In Kharkiv, a taxi driver was fined for speaking Russian: he refused in a rude manner

The latter has already responded to the incident. It was reported there that this employee's access to the platform was limited indefinitely, and all drivers received an updated message with the requirement to serve passengers exclusively in the state language. "We also expect a response from the law enforcement agencies regarding the provision of a legal assessment of the driver's statements, which may have signs of justifying the actions of the aggressor state.

Persons who disrespect the Ukrainian language, state symbols and the state of Ukraine itself must answer according to the law. We have no right to tolerate manifestations of linguistic aggression," Ivanovska said. The case with the taxi driver in Kharkiv is not the first. In early September, another Kharkiv man from the taxi service caught Ivanovska's attention for the same reason, and in Odesa, a service employee was also fined UAH 3,400 for refusing to speak to a passenger in Ukrainian.

Two months ago, Olena Ivanovska called on all taxi services to test drivers for knowledge of the state language. We would like to add that according to Article 36 of the Law of Ukraine "On ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as the state language" in all types of passenger transport, Ukrainian is the language of passenger service (only at the request of the passenger, his individual service can be provided in another language acceptable to the parties).

Meanwhile, more than half of all teenagers in Ukraine communicate in Russian at home. According to the Deputy Minister of Education and Science Anastasia Konovalova, in 2022, 46% of children used Ukrainian constantly, in 2023 this figure increased to 55%, and in 2024 it decreased to 49%. At the same time, the number of those who consider themselves a confident user of the language is growing: 61% in 2022, 72% in 2023 and 75% in 2024.