Social Media and National Solidarity: Rise of Ukrainian Language Use on Telegram During the Russo-Ukrainian War.

Maksim Beleziakou

Maksim Beleziakou University of Warsaw

Keywords: Ukrainian National Identity, Telegram, Social Media, Language Use in Social Media, Bilingualism in Ukraine, Media and National Identity, Russo-Ukrainian War, Political Communication

Abstract

This study examines the notable linguistic change that occurred in the Ukrainian public sphere on popular political Telegram channels after the Russo-Ukrainian war escalated in February 2022. Despite official initiatives to promote Ukrainian, Russian was historically important in Ukrainian media and public discourse. The study reveals a striking shift from Russian to Ukrainian language usage by examining more than 290,000 posts from four of the most popular Ukrainian political Telegram channels between February 2022 and October 2024. The proportion of Ukrainian-language content increased from an average of 20% to over 95% across these channels. This tendency reflects a reinforcement of Ukrainian national solidarity and a collective response to external aggression. This highlights how social media platforms like Telegram serve as both reflectors and amplifiers of societal transformations, offering valuable insights into the interplay between political crises, language use, and national solidarity in the digital age.