President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a law that removes the Russian language from the list of languages protected under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in Ukraine.
According to Ukraine’s parliament, Verkhovna Rada, the change is set out in Law No. 14120, which adjusts how Kyiv applies the charter domestically, reflecting a broader shift in
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language policy during the Russian war against Ukraine.
The chairman of Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, called the measure a “fair decision,” arguing that the language of the aggressor state cannot benefit from protection tools created to support the languages of national communities and indigenous people.
“Ukraine protects the state language, respects linguistic and cultural diversity, and deprives the Russian imperial influence of the privileges that it has been abusing for years,” Stefanchuk wrote in his statement, describing the law as a step of “dignity, justice and the language security of Ukraine.”
Under the new rules, application of the European Charter is preserved for all other languages previously covered – Belarusian, Bulgarian, Gagauz, Crimean Tatar, German, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Hungarian, Czech, Hebrew and Modern Greek.
In addition, the protection is extended to other languages, including Romani, Urum, Rumeika, Krymchak, Karaim and Yiddish, with the Ministry of Culture indicating that the updated list now encompasses 18 languages in total.
US Secretary of State Congratulates Russians on Russia Day
Lavrov accuses Ukraine of “Russophobia,” demands language rights as condition for peace
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that the full restoration of rights for Russian speakers in Ukraine remains a central condition for any “long-term settlement” of the war.
In a video address released on Russian Language Day, Lavrov repeated Moscow’s longstanding accusations of Kyiv practicing systematic discrimination and “Russophobia,” describing language rights as one of the core issues behind the full-scale invasion in 2022.
“Among our absolute priorities are the protection and support of those for whom Russian is their native language,” Lavrov said, vowing that Moscow would “continue to firmly oppose any manifestations of language discrimination and Russophobia – wherever they occur.”
Singling out Ukraine, Lavrov said Russia would “certainly achieve” the restoration of rights to Russian speakers.
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