The Rada is preparing a sweeping media reform that will tighten requirements and increase fines

A bill has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada that proposes amending as many as 22 laws to strengthen the legal mechanisms governing the use of the Ukrainian language as the state language. 

The document provides for a significant increase in fines for violations of language legislation: from 6,800 to 17,000 UAH for a first offense, and from 20,400 to 25,500 UAH for a repeat offense within a year.

The draft law expands the list of individuals required to be proficient in the official language and to use it while performing their official duties, including members of parliament, heads of state scientific institutions and cultural institutions, auditors, and private contractors. For public spaces and businesses, the bill proposes a rule stipulating that foreign-language text on signs cannot exceed the length of the Ukrainian text, and that purchasers of computer software must be warned in advance about the absence of a Ukrainian interface.

In the educational and cultural spheres, the bill completely prohibits the use of the aggressor state’s language in extracurricular education, as well as its public performance or display in music videos, sound recordings, and performances. At the same time, private schools are expected to be allowed to independently choose their language of instruction, excluding the language of the aggressor state. The bill is currently under review by parliamentary committees.

Source: text of the bill.

A language scandal has erupted in Odesa over Russian music played in a club.

At Chernivtsi Lyceum No. 5 “Oriana,” a geography teacher was fired after insulting an eleventh-grade student who asked her to switch to Ukrainian, calling him a “beast.”