Odessa has become the first Ukrainian city to officially recognize the Russian language on a regional level, leading a host of other regions with a substantial Russian-speaking population in a move to capitalize on the country’s new language law. According to it, the regional administrations are given permission to officially recognize languages spoken by more than ten percent of the population there.

      The Odessa Regional Council decided on Wednesday to grant Russian official status in an overwhelmingly favorable vote, Ukrainian press reports. According to the recent polls, 41.9 percent of local residents consider Russian as their native language.

      Crimea Prime Minister Anatoly Mogilev also said recently that Crimea, an autonomous republic where about two-thirds of the population consider Russian their native language, would recognize Russian by November.

      At large, 13 out of Ukraine’s 27 regions will be allowed to officially recognize the Russian language. About 29 percent of Ukrainians claim Russian as their native tongue and 40 percent use it regularly at home, according to a July 2012 poll. The same poll shows that about 50 percent claim Ukrainian as their native language.