The Verkhovna Rada has adopted a law that updates the list of languages that fall under a special regime of support and protection in accordance with the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The new law provides for the exclusion of the Russian language from this list. The corresponding decision was supported by 264 members of parliament.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Changes in Ukraine’s Language Policy
The law “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine in Connection with the Update of the Official Translation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages” stipulates that the Russian language will no longer be considered as requiring special protection in Ukraine.
“There is no reason to consider the Russian language as endangered. The extent of actual use of the Russian language in Ukraine, by many indicators, is equal to or greater than the extent of use of the state language, which may lead to the marginalization of the Ukrainian language,” states the explanatory note to the document.
As noted by the authors of the law, the aim of the state language policy is to protect the Ukrainian language, which is a key instrument for ensuring the unity of the state and its national security. The exclusion of the Russian language from the list of languages subject to protection does not contradict Ukraine’s obligations under the Charter and aligns with its preamble. The provisions of the Charter are aimed at protecting minority languages but should not harm official languages and the obligation to study them.
List of Languages Under Protection
From now on, the languages that will be covered by the Charter in Ukraine include Belarusian, Bulgarian, Gagauz, Crimean Tatar, Modern Greek, German, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Hungarian, Czech, and Hebrew. The Moldovan language has also been removed from the list, as Romanian is officially recognized in Moldova.
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is one of the key documents of the Council of Europe that ensures the rights of national and ethnic minorities. Ukraine joined this Charter in 2003.
In December 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers proposed to additionally exclude not only the Russian language from the list of protected languages but also the Belarusian language. However, the adopted law retains the Belarusian language among those that are under protection.