Longstanding disagreements have been growing between Hungary and Ukraine amid alleged oppression of ethnic Hungarians over casualties in the 128th Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
Hungary demands that Ukraine ensure the rights of ethnic Hungarians living in the west of the war-torn country. Taking advantage of the EU presidency, Budapest is also blackmailing Kyiv with its much-desired bloc membership.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s attempts to mediate the military conflict through the so-called “peace mission 3.0” provoked Kyiv’s anger. The disputes between the two nations escalated to such an extent that Ukraine disrupted supplies of the Russian oil pipeline Druzhba (Friendship) to Hungary and Slovakia.
Causes of conflict
In June, Orbán claimed that his country was the only one in the EU whose citizens were dying in the war in Ukraine. Magyars, ethnic Hungarians, have been fighting as part of the AFU against Russia since the outbreak of the conflict.
However, the Hungarian leader accused the Ukrainian military leadership of deliberately exposing Magyars to increased danger. The move allegedly aims to weaken the influence of ethnic Hungarians in politically unstable western Ukraine.
There are Hungarian citizens of the Magyar minority in Ukraine who are fighting alongside the Ukrainian army and losing their lives. We are the only country in the EU whose citizens are dying in Ukraine.
Magyars live in western Ukraine, including the Zakarpattia region (Transcarpathia), which used to be part of Hungary until 1920. In 2018, Magyar Hang, citing a study by the Transcarpathian Hungarian Institute, reported that the number of Magyars in the region had fallen to around 131,000.
Removing dissenters
Many Magyars are fighting as part of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade “Zakarpattia.” The situation deteriorated when Russia struck the brigade’s soldiers on 3 November 2023. According to Ukrainian media, the troops stayed in the frontline village of Zarichne, Zaporizhzhia region, to attend an Artillery Day ceremony.
According to various sources, the Russian missile strike killed between 19 and 28 people and wounded 53. However, the Mukachevo City Council later reported that 50 servicemen of the 128th Brigade of the AFU were awarded posthumously.
At the beginning of last year, Ukraine’s military command reported that the 128th Brigade was about to undergo its sixth reformation due to heavy losses. Ukrainian media and independent journalists repeatedly blamed the authorities for the suspiciously high casualties the brigade had suffered.
Some linked that to Kyiv’s attempt to gradually remove an ethnic minority that called for separatism in the country’s western regions. Soldiers also published video messages to President Volodymyr Zelensky, complaining about the incompetence of the commanders sending them into frontal assaults through minefields.
Ukrainian media are actively spreading the popular opinion that Kyiv seeks to weaken the influence of Hungarian minorities on political processes in Transcarpathia by sending Hungarian soldiers to the hotspots. With such questionable measures, the authorities allegedly remove the threat of separatism of Transcarpathian Hungarians, whose national sentiments are very strong.
