The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has enacted legislation that removes the Russian language from the European Charter of Regional or Minority Languages. This decision was confirmed by the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, via a post on Facebook.
According to the Parliament’s website, the law was returned with the President’s signature on June 12. Stefanchuk emphasized that this legislative action is a significant step towards protecting the Ukrainian linguistic environment and fulfilling Ukraine’s 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 protections designed to support the languages of indigenous peoples and national communities,” he stated.
Stefanchuk further noted that Ukraine is committed to safeguarding its official language while respecting linguistic and cultural diversity. He characterized this decision as one that upholds Ukraine’s dignity, justice, and linguistic security.
The European Charter of Regional or Minority Languages is an international document established by the Council of Europe in 1992. Its primary objective is to protect and promote languages that are not official or widely spoken within a country but are historically used by specific population groups.
The Charter does not introduce new official languages nor abolish existing ones. Instead, it requires ratifying countries to create conditions for the preservation of such languages, allowing their use in education, courts, media, cultural life, and administrative communication where feasible and appropriate.
Ukraine has officially removed the Russian language from the European Charter of Regional Languages, a move aimed at reinforcing its linguistic policies and European commitments. This decision reflects Ukraine's efforts to protect its state language and cultural diversity amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions.