The official language of Ukraine is Ukrainian, an East Slavic language closely related to Russian and Belarusian but with distinct differences. Ukrainian is spoken as a first language by about 67% of the population, according to the 2001 census, and is used widely in government, education, media, and daily life

. Russian is also widely spoken, especially in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, with about 30% of the population considering it their first language. Russian remains an important minority language, and in some areas with large Russian-speaking populations, it is still used in schools and local administration

. Besides Ukrainian and Russian, there are several minority languages spoken in Ukraine, including Romanian, Crimean Tatar, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Polish, Yiddish, and Rusyn

. Since 1991, Ukrainian has been the sole official state language, with government policies promoting its use. Recently, Ukraine has also officially embraced English as the language of international communication, reflecting its westward integration aspirations

. In summary:

• Official language: Ukrainian (spoken by majority)
• Widely spoken minority language: Russian
• Other minority languages: Romanian, Crimean Tatar, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Polish, Yiddish, Rusyn
• Emerging official international language: English

This linguistic diversity reflects Ukraine's complex history and regional variations in language use