainian is a language. Neither professional linguists nor Ukrainians have any problem thinking of Ukrainian as a separate language – it’s probably about as different from Russian as Spanish is from Portuguese. Yet Russian nationalists long sought to classify it as a dialect of Russian.

Russia’s status as a power language

It turns out that classifying a given language variety as “a language” is less clear than you might think, and popular understandings of “language” versus “dialect” are usually based more on political criteria than linguistic ones. As sociolinguist Max Weinreich succinctly put it , “a language is a dialect with an army and a navy.”

Russian , the language of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, is one of the world’s handful of power languages. Alongside languages such as Mandarin, Spanish and English, Russian is deeply intertwined with global politics, business and pop culture.

Of Russian’s 260 million speakers , roughly 40% – 103 million – speak it as a second language, a sign that people see value in learning it. It’s a lingua franca across Central Asia and the Caucasus, and is widely spoken in the Baltics. In Ukraine – Russia’s largest European neighbor – Russian is used by about one-third of the population, which is around 13 million people. “Number of speakers” isn’t the defining feature of a power language, however – Bengali , for example, has 265 million speakers – more than Russian – but for the most part people aren’t clamoring to learn it.

Russian, on the other hand, is unique among the Slavic languages in that it is taught in the most prestigious universities across Europe, Asia and the United States. With all those speakers, all that clout, and all that cultural production, Russian’s status as a power language looks as natural as beets in borscht.

But it’s not.

Power languages derive their status not from anything inherent to the linguistic system, but instead from the historical arrangements of power that give their speakers – and culture – perceived status and value.

Russian picked up speakers – and knocked out other languages – through its remarkable history of expansionism : The Muscovites, inhabitants of the Grand Duchy of Moscow that predated the Russian Empire, moved to the east and the north, taking over Kazan and Siberia during the 16th century. By the end of the 19th century, the Russians had conquered Central Asia, all the way to the border of China. Following World War II, the Soviet Union extended its sphere of influence into Eastern Europe.

Ukraine became a part of the Soviet Union in 1922. In 1991, it gained its independence, when the Soviet Union broke apart.

Although nobody knows for certain, it appears Putin is seeking to make all or portions of Ukraine once again part of Russia.

Two twigs on the same linguistic branch

So if Russian is a “power language,” what is Ukrainian?

If you ask some Russian nationalists, Ukrainian isn’t a language at all. In 1863 , Russian Minister of the Interior Pyotr Valuev declared that “a separate Ukrainian language (‘Little Russian’) has never existed, does not exist, and shall not exist.” Per another quote – attributed to Tsar Nicholas II – “There is no Ukrainian language, just illiterate peasants speaking Little Russian .”

But as a matter of linguistic history, Ukrainian and Russian emerged as distinct languages from a common source language spoken around A.D. 500 that linguists refer to as “ proto-Slavic .”

The Slavic languages share more than grammatical and phonological linguistic similarities. They also have a common homeland, and that homeland was, most likely, western Ukraine .

For reasons that linguists, archaeologists and other scholars still debate, speakers of proto-Slavic fanned out from their homeland, moving northward, westward and southward.

As they moved, proto-Slavic gradually gave rise to the language varieties that would eventually become the contemporary Slavic languages, which include Polish, Serbian, Russian and Ukrainian. By the 9th century, some Slavs who stayed close to home linked with the Rus – a group who were either Slavs themselves or assimilated Scandinavians – and created the first noteworthy East Slavic federation known as Kyivan Rus , situated, as the name suggests, in Kyiv. Kyivan Rus can be thought of as the predecessor to the modern Ukrainian, Belorussian and Russian nations.

Resisting Russian

Since language has become so key to national identity, it’s no wonder that reframing Ukrainian as a dialect of Russian is integral to Putin’s discursive campaign, just as it was for Tsar Nicholas II 200 years ago. Part of holding power, it turns out, is the ability to frame the discourse, and the title of Putin’s essay, “ On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians ,” which he published in July 2021, leaves little doubt as to his position. If all things Ukrainian – including the language – are simply derivatives of all things Russian, the invasion looks less like an act of aggression and more like reintegration.

Ukrainians, of course, bristle with this characterization, not because there is no Russian being spoken in Ukraine - Volodymyr Zelenskyy is himself a Russian speaker - but because for many, Ukrainian identity involves bilingualism. Many Ukrainians speak both Ukrainian and Russian and even mix them in a form people call “ surzhyk ” – the Eastern Slavic version of “ Spanglish .”

