Kyiv approves a new Romanian Language Day, signaling stronger minority language protections and deeper cultural cooperation with Bucharest.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree officially establishing the Day of the Romanian Language in Ukraine. The celebration is planned to be observed annually on August 31, as is customary in many European countries.
The head of state announced this during a joint press conference with Romanian President Nicușor Dan in Bucharest on March 12.
In Romania there is a Day of the Ukrainian Language – it is November 9. We spoke both at the level of our teams, and today with Mr. President also about educational issues – for the Romanian community in Ukraine, for our Ukrainian community in Romania. And we are ready to work fairly and in the future on all of these issues
– President of Ukraine
Nicușor Dan emphasized the importance of discussing the Romanian minority in Ukraine and Kyiv’s openness. He also expressed guarantees regarding the continued operation of Romanian-language schools and protection of other rights of the Romanian minority.
We spoke about the Romanian minority in Ukraine and the openness that Ukraine will have toward it. We received guarantees regarding the continued operation of Romanian-language schools and regarding all other rights of the Romanian minority
– President of Romania
Changes in Legislation and the Application of the Charter
At the end of 2025, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law updating the list of languages to which the regime of support and special protection under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages will apply.
In particular, the enacted law ties the application of the Charter to the Romanian language and to other languages, including Belarusian, Bulgarian, Gagauz, Crimean Tatar, Modern Greek, German, Polish, Slovak, Hungarian, Czech, and Hebrew, leaving Ukrainian outside the list to be protected under a different regime.
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is one of the two main legislative acts of the Council of Europe aimed at protecting the rights of national and ethnic minorities. Ukraine ratified the Charter in 2003.