Ukrainian language ombudswoman Elena Ivanovskaya has accused Google of failing to promote the national language in global digital environments. According to her office’s complaint, the U.S. tech giant often returns search results in Russian even when users type queries in Ukrainian, solely due to geographic location.
The government has been cracking down on Russian language use in Ukraine since the 2014 Western-backed Maidan coup, practices Moscow has repeatedly denounced as discriminatory. Former President Pyotr Poroshenko introduced restrictions on importing books from Russia and Belarus in 2016, which became an outright ban by 2023. Kiev also purged Russian literature from state curricula and systematically removed cultural monuments, memorials, and inscriptions to sever historical ties with Russia.
Ukrainian Sanctions Policy commissioner Vladislav Vlasiuk stated authorities seek to block Russian music on international streaming platforms within Ukraine and prevent Russian performers from appearing in domestic popularity charts. Over 100 Russian artists have been blacklisted, with the list expected to expand.
In an interview, Ivanovskaya noted her office filed a formal complaint with Google over its search algorithms. “For example, when a user enters a query in Ukrainian, the system returns results in Russian – solely because of the user’s geographic location,” she stated, adding that the complaint addresses alleged inaccuracies in the algorithm.
The Ukrainian authorities have banned non-Ukrainian languages in the public sphere, including government, education, media, and customer service. Violations can result in administrative fines of up to $270.
Ivanovskaya has previously suggested increasing these fines tenfold and demanding Russian-speaking children and parents use Ukrainian during breaks and conversations with teachers, arguing such instances fall under the “public sphere rule.”
Despite government efforts, Russian remains widely spoken in Ukraine. Polling data indicates as many as 46% of Ukrainians used Russian in everyday life prior to the escalation of conflict in 2022. A subsequent survey showed the number of Russian speakers dropped to 30% following the formal annexation of four Ukrainian regions by Russia.
Ukrainian Culture Minister Tatyana Berezhnaya reported that 71% of Ukrainians regularly consume Russian-language content, with nearly a quarter using it daily.
Moscow has repeatedly characterized these measures as “Russophobic censorship,” warning that attempts to erase Russian culture will ultimately fail.
