The language law, explained carefully

The politics of language legislation is not mine to comment on, and I will not. What I can set out is what the law asks of a company operating here, because that is a practical matter and it is frequently misunderstood by arriving investors.

What the law requires

Customer service in the state language by default. An employee begins in Ukrainian; if the customer prefers another language and the employee is willing, the conversation can continue in it. The requirement is about the default, not about prohibition.

Signage, price lists, labels and public information in the state language. Other languages may appear alongside, and the state language version must not be smaller or less prominent.

Websites and applications serving Ukrainian users must have a state language version, loading by default for users in the country. Other language versions may exist.

Public information from the company — offers, instructions, terms — in the state language.

What it does not require

It does not govern private conversation, internal working language between colleagues, or contracts between private parties, which may be in any language the parties agree.

How to comply without difficulty

Have the materials professionally translated once, make the state language the default everywhere it is customer-facing, and brief front-line staff on the greeting. That is essentially the whole of it.

The practical note

Most complaints that arise are about signage and website defaults, not about conversations. Those are fixed with a translator and an afternoon.

For a business this is a compliance question with a clear answer: information offered to a customer must be in the state language and may also be in others. I apply it in my companies and it has caused no difficulty — labels, manuals, website, invoices. I do not enter the political discussion; technically this is among the easiest pieces of legislation to comply with.