Politics and ethics aside, the numbers around the new controversial language law look like it’s going to cost Ukrainians a lot. More than they can afford, in fact, both in direct and indirect costs.

The authors of the language law never made the required calculations in their support papers that would allow the parliament and people to assess its direct costs. The only official assessment came from Valentyna Brusylo, head of the department for financing of social sector of the Finance Ministry.