New Ukrainian ambassador in Budapest: Many died but ethnic Hungarians keep fighting for Ukraine

Ukraine’s new ambassador gave an interview to Glavkom, in which he expressed some surprising thoughts about PM Orbán’s policies and shared how many Hungarians fought and died for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion. That number is quite shocking.

According to index.hu, Sándor Fegyir said 40 thousand Ukrainians live and work in Hungary as refugees. Another 2 million entered the country but left later. He said Hungary is the only European country allowing Ukrainian refugees to use public transport for free. He acknowledged that the list of free services Hungary provides for Ukrainians is long and includes accommodation, financial aid and warm clothes.

Mr Fegyir highlighted he regarded it as sinful that the Russian Orthodox Church and the Order of Malta transported Ukrainian POWs to Hungary but Budapest had nothing to do with that. Furthermore, he did not answer the question of whether the Hungarians knew about the issue or not. Read about the war in Ukraine from a Hungarian perspective HERE.

About the harsh and unfair Ukrainian education law prohibiting Hungarians from using their mother tongue in schools, he said the law aims to close loopholes for the aggressor Russia. Romanians also complain, but they are not as loud as the Orbán cabinet.

Read also:

• Official: Hungarian government extends crisis status, check out the details HERE
• Ukraine becoming more chauvinistic? Hungarian national anthem, flag banned at school

Sándor Fegyir (l):

New Ukrainian ambassador: Kyiv should introduce double citizenship

Fegyir spent 13 months on the front. He said 400 Hungarians serve in the Ukrainian military, 31 of them lost their lives. Nobody deserted, he cleared. He said most Ukrainian soldiers supported Orbán’s policies concerning the 13th-month pension, family allocations, low-interest rates and low utility prices. He highlighted that Orbán protected the interests of Hungary, while Zelensky also prioritised whatever benefited Ukraine. However, the Hungarian community living in Ukraine’s Transcarpathia region became a kind of hostage in that confrontation. He said Transcarpathia did not need territorial autonomy because of the new Ukrainian public administration system concerning small regions.

He slammed the Ukrainian education system, claiming it fails to teach Ukrainian to the national minorities. That is because they lack teachers and textbooks. As a result, people who do not speak Ukrainian well enough usually leave Ukraine after graduation, 444.hu wrote. Surprisingly, he highlighted the moment Ukraine won the war, the country should grant its minorities double citizenship.