Magyar invites Zelenskyy to meet in Zakarpattia to discuss rights of Ukrainian Hungarians
Leader of the Tisza party Péter Magyar, which won the elections in Hungary, has met with Mayor of the Ukrainian city of Berehove Zoltan Babyak, Magyar said this on Facebook.
"In my office, I received Berehove Mayor Zoltan Babyak, who informed me about the situation of Hungarians in Zakarpattia and the horrors of war. We agreed that, in the interests of Hungarians living in Zakarpattia, relations between Hungary and Ukraine must be placed on a new footing. In view of the above, I am initiating a meeting in early June with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, symbolically, in the city of Berehove, where Hungarians constitute the majority," Magyar said.
He said the purpose of the meeting is to help Hungarians in Zakarpattia and promote their remaining on their native land.
"It is time for Ukraine to lift the restrictions on rights that have existed for more than a decade, and for Hungarians in Zakarpattia to regain all their cultural, linguistic, administrative and higher education rights and once again become equal and respected citizens of Ukraine. This will also help ensure that, after the end of the war, as many Hungarians of Zakarpattia as possible can return to their homeland. If we manage to resolve these issues, this will undoubtedly make it possible to open a new page in bilateral relations between Ukraine and Hungary," Magyar stressed, adding that he considers the concessions announced by the Ukrainian government in 2025 in the field of education to be "promising but insufficient."
Thus, Magyar said, higher education in Ukraine remains monolingual, final exams are conducted in Ukrainian, and no significant changes have taken place in other official areas of language use either.
"As before, official communication in Ukraine is strictly based on one language. Only Ukrainian may be used in public administration, courts and official procedures. The Hungarian minority cannot demand official services in their native language even in settlements where Hungarians make up the majority of the population. Restrictions have also remained in the sphere of public life and culture: events and media outlets in Hungarian may operate, but under quotas, registration and formal requirements. In public speeches, officials, for example school principals or mayors, still cannot freely use their native language. Therefore, I call on the Ukrainian leadership to dare to take decisive steps in these areas on the path toward European values and genuine freedom and equality," Magyar said.
As reported, some 355,371 people registered to take Ukraine’s national multi-subject test. For applicants who studied in the languages of indigenous peoples or national minorities, the Ukrainian Center for Educational Quality Assessment provides translation of tasks in mathematics, history of Ukraine, biology, geography, physics and chemistry. This right was used by 518 people; for 497 of them, the tasks will be translated into Hungarian, for 18 into Romanian, and for three into Polish.
