As of: January 31, 2024, 5:09 a.m
By: Patrick Mayer
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Press
Split
The Hungarian right is considering a possible annexation of Zakarpattia if Ukraine loses the war against Vladimir Putin's Russia.
Uzhhorod - Hungary often deviates from the common political line of the European Union (EU) and the Western defense alliance NATO in the Ukraine war.
Hungary: Far-right politician would annex Ukrainian Zakarpattia
As
The Kyiv Independent
now reports, the right-wing extremist Hungarian party “Mi Hazánk” (in German: “Our Homeland”) has even laid claim to the Ukrainian Oblast of Zakarpattia if neighboring Ukraine loses the war against Russia.
Party leader László Toroczkai is said to have formulated these claims on January 27th.
The historical region of Transcarpathia was part of the Kingdom of Hungary until 1918.
After the defeat of Germany and Austria-Hungary in the First World War, the Hungarians lost two thirds of the territory of their former kingdom to neighboring countries in the Treaty of Trianon (July 4, 1920).
Transcarpathia was also among them.
In his ultra-national policy, Toroczkai postulates a Hungary within the borders before the treaty.
Chairman of the ultra-right Hungarian party Mi Hazánk: László Toroczkai.
© IMAGO / EST&OST
In the interwar period, Carpathian Ukraine, another name, belonged to what was then Czechoslovakia.
Today around 1.25 million people live in the region in the far west of Ukraine, which is characterized by the Carpathian mountains.
According to a census conducted by the Ukrainian Census in 2001, a Hungarian minority made up around twelve percent of the population.
Hungary: Minorities in Ukraine, Slovakia and Romania
In the past, the “Mi Hazánk” party has repeatedly called for greater autonomy for ethnic Hungarians in western Ukraine and other neighboring countries with Hungarian minorities.
“Mi Hazánk” currently holds six of 199 seats in the Hungarian Parliament in Budapest.
As part of the Imperial and Royal Monarchy under the Habsburg Emperors from what is now Austria, the Kingdom of Hungary also included the now Austrian Burgenland as well as parts of today's Slovakia, Romania and Serbia.
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Zakarpattia Oblast |
|
Location: |
extreme west of Ukraine |
Adjacent to: |
Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania |
Area: |
12,777 km² |
Resident: |
1.25 million |
Oblast capital: |
Uzhhorod (around 115,000 inhabitants) |
Toroczkai mused
about claiming Ukrainian territory at a party conference in Budapest, according to The
Kyiv Independent .
Representatives of the right-wing conservative Alternative for Germany (AfD) are said to have been at the event.
“If this war leads to Ukraine losing its statehood, because this is also foreseeable, then as the only Hungarian party that represents this position, I would like to signal that we are making a claim,” Toroczkai said, according to the report from Kiev.
In the Ukraine War: Cold relations between Kiev and Budapest
The Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó is currently visiting the city of Uzhhorod (around 115,000 inhabitants), the oblast center of the Ukrainian region of Transcarpathia.
The political climate between Kiev and Budapest is considered cold because Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban continues to maintain close contacts with Kremlin autocrat Vladimir Putin and his Moscow circle around Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, despite the Russian attack on the neighboring country.
Green slopes rich in mountains: the typical landscape of Transcarpathia in Ukraine.
© IMAGO/M.Pellinni
At the end of November, according to consistent media reports, Orban called for a fundamental debate within the EU about continued support for Ukraine, which has been attacked in violation of international law.
According to the rumored suggestion from Budapest, at the EU summit in mid-December, the heads of government should discuss whether the goal of a military victory for the Ukrainians is still realistic.
If such a “strategic discussion” is not held, Hungary will use a veto to block all aid to Ukraine and the country's accession to the EU.
Ukraine War: Russian army advances in the east of the country
Orban later backed away from this demand.
Most recently, the Russian army was able to advance on several front sections in eastern Ukraine, as the
Institute for the Study of War (ISW)
wrote in an analysis.
Meanwhile, Germany, Great Britain and France have significantly increased military aid to the Ukrainian armed forces again since the beginning of January - also citing the difficult military situation.
(pm)