President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a law that excludes the Russian language from the protection of the European Charter of Languages in Ukraine.
This is stated in bill No. 14120.
From now on, the Russian language in Ukraine is no longer considered a language that the state is obliged to support and protect under this international document.
Previously, this meant that the state had additional obligations to support the Russian language — particularly in education, culture, and public life. Now, these special guarantees for it will not be available within the Charter.
At the same time, the Charter remains valid for other languages of national communities and indigenous peoples of Ukraine. This includes, in particular, Crimean Tatar, Hungarian, Romanian, Polish, Bulgarian, German and other languages.
The updated list covers 18 languages, including the additions of Urumqi, Rumi, Romani, Crimean Tatar, Karaite, and Yiddish.
- In 2025, the number of people in Ukraine who believe it is unnecessary to study Russian in schools increased from 52% to 58%. At the same time, the share of those who believe that Russian should be taught to children decreased to 38%.
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