First state Ukrainian-Hungarian primary and high school to open in Budapest on Sept 1

MOSCOW. Aug 26 (Interfax) - Hungary's first state bilingual primary and high school, where students will learn the Hungarian and Ukrainian languages, will be opened in Budapest on September 1, head of the Transcarpathian region's administration Viktor Mikita said.

"A historic event for Ukrainians in Hungary: the first state Ukrainian-Hungarian bilingual primary and high school has been registered in Budapest," Ukrainian media outlets quoted Mikita as saying on social media.

Ukrainian children from the first grade to the 12th grade who live in Hungary will be able to start attending this Ukrainian-language five-day school from September 1, with Hungarian taught as a second language, he said. The new school will be funded by the Hungarian budget.

The school's opening has been preceded by the long-time efforts of a special bilateral working group led by head of the Ukrainian President's Office Andrei Yermak and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, as well as by "personal communication between President Vladimir Zelensky and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban," Mikita said.

Relations between Ukraine and Hungary have not always been smooth. In particular, Budapest has repeatedly accused Kiev of impairing the rights of ethnic Hungarians living in the Transcarpathian region.