An online store selling coffee machine capsules violated the language law
During government inspections in Ukraine, one online store was found to have violated the requirements of Article 27 of the Law “On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language.” The case materials have already been forwarded to the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language for a decision.
According to the press service of the language ombudsman, the violation was identified during an inspection after it was discovered that the online store’s website, when searching for coffee machine capsules, opened by default in Russian rather than Ukrainian.
Based on the results of the state inspection, a report was drawn up documenting the violation of legal requirements. The case materials have now been forwarded to the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language for review.
The press service noted that, in accordance with Article 27 of the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language,” websites and social media pages of business entities that sell goods or provide services in Ukraine and are registered in the country must have a Ukrainian-language version as the default.
At the same time, the law permits other language versions of the site; however, the Ukrainian version must be no less comprehensive in scope and content, and must load automatically for users in Ukraine.
According to the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, as of the end of July 2026, 197 rulings had already been issued for violations of Article 27 of the language law.
Source: Judicial and Legal Gazette.
As a reminder, the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, Olena Ivanovska, appealed to the Security Service of Ukraine regarding the situation at the Odesa Regional Academic Drama Theater. The reason was remarks captured on audio recordings that may contain signs of inciting ethnic hatred and hostility.
The renowned Odesa theater found itself at the center of a high-profile language scandal following a surprise on-site inspection that lasted more than two and a half hours.
