The Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, responded to an electronic petition in which it was proposed to posthumously award the title of "Hero of Ukraine" to the famous linguist, professor and MP Iryna Farion. The letter with the answer was published on the official website of the government.
Shmyhal noted that the petition, which was signed by more than 25,000 Ukrainians, will be considered by the award committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MES). "According to the Ministry of Education and Culture, your electronic petition will be considered at a meeting of the awards commission of the specified ministry," the document says.
Iryna Farion, known for her controversial statements and positions on language policy, caused a lot of discussion in society both during her life and after her death. On November 15, 2023, Farion was dismissed from the Lviv Polytechnic, which was confirmed by the Minister of Education, Oksen Lisovyi, by publishing an order on her dismissal. The move followed her criticism of Russian-speaking servicemen in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and an incident in which she published the personal details of a student from Crimea, which the SBU said led to his persecution by Russian intelligence services.
However, on May 29, 2024, the Lviv Court of Appeal decided to reinstate Iryna Farion as a professor of the Department of Ukrainian Language at the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences of the Lviv Polytechnic, as well as to pay her compensation for forced absenteeism in the amount of 123,927 UAH.
Shortly after that, on the evening of July 19, 2024, Iryna Farion died in the hospital as a result of an attempt on her life.
