Russian language no longer protected in Ukraine by European Charter for Regional Languages – Rada decision
The provisions of the Charter of Regional or Minority Languages in Ukraine will not apply to the Russian language, the Verkhovna Rada decided.
A total of 264 deputies voted in favor of the relevant law (No. 14120) on amendments to certain laws in connection with the updating of the official translation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages at a plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada on Wednesday.
The Moldovan language has also been removed from the list of languages to which Ukraine undertakes to apply the provisions of the Charter in connection with the recognition of the Romanian language as the state language of the Republic of Moldova.
According to the legislative amendments, Ukraine will apply the provisions of the Charter to the Belarusian, Bulgarian, Gagauz, Crimean Tatar, Modern Greek, German, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Hungarian, Czech, and Hebrew languages.
As said in the explanatory note to the bill, the exclusion of the Russian language does not violate Ukraine's obligations under the Charter and is consistent with the provisions of the Charter's Preamble, which stipulate that the protection and development of regional or minority languages should not undermine official languages or the need to learn them. The document emphasizes that, due to its centuries-long dominance, Russian remains the most widely spoken language of national minorities in Ukraine today, and there is no reason to believe it is under threat.
