In Ukraine, an active process of rethinking language policy continues. Fresh data from sociological studies show that the overwhelming majority of the country's population supports limiting the use of the Russian language in the official sector. These results reflect the current public consensus and legislative trends of recent years.

Results of a Large-Scale KIIS Poll

The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted a study, the results of which were published by the RBC-Ukraine agency. During telephone interviews based on a random sample of mobile numbers, 1,000 adult citizens residing in territories controlled by Ukraine participated. It is important to note that the sample did not include residents of temporarily occupied territories, nor citizens who left the country after February 24, 2022.

The key figures of the poll are as follows:

  • 65% of respondents believe that the Russian language should not be used in official communication on the territory of Ukraine.
  • 5% of citizens expressed support for making Russian the second state language.
  • 22% of respondents allow for the official status of the Russian language in certain regions, but only if the majority of local residents desire it.

Regional Aspect and Personal Preferences

A detailed analysis of the position of those 22% of Ukrainians who allow for regional status for the Russian language is interesting. Sociologists found that only a small fraction of them (8%) would like to see Russian as an official language specifically in their region of residence. Another 12% allow for such a possibility in other regions but do not support this idea for their place of residence. The remaining 2% could not decide on an answer.

Thus, sociologists conclude: overall, 77% of the population either supports the complete elimination of the Russian language from the official sphere across the entire territory or opposes its official status at least in their region. Only 13% of citizens would like the Russian language to be official in their region or have state status across the entire territory of Ukraine.

Legislative Context

The poll results correlate with recent legislative initiatives by the authorities. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, recently signed a law that deprives the Russian language of protection under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Back in December 2025, the Verkhovna Rada excluded the Russian language from the list of languages subject to protection in the country.

Furthermore, the parliament supported a resolution introducing changes to the samples of Ukrainian passports. From now on, entries in the booklet passport of a Ukrainian citizen will not contain the Russian language, which will be another step in the unification of documents in the state language.