Ukraine Removed Russian from European Protection — but Added Hebrew and Yiddish: What Law No. 4699-IX Means

On June 12, 2026, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed Law No. 4699-IX, a document that changes how Ukraine applies the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

At first glance, this may look like another internal Ukrainian language debate. But it is much more than that.

Ukraine has removed the Russian language from the list of languages protected under the European Charter. At the same time, Ukraine has preserved and expanded protection for the languages of national communities and indigenous peoples — including Hebrew and Yiddish.

That detail matters. Especially for Israeli readers.

Because this law is not only about what Ukraine is removing. It is also about what Ukraine is choosing to protect.

According to the updated list, Ukraine continues to apply the Charter to 18 languages: Belarusian, Bulgarian, Gagauz, Crimean Tatar, Modern Greek, German, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, Hungarian, Czech, Hebrew, Urum, Rumeika, Romani, Krymchak, Karaim and Yiddish.

This means that Ukraine is not abandoning linguistic diversity. On the contrary, it is keeping the European mechanism of protection for national communities and indigenous peoples, while removing Russian as the language of the state that is waging war against Ukraine.

The so-called “Moldovan language” is also removed from the separate list, because in the updated legal logic, the language remains Romanian. At the same time, the list was not simply reduced. It was expanded to include several languages, among them Czech, Crimean Tatar, Krymchak, Karaim, Yiddish and Hebrew.

That is the core of the story.

Ukraine is not saying: “Only one language may exist.” Ukraine is saying: “The tools created to protect vulnerable languages must not be used to preserve the privileges of the aggressor state’s language.”

The signed law is Law No. 4699-IX. It followed the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of bill No. 14120 on December 3, 2025. The bill was supported by 264 members of parliament.

The law was connected to Ukraine’s updated official translation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in January 2024. After that, Ukraine had to bring its legislation into line with the corrected legal wording.

The political meaning, however, is broader.

Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk explained the decision directly:

“The language of the aggressor state cannot use protection instruments created to support the languages of indigenous peoples and national communities.”

He also called the decision a matter of “dignity, justice and........

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