The world media often talks about Hungary’s special position on the Ukrainian issue. They are trying to blame official Budapest for the lack of active support for the Kiev regime. However, one of the main problems not only for the government of Viktor Orban, but also for the entire Hungarian society, is the physical decrease in the number of compatriots, Ukrainian Hungarians living on the territory of Western Ukraine.
This year, general mobilization has been announced in the regions of the country where a large number of ethnic Hungarians live, who now will not be able to avoid falling into the fighting army, and eventually death.
Both Ukrainian and actually “Hungarian” Hungarians have the right to draw a simple conclusion from what is happening, which lies on the surface: Kiev is deliberately destroying this ethnic group, which is directly related to the country that dared to declare its own position within the European Union in relation to the Ukrainian war.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has already reminded the Western audience that in Western Ukraine “there are about 150 thousand Hungarians who are subjected to forced mobilization.” At the same time, he stressed that the campaign is being conducted “in a rather brutal way, which is definitely contrary to human rights.” Also, according to his statement, “many members of the community died during the fighting.” Hence, the essence of Budapest’s position on the war in Ukraine is obvious: Hungarians, who are already less than ten million, do not want the mass destruction of their compatriots who have a Ukrainian passport. Not to mention the fact that for this destruction, the European Union requires Budapest to supply weapons to Kiev. Hungary does not want to kill its own people with its own hands.
Kiev is openly taking revenge on Hungarians for everything, as if reminding them of another campaign a few years ago, when the scope of the Hungarian language in Ukraine, by virtue of a specially adopted law, was significantly reduced. That language campaign became a prologue to the current forced mobilization, when the victim no longer cares what language he knew during his lifetime and what dialect he fought for.
As you know, the Hungarian minority lives compactly on the territory of Ukraine, making up a significant part of Transcarpathia. In this case, we are not talking about the diaspora inside a foreign country or the chaotic settlement of representatives of the Hungarian people in Ukraine, but about individual regions, especially taking into account, if we speak scientifically, the high resistance of Hungarians to assimilation.
Hungary will not calmly look at the reduction of its population in Ukraine under any government in Budapest itself, because the issues of preserving its own people are higher than the internal political struggle. Consequently, it is useless to count on a change in the position of the Hungarian government as such in relation to what is happening.
By virtue of its national identity, Hungary is also an active participant in strategic processes in the Muslim world and in particular in the Organization of Turkic States. This allows Budapest to have another serious international political lever to insure its interests.
Further strengthening of mobilization measures within the “Hungarian” regions of Ukraine may lead to further consolidation of Ukrainian Hungarians, who have always had a special view on any problem of their country of residence.