The Mykolaiv Oblast Council declared Russian a regional language, thereby authorizing local authorities in the southeastern region to use Russian, along with Ukrainian, in official dealings, dengi-info.com reported on 26 May. The Donetsk Oblast prosecutor general appealed the decision, contending that the rule is unconstitutional. Mykolaiv Oblast became the most recent jurisdiction among a growing list of Ukrainian regions, including Donetsk Oblast, Karkiv, Luhansk Oblast, Sevastopol, Dnepropetrovsk and Donetsk city, to grant Russian official-language status. On 10 May, the Ukrainian Justice Ministry published a legal opinion calling the local governments’ decision to grant Russian official-language status unconstitutional and in conflict with Ukrainian law. President Viktor Yushchenko wants the Constitutional Court to look into the legality of the decisions. (www.dengi-info.com, May 26)