Two people are behind this educational project: one is Ukrainian, the other Russian. The Russian Maria Smirnova totally rejects these suspicions. She says it’s just about helping Ukrainian children. She has also previously presented her project to the embassy. “I can understand that they are suspicious but I can’t do anything about it. We really want to help the children with all our hearts and the will of all the people around us”, Maria Smirnova reacts.
The school was able to open thanks to numerous donations, adds Maria Smirnova. “As for private data, we have implemented the data protection policy (RGPD, editor’s note). Families fill out the pre-registration form as in other schools”. These documents are then stored.
Are the fears of the embassy well founded or is it an excess of caution in the context of theRussian invasion of Ukraine and the war that has been raging there since February 24 ? Difficult to answer. Still, the Ukrainian Embassy is preparing to issue a press release to the attention of the entire Ukrainian community present in Belgium.