In Ukrainian public life, fears over the primacy of Russian or Ukrainian have led to conflict before. In 2020 there were heated debates and protests over a bill that would have repealed a stipulation requiring that 80% of schooling occur in Ukrainian. There was a brawl in 2012 in the Ukrainian Parliament over a bill that would have made Russian an official language, alongside Ukrainian, in parts of the country.

More recently, reports show that in eastern Ukraine, some Russian-speaking Ukrainians are abandoning Russian to avoid using “the language of the occupier.”

Of course, speakers all over the world give up their mother tongues in favor of languages they perceive to be more valuable all the time, but usually this happens gradually, and in the direction of power languages. Except under circumstances of extreme duress – an outside invader or forced submission by a dominant group – it’s somewhat unusual for speakers to abandon their mother tongue overnight.

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In El Salvador, speakers of Lenca and Cacapoera did this in the 1930s to avoid being killed by Spanish-speaking Salvadoran troops. But in Ukraine, some speakers aren’t adopting the language of the invader; they’re giving it up.

Putin’s attack will almost certainly accelerate that trend. While Russian’s status as a power language probably will not be affected, it may start to shed speakers. And with all the attention on Ukraine, perhaps the world will come to appreciate it as the Slavic homeland where people seem to prefer to speak Ukrainian – not Russian.

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Ukraine war latest: Russia takes 'strategically important' town - as it creeps towards major population centres

Russia claims to have taken control of the Donetsk town of Niu-York, calling it a strategically important logistics hub. It comes as civilians are fleeing the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk amid heightened attacks. Leave a question for our military analysts in the box below.

Tuesday 20 August 2024 18:40, UK

• Zelenskyy says situation in the east is 'difficult'
• Russia claims to have taken control of Donetsk town of Niu-York - and say it's strategically important
• Civilians flee Ukrainian city as Russian attacks intensify
• Firefighters in Ternopil grapple with blaze after strike
• Michael Clarke : Battle of bridges is about to begin
• Putin 'in a position he never dreamt of in his worst nightmares'  
• Your questions answered: What is Ukraine hoping to achieve with invasion of Russia?
• Live reporting by Kieren Williams 

Ask a question or make a comment

Later this week military analysts Sean Bell and Michael Clarke will answer your questions on Ukraine's invasion of the Russian region of Kursk - and the wider war.

What does the incursion mean for the conflict and, on the opposite side, how quickly is Russia advancing inside Ukraine?

Submit your question in the box at the top of this page.

That's all our live coverage on the war in Ukraine for now.

We will be back if there are any major developments this evening. 

If not, we'll be back tomorrow with all the latest updates.

Before we go, here's a reminder of today's key events:

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the situation in the east is 'difficult' as Ukraine warns Russia has redirected troops into the region to continue their advance there;
• Moscow claims to have taken the strategically important town of Niu-York as it attempts to continue across the region;
• While Ukraine is ceding ground to Russia in the east, it has an opportunity in Kursk to seize more territory, Sky News' military analyst Professor Michael Clarke has said;
• A fire continues to rage for a third day at a Russian oil depot hit by a Ukrainian drone attack;
• Meanwhile, firefighters in the Ukrainian city of Ternopil are also battling a fire after a fuel reservoir was hit;
• The US are insisting their policy on the use of American weapons in Russia has "not changed" - even in light of recent pressure from Mr Zelenskyy.

Ukraine is said to be making "marginal advances" in the Kursk region as fighting continues, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said.

We've brought you news on Ukraine's struggles in the east of Ukraine (see 14.35 post) but further north, Kyiv's incursion into Russia continues.

On 6 August, Ukraine threw a surprise counterpunch that saw their troops surge across the border into Russia.

Ukraine has previously claimed to have captured 1,250sq/km (480 square miles) and 92 settlements in Kursk, forcing tens of thousands to flee (see 12.53 post).

Today, Ukraine's army chief said that its forces had advanced 28-35km (17-21 miles) into Kursk.

But the US-based thinktank said that, while still making progress, Ukraine was no longer eating up Russian territory as fast as it once was.

Using geolocated footage from 19 August, Ukrainian forces were confirmed to be in Vishnevka, the ISW said, around 14km (8.5 miles) from the border.

The Russian defence ministry said that they had struck forces operating in that area - potentially tacitly acknowledging the progress Kyiv had made.

It is known that Ukraine has targeted bridges in the region, perhaps as an effort to stifle Russian attempts to counter their incursion.

But Kyiv's army chief said that Russia was moving troops from other directions to Kursk, to strengthen its positions there.

Even facing losses further east, Sky News' military analyst Professor Michael Clarke said there were still opportunities from Kyiv in Kursk nonetheless (see 12.39 post).

