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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a law passed by the Verkhovna Rada that removes the Russian language from the list of languages protected under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk commented on the move, calling it “an important decision to protect Ukraine’s linguistic space and to fulfil our European obligations. The language of the aggressor state cannot use the protection mechanisms designed to support the languages of indigenous peoples and national communities. Ukraine protects its state language, respects linguistic and cultural diversity, and strips Russian imperial influence of privileges it has abused for years.” The proposal to remove Russian from Charter protection was submitted to parliament by Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers in October 2025, and the law was adopted on December 3. The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is an international treaty adopted by the Council of Europe in 1992. Its main objective is to preserve the historical languages of national minorities that are not official state languages. By signing the Charter, member states commit to supporting these languages in education, culture, the media, and administration. Ukraine signed the document in 2003. By excluding Russian from the Charter, Ukraine is no longer internationally obligated to fund, promote, or provide benefits for the use of the Russian language in public spheres. Ukraine has now officially recognized the term “rashism” and has given an official name to the war with Russia. In a separate development, on June 4, 2026, Kyiv’s city council removed the monument to Mikhail Bulgakov from Andriivskyi Descent in Kyiv. The monument was transferred to the private care of the sculptor Mykhailo Rapay’s heir at the request of Rapay’s family. The decision followed a recommendation by the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, which in 2024 recognized Bulgakov as a symbol of Russian imperial policy and recommended that monuments associated with him be removed from public spaces as part of Ukraine’s decolonization policy.

Drones have once again targeted bridges in the Chonhar and Henichesk areas, halting traffic toward Dzhankoy, according to the Russian-installed administration in the Kherson region. The Russian officials reported drone strikes on bridges near Chonhar and between Henichesk and the Arabat Spit, critical links connecting mainland Ukraine to Crimea. Vladimir Saldo, the Kremlin-installed head of the Kherson region, announced that traffic heading toward Dzhankoy has been completely suspended. At the same time, Saldo noted that the bridge connecting the occupied town of Henichesk and the Arabat Spit remains open, but traffic is now moving in a single alternating lane. On June 11, Saldo had previously reported additional strikes on four other bridges leading into Crimea. Ukrainian forces have also targeted the Chonhar road bridge twice in recent days. Russian forces have attempted to reroute military cargo along alternative paths, but those routes have also come under Ukrainian attack. Near Armyansk, Ukraine’s defense forces struck a convoy of 50 trucks carrying fuel and ammunition. Some of those vehicles have been destroyed.