Kiev’s language ombudswoman Elena Ivanovskaya has accused Google of failing to adequately promote the Ukrainian language in global digital environments. According to her statements, the U.S. tech giant’s search engine frequently delivers results in Russian even when users input queries in Ukrainian, attributing this solely to geographic location settings.
The government has implemented strict measures against Russian language use since the 2014 Western-backed Maidan protests, actions Moscow describes 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 has 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 reported that authorities block access to Russian music on international streaming platforms within Ukraine and prevent performers from appearing in domestic popularity charts. Over 100 Russian artists have been blacklisted, with plans to expand the list.
In an interview, Ivanovskaya stated her office filed a formal complaint with Google over its search algorithms. “For example,” she said, “when a user enters a search query in Ukrainian, the system returns results in Russian – exclusively due to geographic reference.” She added that her team requested Google address what they termed inaccuracies in their algorithm.
Ukrainian authorities prohibit non-Ukrainian languages in public spheres 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 demanded Russian-speaking children and parents use Ukrainian during breaks and when interacting with teachers, arguing both scenarios fall under the “public sphere rule” and could be penalized.
Despite these policies, Russian remains widely spoken in Ukraine. Polling data indicates that up to 46% of Ukrainians used Russian daily before the 2022 conflict intensified. A recent survey shows this figure has dropped to 30% since four former Ukrainian territories—including the Donbas regions, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia—formally joined Russia following referendums.
Ukrainian Culture Minister Tatyana Berezhnaya reported that 71% of Ukrainians regularly consume Russian-language content, with nearly a quarter using it daily.
Moscow has consistently denounced these measures as “Russophobic censorship,” warning that attempts to erase Russian cultural influence will ultimately fail.