When the newest bilingual school for Ukrainians opened in Budapest this month, both the Hungarian and Ukrainian national anthems were played -- a rare moment of unity that masked rising tension between the neighbours.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Hungary has become Kyiv’s fiercest critic in the European Union, refusing to send military aid while maintaining close ties with Moscow.
The school’s co-founder Lilliana Grexa highlighted a rise in anti-Ukrainian sentiment over the past two years, saying Hungarians seemed “less inhibited to say ‘go home to Ukraine’”.
“Despite good initiatives from both governments, every time we go one step forward, we take three steps back,” said Grexa, an elected representative for the Ukrainian community in Hungary’s parliament.
She estimates between 70,000 and 80,000 Ukrainians now call Hungary home -- though many are refugees and many others likely to head back to their home country when the conditions allow.
Relations between Hungary and Ukraine have sunk to new lows in recent months with spying accusations, diplomatic expulsions and travel bans.
Ukrainian deputy prime minister Taras Kachka is expected to visit on Thursday, with Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto saying earlier this week that it was up to Kyiv to stop the “continuous deterioration” of relations.
- ‘Tools of blackmail’ -
In the latest spat, Hungary barred the commander of Ukraine’s drone forces from entering the country late last month.
Kyiv has repeatedly attacked Russian energy infrastructure and the oil supply to Hungary via Russia’s Druzhba pipeline has been disrupted.
The row came as Kachka was in Budapest lobbying for Hungary’s support for its EU membership bid.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban opposes allowing Ukraine into the bloc, and Hungarians are increasingly behind him on the issue.
A recent Eurobarometer poll suggested just 30 percent backed Ukrainian membership, down from 45 percent a year ago.
Orban held a two-month consultation on the bid earlier this year, accompanying it with a media campaign and posters warning of the cost of integrating Ukraine into the bloc.
Almost all of those who took part said they were opposed.
Zoltan Kiszelly from the pro-government Szazadveg think-tank said both sides were using “tools of blackmail” against the other.
While Hungary withholds support for the EU bid, Ukraine continues its attacks on the pipelines.
“This leads to a vicious circle, because the two countries have been unable to solve these conflicts lately,” he said.
In May, Hungary said it had expelled two Ukrainian diplomats and accused them of spying after Ukraine’s SBU security service said it detained two alleged Hungarian spies.
- Church burnt -
Relations first soured in 2017 when Kyiv adopted a law mandating Ukrainian as the main language for secondary education.
Budapest said the law disenfranchised tens of thousands of ethnic Hungarians, who live mostly in Ukraine’s westernmost region of Transcarpathia -- part of the former Kingdom of Hungary until the end of World War I.
In an increasingly tense climate, a church was set on fire in the region in July and defaced with anti-Hungarian graffiti.
Several diplomats -- who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of negotiations -- told AFP that Hungary was using the issue for political gain and impeding progress on Ukraine.
Since he returned to power in 2010, Orban’s government has funded schools, hospitals and other projects in the region, and made it easier for residents to get Hungarian citizenship.
As tension grows on both sides, Grexa is hopeful that the schools established with her support can help inspire change.
Since 2022, three schools have been set up in the country to serve Ukrainian children from the local ethnic minority and the thousands of refugees who have settled in Hungary.
Almost 600 children now study in the three schools “in their mother tongue”, said Grexa.