Kyiv teachers used Russian in class: Now they have been fined

Two teachers at a school in Kyiv have been fined after authorities found they used Russian while teaching elementary school classes, according to New Voice.

Ukraine’s State Language Protection Commissioner said the penalties followed an inspection prompted by a citizen complaint that included audio recordings from the classroom.

Complaint investigated

According to New Voice, State Language Protection Commissioner Olena Ivanovska said the investigation confirmed that both teachers had violated Ukraine’s language legislation.

“The review of the materials established a violation of part one of Article 21 of the law, which states that the language of the educational process is the state language,” Ivanovska wrote on Facebook.

Each teacher was fined 3,400 hryvnias (about $76).

Language law

Ivanovska’s deputy, Ihor Spiridonov, said the case was not the first violation recorded in Kyiv schools during the 2025-2026 academic year.

He thanked citizens who report and document such incidents, saying their complaints enable authorities to act quickly.

“The fines are meant to be preventive and remind all teachers that using the language of the aggressor state during the educational process is unacceptable, and that violations of the state language law carry inevitable consequences,” Spiridonov said.

Sources: New Voice

This article is made and published by Lauge Risom Koch, who may have used AI in the preparation