Really???
Really???
Just go to google trends and type the same word in Russian and Ukrainian to see what parts of the country really using Ukrainian and what percent of population lives there.
There must be a different reason.
That said, I've never been a fan of the all-too-frequent approach of armchair Kremlinology as a first and last line of investigation. I'd say it's likely just as much about targetting the attack in a direction where you're unlikely to get blow-back. I would not want to find myself negotiating with a representative of an angry Ukrainian vodka plant.
They are essentially dead cities and I hardly think that they allow using Ukrainian layout.
1: https://web.archive.org/web/20080725060956/http://www.ukrwee...