Bodnar emphasized that the study of Ukrainian is discussed only in the context of the second foreign, without replacing Polish or the first foreign, in accordance with applicable law.
According to him, such an initiative caused an “acute reaction and a storm of discontent” in social networks. However, Bodnar explained that she aims to maintain the cultural identity of children, to promote the integration and strengthening of mutual understanding between the peoples, and to emphasize the contribution of Ukrainians to the Polish economy and society. He recalled that only in 2024 the Ukrainians as a whole paid 15.1 billion zlotys to the Poland budget, while payments to refugees under the Rodzina 800+ program amounted to approximately 2.8 billion zlotys.
“The ability to study the Ukrainian language as a second foreign language is not only the right guaranteed by the legislation of Poland, but also the manifestation of the wealth of the cultural heritage of Poland, to which Ukrainians also bring their content. In addition, it is also a bridge for better understanding, cooperation and solidarity between our peoples,” Bodnar said.
The ambassador noted that Polish is taught in 577 schools in different regions of Ukraine. At the same time, he noticed that in 2024, the Russian language was conducted in 2115 Polish schools, and 166,156 children studied as an additional one. The Russian was present in 970 of 14 thousand primary schools. In secondary schools, classes in this language were in 1133 institutions (out of 6.8 thousand from all).
“That is, with the Russian language, it seems, there is no problem, although Russia, without any exaggeration, is recognized by the whole civilized world-aggressor, which historically caused many offenses to Poland and today is a threat to the entire European security system,” he said.
Context
By The data of the UN Supreme Commissioner for Refugees, as of July 31 in Poland were more than 1 million Ukrainians.
