On April 25, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted law #5670-d “on the functioning of the Ukrainian language as a state language,” which greatly expands protections for Ukrainian in Ukraine. The heavily debated law was adopted by 278 out of 423 MPs after months of reviewing over 2,000 amendments. But the first version of the law was submitted to Parliament back in June 2017. Now the law should be signed by the president. Outgoing President Petro Poroshenko, who on the night of the second round of elections on April 21 when he lost to Volodymyr Zelenskiy, announced that he is ready to sign the law before Zelenskiy is inaugurated. The law will come into force two months after publication.
Ukrainian vs. Russian Language
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Alya Shandra: What does the law on Ukrainian language say?
Participants in a rally in support of the Ukrainian language law carry a large Ukrainian flag in front of the Ukrainian parliament on April 25, 2019.
