Abstract
The adoption of the 2022 Law on National Minorities (Communities) marked the most substantial revision of Ukraine’s minority legislation since independence. Enacted under conditions of full-scale war and accelerating European integration, the law and its subsequent amendments in 2023 and 2024 redefined the institutional and linguistic parameters of minority protection. This article analyses the content and implementation of these reforms, focusing on regions where Hungarian, Romanian, Bulgarian, and other minority communities are concentrated. Based on qualitative analysis of legislation, institutional documents, and regional media discourse, the study examines how legal guarantees are interpreted, negotiated, and operationalised at the local level. The findings point to a reform process shaped not only by alignment with European standards but also by security considerations and long-standing centre–periphery dynamics. Rather than treating minority rights as a purely compliance-driven domain, the article situates current developments within broader debates on state consolidation, identity politics, and governance in wartime Ukraine.