Lesya Leshchenko8:44 PM, June 12, 2026

The language of the aggressor country can no longer benefit from the protection tools created to support indigenous languages.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law (No. 4699-IX) that excluded Russian from the list of languages ​​to which the provisions of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ​​apply in Ukraine.

As Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk stated , this is an important decision for the protection of the Ukrainian linguistic space and the fulfillment of our European commitments.

“The Russian language has been excluded from the list of languages ​​to which Ukraine applies the provisions of the Charter. This is a fair and logical decision. The language of an aggressor state cannot benefit from the protection tools created to support the languages ​​of indigenous peoples and national communities,” he noted.

Stefanchuk emphasized that Ukraine protects the state language, respects linguistic and cultural diversity, and deprives Russian imperial influence of the privileges it has abused for years.

“This decision is about dignity, justice, and linguistic security for Ukraine,” he added.

Adoption of the law: what is known

As UNIAN reported, in December the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law amending certain laws of Ukraine in connection with the updating of the official translation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ​​(No. 14120).

The law updated the list of languages ​​to which the relevant regime of support and special protection provided for by the Charter applies.

The document establishes that in Ukraine the provisions of the Charter will apply to such languages ​​as Belarusian, Bulgarian, Gagauz, Crimean Tatar, Modern Greek, German, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Hungarian, Czech and Hebrew.

People’s Deputy Volodymyr Vyatrovich explained that the Russian language is no longer protected in Ukraine by the European Charter for Languages.

(c)UNIAN 2026