The 1st Ukraine-Russia war memorial outside Ukraine may be erected in Budapest
Ukraine’s new ambassador in Budapest, Sándor Fegyir, a Hungarian-Ukrainian national known as the “professor of the trenches” met with Gergely Kovács, the mayor of the 12th district of Budapest (Hegyvidék), the chairman of the Hungarian Two-Tailed Dog Party. They discussed the possibility of erecting the first Ukraine-Russia war memorial outside Ukraine in the district.
1st Ukraine-Russia war memorial outside Ukraine
According to a Facebook post shared by Mr Kovács, Mr Fegyir arrived with Councillor István Balog at the mayor’s office. He said it was a great honour for his office to receive the new ambassador on one of his first visits. Mr Kovács said that the memorial would commemorate the Transcarpathian Hungarian and Ukrainian victims of the ongoing war.
He added that negotiations started with the ambassador and his associates on the issue, and he will provide more information later about the matter. Furthermore, they also talked about offering free summer holidays for Transcarpathian and Eastern Ukrainian children in the youth camps owned by the local government. He said they were committed to continuing the operation with the Ukrainian embassy.
The “professor of the trenches”
Sándor Fegyir, also known as Fegyir Fedorovics Sandor, is a Ukrainian-Hungarian philosopher, sociologist, educator, and tourism expert. His father is of Hungarian-Slovak descent, while his mother is of Ukrainian-Italian ancestry. He graduated as a historian from the Uzhhorod National University in 1997. He later completed his law studies there in 2002. He is a professor at Uzhhorod National University and holds a PhD in philosophy since 2014.
He worked as a teacher and journalist and led the tourism department of the Transcarpathian Regional State Administration. In 2020, he was elected as a member of the Transcarpathian Regional Council as a candidate of President Zelensky’s Servant of the People party.
He volunteered after the invasion of Russia in Ukraine and served in the 101st Kárpátalja Brigade. He continued teaching from the frontline, which earned him the nickname “professor of the trenches”.
President Zelensky appointed Ukraine’s ambassador in March 2023, which was only signed in August, but he could not take over his office for months. He arrived in Budapest only on 25 February, the memorial day of the victims of Communism in Hungary.
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