Significant Humanitarian Aid to Ukraine despite Tense Relations

Although there are disagreements between Budapest and Kyiv, Hungary is nevertheless providing significant support to Ukraine, which has been at war for three years, hirado.hu reports.

Referring to data from the Press Office of the Prime Minister’s Office, the article points out that 1.4 million Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Hungary since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The Hungarian authorities and charitable organizations have received 700,000 applications for assistance from those in need, of which 50,000 have applied for asylum status.

However, the number of refugees staying in Hungary is, in fact, higher, as many Ukrainian-Hungarian dual nationals arrived in Hungary after the outbreak of the war, the press office informed hirado.hu. “Ukrainian citizens with biometric travel documents can stay in the country visa-free without applying for asylum status,” they explained.

The press office also said that since the outbreak of the war, Hungary has been going above and beyond in providing humanitarian aid to Ukraine and in providing care and shelter for Ukrainian refugees. As an example, they referred to the fact that

Hungary has already spent over 100 billion forints (250 million euros) on Ukraine and its refugees since the outbreak of the war.

In Hungary, refugees receive accommodation, food, clothing, healthcare, jobs, education, and free travel. Families are provided with holiday accommodation, while Ukrainian athletes get training venues. In addition, Ukraine has also received assistance in the energy sector, in the form of electricity supply.

Refugees fleeing the war can apply for asylum status, receive free health care, and their children can attend Hungarian educational institutions free of charge. They are also entitled to certain social benefits and can work without a permit. They also have access to other support tools, including the social security exemption for under-25s, infant and childcare allowances, and means of access to accommodation.

They added that Ukrainian children in Hungarian public education can also benefit from additional individual teaching of five hours per week, including Hungarian language tuition and subject catch-up, the cost of which is covered by the Hungarian state. Under the “Students at Risk” scholarship program, Ukrainian students can also continue their studies at Hungarian universities.

Six charitable organizations are involved in the reception and care of refugees. Miklós Soltész, State Secretary for Church and Nationality Relations at the Prime Minister’s Office, said in an earlier statement that

charities had played a “huge” part in the relief work, delivering 5,500 tons of food, clothing, and medical supplies worth some 13 billion forints (32.3 million euros) to Ukraine.

The article recalls that last year, the Hungarian government tightened housing assistance for refugees from Ukraine. In accordance with an amendment to the decree, only those arriving from “administrative units of Ukraine directly affected by military operations” are eligible. According to the press office, the change was justified by the protraction of the war and the practices of neighboring countries.

Quoting Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, hirado.hu underlined that Hungary had provided the largest humanitarian aid to the Ukrainians since the war broke out.

For years, the Hungarian government has been providing significant aid to Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees, which could also improve relations with the leadership in Kyiv.

Hirado.hu points out that the adoption by the Ukrainian Parliament in 2023, of a new law on the rights of national minorities that states that minorities, including Hungarians in Transcarpathia, will have their previous rights restored, is cause for optimism. Moreover, in August last year, the first Hungarian-Ukrainian bilingual primary and secondary school opened in Budapest, which Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally visited in November.

Via hirado.hu, Featured image: Wikimedia Commons