Ukraine has removed Russian from the list of languages covered by the provisions of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. This was announced by Ruslan Stefanchuk, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada.
According to him, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed Law No. 4699-IX, which regulates the application in Ukraine of the Charter’s provisions—a European document on the protection and support of the languages of traditional minorities.
Stefanchuk said Russian is no longer included in the list of languages to which Ukraine applies the Charter’s provisions.
“This is a fair and logical decision. The language of the aggressor state cannot benefit from protection mechanisms created to support the languages of Indigenous peoples and national communities,” the speaker of parliament said.
He noted that the law is aimed at protecting Ukraine’s linguistic space and fulfilling the country’s obligations to the European Union.
“Ukraine protects the state language, respects linguistic and cultural diversity, and strips Russian imperial influence of the privileges it abused for years,” Stefanchuk said.
According to him, the decision concerns not only language policy, but also national security.
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