Zelenskyy signs law on use of English in Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a law officially establishing English as a language of international communication in Ukraine.
Source: Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) website
Details: English will now have official status in Ukraine.
The law also includes a list of positions requiring fluency in English. Proficiency in English will be mandatory for:
- heads of local state administrations;
- military officers;
- prosecutors;
- tax officials;
- customs officers;
- heads and teaching staff at institutes of higher education and scientific institutions;
- heads of healthcare institutions.
The draft law also regulates specific features relating to the use of English by state and local government bodies, emergency services, when crossing the state border, and in education, culture, transport, healthcare and other areas.
Civil servants who speak English will enjoy a 10% bonus on top of their salary.
In addition, public funding will be provided for cinemas to screen English-language films. This means the government will financially support cinemas that show films in the original language.
Background: Initially, in early versions of the law, it was planned that starting from 2025, half of English-language films would be shown in the original language with Ukrainian subtitles. From 2027 onwards this would have applied to all English-language films screened in Ukrainian cinemas. This caused outrage and 25,000 people signed a petition against it, so the parliament decided to remove this paragraph from the law.
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