Ukraine Strips Russian Language of Special Status

On December 3, Ukraine’s parliament removed Russian from minority language protection, corrected charter translation, extended protections to 18 languages, and emphasized unified Ukrainian-language space.

On December 3, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law removing the Russian language from the protection of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in Ukraine. This was reported by Suspilne.

This is stated in the law card No. 14120.

According to the Ministry of Culture, the adopted law corrects an incorrect translation of the term regional or minority languages, which had previously been adapted through Russian and distorted the meaning of the charter. The focus is now on protecting languages spoken by a significant minority of the population, rather than “languages of national minorities.”

Member of Parliament Volodymyr Viatrovych noted that the decision was adopted with 264 votes: “With this bill, the Verkhovna Rada approved the correct translation of the Charter and removed Russian and the non-existent Moldovan language from the ratification law. Congratulations to everyone, and thanks to everyone who helped bring this day closer.”

At the same time, according to Viatrovych, the charter’s provisions remain in effect for all other languages it previously covered. In addition, protection has been extended to Urum, Rumelian, Romani, Czech, Krymchak, Karaim, and Yiddish. According to the Ministry of Culture, the updated list now covers 18 languages.

The initiator of the bill was Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Yuliia Svyrydenko.

It is recalled that in July, the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, Olena Ivanovska, called for the revocation of the special status of the Russian language.

She outlined her priorities in office, in particular stating the need to review language legislation. According to her, language policy must correspond to the realities of war and Ukrainians’ aspiration for full linguistic equality “without a colonial legacy”:

“We will deeply respect all minority languages, but at the same time we will clearly and consistently shape a unified Ukrainian-language space — as a security, integration, and humanitarian priority. It is necessary to eliminate symbolic inequality in legislation, including revoking the special status of the Russian language, which, in the context of Russia’s armed aggression, is not only a means of communication but also a tool of destabilization.”