Hungary's PM wants to meet Zelenskyy in majority-Hungarian city of Berehove
Newely elected PM of Hungary Péter Magyar said he hopes to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky in early June in the city of Berehove, located in western Ukraine’s Zakarpattia Oblast.
Magyar made the remarks during a joint press conference with Donald Tusk while visiting Poland, according to European Pravda.
The Hungarian prime minister said Budapest’s support for opening the first negotiation cluster in European Union accession talks with Ukraine depends on progress in ongoing discussions regarding the rights of the Hungarian minority living in Zakarpattia.
Magyar expressed hope that the negotiations between Kyiv and Budapest on minority rights would conclude successfully. Referring to Berehove by its Hungarian name, Beregszász, he noted that the city has a large ethnic Hungarian population.
“I very much hope and trust that this series of negotiations will proceed quickly and successfully,” Magyar said, adding that he proposed holding the meeting with Zelensky in Berehove sometime in early June.
Ukraine has taken note of Russia's plans to recruit 100,000 troops
President Volodymyr Zelensky said after a meeting of Ukraine’s Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s Staff on May 17 that Kyiv is preparing to reinforce its forces along the Chernihiv Oblast–Kyiv direction amid reports that Russia may be preparing to mobilize an additional 100,000 troops.
According to Zelensky, Ukrainian intelligence reviewed information suggesting Russia is planning offensive operations on the Chernihiv-Kyiv front. He said Ukraine has taken these reports seriously and will strengthen military positions in the area.
The president stated that Ukrainian officials believe Russia currently lacks the capability to carry out such a large-scale mobilization covertly. Because of this, Kyiv expects Moscow may resort to new political decisions aimed at expanding the war effort, including moves involving the separatist Transnistrian region in Moldova.
Zelensky also said he instructed Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry to prepare additional diplomatic pressure measures targeting Belarus, which he warned Russia could use as a platform for widening the war against Ukraine.
In addition, the Ukrainian leader said Kyiv is preparing to broaden the geography of its “long-range sanctions” against Russian territory. According to Zelenskyy, Russia currently has five possible scenarios for expanding military operations through northern Ukraine.
Two more teenagers are brought back from Russian occupation
Two 17-year-olds — a boy and a girl — have been returned from temporarily Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories to areas under Kyiv’s control, according to Bring Kids Back UA, the Ukrainian government initiative focused on returning deported and displaced children.
The teenagers had refused to attend Russian schools in the occupied territories and instead secretly continued studying through Ukrainian online education programmes despite the risks involved.
According to the initiative, the boy decided he needed to leave the occupied territory before turning 18 because of the threat of forced conscription into the Russian military. After completing the ninth grade, he was unable to continue regular studies at a Ukrainian online school because of unstable internet access.
He also refused to enrol in a Russian educational institution, leaving him socially isolated for more than two years. During that period, he spent most of his time at home and rarely went outside.
The 17-year-old girl was evacuated together with her grandmother. She had been searching for a way to leave the occupied territory in time to take Ukraine’s National Multi-Subject Test, which is required for admission to Ukrainian universities.
One of the girl’s teachers informed Ukrainian authorities in April that she remained in the occupied territory and wanted to return. Despite constant danger, unstable mobile communication and the risk of being exposed, she continued secretly studying under the Ukrainian curriculum online.
Her family reportedly concealed her studies carefully because people they knew had already faced persecution after authorities discovered their children were studying in Ukrainian schools remotely.
Bring Kids Back UA said human rights workers spent two months organizing a safe evacuation route for the girl.
The organization added that both teenagers will now undergo adaptation and reintegration programmes, including psychological support, assistance with documents and help rebuilding stable and safe lives in Ukraine.