Orbán promises to open and fund first Ukrainian school in Hungary

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, and Viktor Orbán, Hungarian Prime Minister, have agreed to open the first school for Ukrainian-speaking children on the territory of Hungary.

According to a correspondent of European Pravda, Zelenskyy raised the question of the education for Ukrainian children currently living in Hungary during his talks with the Hungarian PM on 2 July in Kyiv.

"Specifically, we discussed the opening of the first Ukrainian school in Hungary, the first such school, and Mr Prime Minister assured me he would support this project," Zelenskyy said.

Orbán confirmed that the Ukrainian side had raised this question and he had completely supported this decision of Zelenskyy.

He stated that after many Ukrainian refugees arrived in Hungary, the need to educate them arised.

"Ukrainians have lived in Hungary before, but now a whole range of additional needs arised, we must take care of these people…So I was very glad to hear about the President’s initiative about opening a Ukrainian school in Hungary," Orbán said.

He explained that at the moment Ukrainian children, specifically in Budapest, study in many different schools, and this system is "not bad" but Hungary understands the need to create a school with Ukrainian as the first language.

"We do not just understand this need. The Hungarian state will fund this school. As many Ukrainian schools as needed will be opened. It is important to us that Ukrainians feel at home in Hungary," Orbán added.

He did not link this decision to corresponding expectations from Ukraine but noted that he expected Ukraine to understand the needs of the Hungarian-speaking minority which traditionally lives in Zakarpattia Oblast of Ukraine.

Following the results of the negotiations in Kyiv, Zelenskyy and Orbán agreed to work on the agreement on bilateral relations which would solve bilateral issues.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit on the morning of 2 July, making it his first visit in many years and his first visit since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.