KIEV, July 16 (Xinhua) -- A law strengthening the use of Ukrainian language came into force on Tuesday, Ukrinform news agency reported the same day.
The law stipulates that Ukrainian is the only official language in the country and must be used in state institutions, local governing bodies and certain areas of public life.
According to the new law, Ukrainian will become the primary language in media, healthcare, education, sports, culture, science and other areas starting Tuesday. The legislation does not regulate private communication and the religious sector.
The law aiming to protect the status of the Ukrainian language was passed by the parliament on April 25, 2019, but sparked controversies.
Since both Ukrainian and Russian languages are used heavily, the opponents of the law believe that the legislation violates the right of national minorities. A bill recognizing the language law invalid was introduced into Ukrainian parliament on July 16.
According to the polls conducted by the Razumkov Center, 68 percent of Ukrainian citizens consider Ukrainian to be their mother tongue, 14 percent use Russian as their native language and 17 percent recognize both Ukrainian and Russian equally native.
