The author characterizes the language policy of post-Maidan Ukraine (2014-2020) in the South and East of the country as a method of consolidating ethnocracy in the process of nation-building. An assessment of the state and trends in the historiography of the problem is given. Ethnodemographic changes in the structure of the population, as well as public opinion in the South and East of Ukraine over the period from 1989 to 2020 were revealed. The intentions of the language policy of Ukraine are revealed. The ineffectiveness of international influence to ensure compliance with democratic norms of language policy is noted. Russian Russian language policy is defined as the destruction of institutions of Russian-language education and mass media in the Russian language, the weakening of Russian ethnic identity, carried out by the state authorities of Ukraine. An important factor in de-Russification is the armed conflict in the Donbas, which has become a catalyst for the transition to ethnocracy in Ukraine. At the same time, the unrecognized states in Donbass maintain the equality of languages on their territory. It is concluded that the dual (mixed) identity of residents of the South and East of the country is preserved at the regional and local levels. At the same time, the Russian-speaking community in the South and East of the country remains politically weak and disorganized, and is subject to targeted discrimination. The political consequences of forced ukrainization, as well as resistance to ethnocracy in public opinion and voting in elections, are determined.
