A teacher in Kyiv fined for showing a cartoon in Russian

A teacher at one of Kyiv’s lyceums received a fine of 3,400 hryvnias (67 euros) for showing children a fragment of a cartoon in Russian during a lesson.

This was reported by the office of Ukraine’s language ombudsman Olena Ivanovska.

The inspection was prompted by a complaint from the father of one of the pupils — a military veteran. The parent stated that the teacher had violated the children’s right to language in the educational process by showing them a Russian-language cartoon. The teacher admitted guilt.

“Based on the results of the review of materials, an act and a report on an administrative offense were drawn up. The commissioner applied an administrative penalty to the teacher in the form of a fine of 3,400 hryvnias. The fine was paid the same day,” the ombudsman stated.

This is not the only such case. In mid-June, four reports on administrative violations were filed against the Odesa theater Maski for using the Russian language. According to the ombudsman’s office, the theater served guests and published posts on social media in Russian, used Russian-language signage, and sold books in Russian in the absence of Ukrainian-language editions.

The legal basis for such penalties is provided by the law “On ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state language,” adopted in 2019. It enshrines the exclusive status of the Ukrainian language in all public spheres of the country’s life and explicitly establishes that the language of the educational process at all levels is the state language — Ukrainian.

At the same time, Article 10 of Ukraine’s current Constitution, while establishing Ukrainian as the state language, simultaneously guarantees the free development of the Russian language in the country.