Under martial law, Ukraine has made significant progress towards the state language, and the dynamics and nature of changes in 2022 allow us to talk about the launch of a rapid "self-Ukrainianization" of society. This is stated in the 3rd Annual Report of the State Language Protection Commissioner, published on April 30.  

"The rapid increase in the level of public support of the state language, a radical increase in its use both in public spheres and in private communication have proved that it’s a powerful, national-firm factor in the unity of citizens, an important factor in strengthening the Ukrainian civil nation, capable of successfully resisting the aggressor, overcoming difficult historical challenges, and winning on the battlefields," the document says.

The Report notes that the state language has sharply strengthened its positions and played a significant role in the information war: "The language of spreading news has become an important factor of trust in the source and their content, a means of forming and protecting their own Ukrainian media space, resistant to the influence of russian propaganda as well as information and psychological special operations of the enemy". 

In addition to reviewing the main trends in the development of the Ukrainian language in martial law, the report presents a deep analysis of the peculiarities of ensuring the functioning of the state language at the regional level and the situation in certain spheres of public life: in the activities of state bodies, bodies of local self-government, legal proceedings, education, science, culture, media, health care, in the spheres of consumer service, book publishing and book distribution, advertising and information for general knowledge.

A separate unit is devoted to the issue of the linguocide of the Ukrainian language in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. 

The full-scale invasion of russian troops into the territory of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 showed that the intention to destroy the Ukrainian nation was a long-term policy of the kremlin, which involved not only the physical destruction of Ukrainians but also the destruction of the Ukrainian identity, an integral part of which was the language. The so-called language factor was the basis for the russian military aggression and mass murder of Ukrainians. The artificial slogan "protection of russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine" was used to justify the occupation of part of the territories of Ukraine.

As noted in the Report, the actions of the occupation authorities in the temporarily occupied territories on the language issue are similar regardless of the region that was under the control of the aggressor. The extent of the displacement of the state language depends on the duration of the occupation under which proper settlement was located. The removal or expulsion of the Ukrainian language out of using it occurs simultaneously with its substitution for russian. 

Cases, indicating the displacement of the state language and the planned assimilation policy of the occupants, have been properly fixed in the following spheres of social life: public, cultural, educational, media, and the sphere of official communication.

Also, the document presents conclusions and recommendations on possible ways to resolve topical issues that should be taken into account in the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, other bodies of state power and local self-government. 

Recall that in accordance with Part 5 of Article 49 of the Law of Ukraine "On Ensuring the Functioning of the Ukrainian Language as the State Language", the Commissioner annually presents an annual public report.  

You can read the Report at the link.