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“Language is the heart of a nation: when the language dies, the nation dies.”
— Ivan Ohienko

In the first three months of 2025, the largest number of complaints from Ukrainians concerned violations of language legislation in online stores and in the service sector. This was announced by the language ombudsman Taras Kremin on his Facebook page:

In total, the Ombudsman received 646 appeals.

Most complaints came from Kyiv — 261. Numerous violations were also recorded in:

* Odessa region — 84 complaints;

* Kharkiv region — 71 complaints;

* Dnipropetrovsk region — 69 complaints;

* Kyiv region — 22 complaints;

* Donetsk region — 22 complaints.

According to Kremin, although problems with compliance with the language law are observed throughout the country, most of them in the capital and large cities.

“Kyiv consistently leads in the number of complaints. This indicates the need for increased control by the city authorities. The more effective measures to strengthen the position of the state language, the stronger the law,” he said.

Among the complaints received by the Ombudsman, 307 concerned the service sector. Of these:

* 175 — lack of a Ukrainian-language version of online shopping sites and websites;

* 104 — service violations;

* 28 — failure to provide information about goods and services in Ukrainian.

In addition, complaints were received regarding compliance with the language legislation in the field of information for general acquaintance and outdoor advertising — a total of 128 appeals, of which 67 came from Kyiv.

Ukrainians sent 54 appeals regarding violations of language legislation by employees of institutions of preschool, out-of-school, general secondary and higher education. There were also 32 complaints regarding violations in the field of culture, 30 in the media and 27 in the field of healthcare.

29 appeals concerned violations of the language law in government.

Having considered the complaints received, the language ombudsman conducted state control and imposed fines on violators.

It should be noted that in February 2025, according to the results of an audit of 50 local councils, 24% of local self-government bodies violate the language law during plenary meetings.

Also, during 2024, Taras Kremin, the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, received 2314 appeals regarding violation of the language law.