The history of the Ukrainian language is deeply intertwined with the history of Ukraine and its people. Ukrainian is a member of the East Slavic group of languages, closely related to Belarusian and Russian. Its origins can be traced back to the medieval state of Kievan Rus' (9th–13th centuries), where early forms of the language began to emerge.

In the centuries following the fall of Kievan Rus', Ukrainian evolved under the influence of various foreign powers, including Poland, Russia, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During much of the 18th and 19th centuries, the language faced suppression, particularly under Russian imperial rule, which promoted the use of Russian and discouraged the use of Ukrainian in official and literary contexts.

In the 20th century, following Ukraine's independence in 1917, there were brief periods of Ukrainian language revitalization, but the Soviet regime's policies again marginalized it in favor of Russian. After Ukraine gained independence in 1991, the Ukrainian language was officially recognized as the national language, and efforts to revive and promote its use have been ongoing, though challenges remain.

Today, Ukrainian is spoken primarily in Ukraine, with growing recognition of its importance in cultural, educational, and political spheres, especially in the context of Ukraine's ongoing efforts to assert its sovereignty and national identity.​