Village in Odesa Oblast Reopens Romanian-Language First Grade After Years of Absence

The village school of Orlivka in Odesa Oblast has reopened a first-grade class conducted entirely in Romanian, enrolling seven children from the local community for the 2026–2027 academic year, Ukrainian media reported.

The restoration of Romanian-language instruction at the primary level marks a significant step for the Romanian-speaking minority in the Odesa region, which has historically maintained its linguistic and cultural identity across generations.

Romania is one of Ukraine's neighbors and EU member states, and Romanian-speaking communities have lived in parts of southern Ukraine — particularly in the Odesa and Chernivtsi regions — for centuries. The question of minority-language education has been a sensitive diplomatic issue between Kyiv and Bucharest in recent years.

Local education officials confirmed that the class will follow the standard Ukrainian curriculum, with Romanian as the language of instruction, allowing children to maintain proficiency in their heritage language while also learning Ukrainian and other required subjects.

The reopening was welcomed by representatives of the Romanian minority community, who described it as an important affirmation of their cultural rights within Ukraine.