These pictures show Kyiv's forces on the frontline in the Donetsk region.

Russian forces have been advancing in recent days and threaten to seize key settlements, including Pokrovsk.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the situation in the east as "difficult".

Vladimir Putin's recent trip to Azerbaijan was an "effort to shift focus away" from Ukraine's Kursk attack, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said.

The Russian president recently spent two days in the country where he tried to present himself as an "effective diplomat", the research group said.

The content and presentation of the visit did not stray beyond the usual, but...

"The timing of this visit is noteworthy given the ongoing situation in Kursk Oblast and the Kremlin's continued efforts to downplay the Ukrainian incursion's magnitude and impact," ISW said.

They added: "Russian state media focused on Putin's trip to Azerbaijan, amplifying minute details, likely in part to divert attention from the uncomfortable situation in Russia by saturating the information space with a showcase of the Kremlin's global diplomatic engagement and alleged successes."

Away from the battlefield, Ukraine has passed a law paving the way to ban the Russia-linked minority Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) in the country.

Kyiv has cast the UOC as complicit in the Kremlin's invasion.

They have accused it of aiding Moscow's 30-month assault by spreading pro-Russian propaganda and housing spies.

A new bill passed in parliament bans the Russian Orthodox Church and the government will assemble a list of "affiliated" groups who will face similar treatment.

Russian security services (FSB) have detained a scientist over suspected treason, according to reports.

A scientist in Moscow allegedly carried out suspected cyberattacks on behalf of Ukraine, Interfax news agency has said.

The distributed denial-of-service attacks were said to have been carried out on critical infrastructure on behalf of Ukrainian security services, it quoted the FSB as saying.

It was added that the scientist sent money to the Ukrainian military, as well as gathering information on Russian armed forces.

The suspect, the FSB claimed, had confessed, although it was not immediately clear when the arrest was made.

Russian media outlets published what they claimed was footage of the scientist's detention.

Footage also shows a man arrested in a snow-covered city, suggesting they had been detained some time ago.

 Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the situation in the east, near Toretsk, is "difficult", amid Russian advances in the region.

There have been 14 combat clashes reported in the Toretsk area and 34 in the Pokrovsk sector since the start of the day, Ukraine's general staff said.

Russia has sent more troops to Pokrovsk today, according to the Ukrainian army, to support the offensive there - seemingly in an effort to capitalise on momentum.

In our 13.37 post we mentioned that Russia had taken Niu-York, which is less than six miles (10km) from Toretsk, and this morning we reported on the evacuation of the nearby Pokrovsk (8.05am post).

Despite successes in its Kursk invasion, Kyiv has struggled in its east, losing ground to Russian forces.

"The Ukrainians have been under tremendous pressure [there] for several months, but it's becoming intolerable now at Toretsk - which is quite a small place but it's important because it's close to Pokrovsk and Chasiv Yar," Sky News' military analyst Professor Michael Clarke said.

The latter, Prof Clarke said, is important because it is high ground that controls movement towards Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, and Pokrovsk is important because it is a transport hub and controls movements north and westwards.

Prof Clarke added: "They're struggling to maintain their hold on the area. 

"And that's the problem here... Kramatorsk and Sloviansk are the really important places, if Russia gets them, it gets the whole of the Donbas."

Russia has summoned a senior US diplomat to protest the presence of American journalists in Kursk.

Moscow has complained about the "provocative actions" of journalists in the region.

On 6 August, Ukraine launched an incursion into Russia, taking many by surprise.

Now, the Russian foreign ministry has said it told US Charge d'Affaires Stephanie Holmes that reporters had illegally crossed into the region too.

It added that Russia intended to prosecute them.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was recently freed in a historic prison swap - after being jailed on alleged espionage charges.

Russia has claimed to have taken control of the Donetsk town of Niu-York.

Moscow described the town as a strategically important logistics hub, in eastern Ukraine.

While Russia refers to Niu-York as Novgorodskoye - the Russian spelling of the settlement's Soviet-era name - Ukraine gave it back its original name in 2021.

In a statement, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed to have "liberated" the town.

Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian military said that heavy fighting was under way in the Toretsk sector, including in Niu-York.

Sky News has not verified Russia's claims, but if true it would show Moscow is creeping ever closer to the larger population centres in the region.

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What Russians are saying about Ukraine's latest incursion

Vincent Acovino

Jeanette Woods

Mary Louise Kelly

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Mika Golubovsky, English-language editor of Mediazona, about what Russians are saying about the chaos of Ukraine's major incursion.

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