The chapter explores the notion of language shift in a decolonial light, based on the language situation in wartime Ukraine. It focuses on the narratives of Ukrainian writers, how they conceptualize language in times of war, and what impact they have on their readers regarding language attitudes and choices. The corpus of research consists of the writers’ diaries and essays written during the first months after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Furthermore, public interviews with three authors, internally displaced from the Donetsk region—Volodymyr Rafeenko, Iya Kiva, and Olena Stiazhkina—are at the center of the research. The interviews cover the period between 2017 and 2024, in such a way, the chapter depicts the dynamics of language and identity choices from the start of the war in 2014 till its escalation into the full-scale phase in 2022 and further development. Language shift in writers’ narratives is understood as an abrogation from imperial language and cultural practices and discourses. The moment of the full-scale invasion became a decisive factor for the writers in their refusal to apply Russian in their writings and their willingness to increase communication in Ukrainian in everyday life.