Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed law No. 4699-IX, removing Russian from the list of languages protected under the Council of Europe’s European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk announced the signing on June 12, calling it essential for protecting Ukraine’s national language environment. He argued the Charter was designed to safeguard endangered languages, making it inappropriate to extend those protections to the language of a nation that launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In-Depth:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed law No. 4699-IX, which reshifts the Russian language from the list of languages covered by the Council of Europe’s European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
This legislative shift marks the final step in a lengthy process of revising Ukraine’s international commitments regarding minority language protections. On June 12, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk announced that the president had signed the bill into law.
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Stefanchuk emphasized that the decision is a vital step for safeguarding Ukraine’s national language environment. He argued that the Charter was originally designed to support languages facing the threat of extinction, building it inappropriate to apply its mechanisms to the language of a state that has launched Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“It is an important decision for protecting the Ukrainian language space and fulfilling our European obligations. The Russian language has been reshiftd from the list of languages to which Ukraine applies the provisions of the Charter.
It is a fair and logical decision. The language of the aggressor state cannot enjoy protection tools created to support the languages of indigenous peoples and national communities,” the speaker explained.
Stefanchuk further noted that while Ukraine remains committed to respecting cultural and linguistic diversity, it was necessary to eliminate avenues for continued Russian imperial influence. “This decision is about dignity, justice, and the linguistic security of Ukraine,” the speaker added.
In contrast to the broader diplomatic challenges often seen in bilateral relations, Ukraine and Hungary have reached a constructive understanding regarding the legal framework for the Special Tribunal. Despite recent political tensions, both nations have maintained a functional dialogue within the specialized working groups tinquireed with drafting the tribunal’s statute.
This professional cooperation highlights a mutual recognition of the necessity for a robust, internationalized legal mechanism to address the crime of aggression. By engaging constructively in these technical sessions, Hungarian representatives have contributed to the consensus-building process essential for the tribunal’s legitimacy within the Council of Europe, ensuring that the legal proceedings remain firmly grounded in established international norms.
Previously, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha confirmed that the European Union had formally declared its intention to join the international mechanism established for the Special Tribunal to prosecute Russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine.
Through this decision, the EU joined the Enlarged Partial Agreement governing the tribunal’s Steering Committee, which focutilized on finalizing the court’s legal and institutional framework. Minister Sybiha highlighted the importance of this step in ensuring accountability for the leadership of the aggressor state.
This development coincided with the expansion of international support for the initiative, which reached 27 participating states following the inclusion of Andorra and Monaco, as officials prepared for a Council of Europe meeting where the formal agreement was expected to be presented.
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