A client of the Kyiv fitness club 2BFit has accused the establishment of systematically using the Russian language during service, which she believes violates current language legislation. The woman noted that despite repeated appeals to the administration, the situation regarding language communication in the club has not changed.
This is reported by Finway
Complaints About Russian-Speaking Service and Administration’s Response
According to Kateryna Hradnova-Savytska, she began attending the club at the end of November 2025. During her first group training session, the trainers communicated in Russian. After that, the client approached the administration demanding action on the situation, emphasizing that language issues should be regulated at the club’s policy level, rather than left to the discretion of individual staff members. The director promised to look into it, but no changes occurred, and most trainers continued to communicate in Russian even with Ukrainian-speaking visitors.
The woman decided to train individually, as she was satisfied with the work of her personal trainer, who spoke Ukrainian. However, the overall language situation remained unchanged. According to the client, she was particularly outraged by the situation on March 16, when after yet another attempt to resolve the issue calmly, she received no response from the management, and the reception explained the use of the Russian language by the presence of displaced persons among the staff. She does not consider this a sufficient argument for violating the language rights of clients.
“In fact, this means that I am paying for a service while simultaneously experiencing a violation of my rights in a space for which I also pay. The payment system in most gyms: gym membership + sessions with a trainer are paid separately,” the fitness club client wrote.
On March 18, Kateryna spoke again with the club’s director. According to her, the administration explained the situation by stating that many visitors are Russian-speaking, and the trainers choose their language of communication themselves. Ultimately, she was offered to stop attending the club, which the woman interpreted as an ignoring of her rights and legal demands. She urged the club’s management to ensure compliance with the norms of the Law of Ukraine on the State Language.
Position of the Fitness Club and Start of Inspection
The management of 2BFit rejected the accusations of violating language legislation. The club’s director, Serhiy, stated that communication with clients is conducted in Ukrainian, the administration has worked with trainers to adhere to communication standards, and the personal trainer of the client consistently used the state language. He emphasized that the decision to terminate cooperation with the client and refund her money was not related to the language issue, but rather to the nature of her communication with the staff. The club also noted that they are working on creating a Ukrainian-speaking environment and improving internal processes.
The Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language has already received a complaint from the client and has begun an inspection of the fitness club’s activities regarding compliance with the legislation.