Russian missiles over Hungarian towns and villages: is the war in Ukraine escalating?

PM Viktor Orbán proposed a ceasefire this week in Ukraine for the Christmas festivities and later added that Kyiv “refused to accept it”. Now, it seems the Russians tried to escalate the war even to Hungarian-populated territories. Kárpáti Igaz Szó, a Hungarian newspaper in Transcarpathia (Kárpátalja ), the Westernmost region of Ukraine, wrote about another Russian missile attack affecting the region, populated by at least 100,000 Hungarians. The last similar attack took place in November. Before that, only in February 2022 did the Russians carry out acts of war in Transcarpathia.

Russian missiles over Transcarpathia, the home of at least 100,000 Hungarians

According to Kárpáti Igaz Szó, another massive Russian missile attack took place in Transcarpathia this morning when Russians targeted the energy infrastructure of the country. Two missiles flew into the airspace of Transcarpathia during the attack.

Miroslav Bilecky, the public administration head of the region, told the newspaper that air defence forces shot two Russian missiles over Transcarpathia today. Fragments of the first one touched ground near Munkács, where thousands of Hungarians live, while the other landed near Várkulcsa.

Source: depositphotos.com

The local newspaper has not reported casualties or significant damage. A journalist from Ungvár (Uzhhorod) said the type of the weapon was the Kh-101 cruise missile. Authorities are searching for the fragments of the missiles.

The last time Russia’s war in Ukraine affected Transcarpathia was on 17 November, when the air defence also shot Russian missiles that fell near Munkács and Rahó.

Transcarpathia was not involved in the war

PM Viktor Orbán talked this morning in an interview about a Hungarian ceasefire initiative for the Christmas festivities and an exchange of POWs. He suggested President Putin accepted the offer, but Kyiv has not given the green light. The Hungarian prime minister remained hopeful that the 20 January inauguration of Trump will bring ceasefire and peace in Ukraine.

Beregszász in Transcarpathia still having a Hungarian majority. Photo: FB/Zoltán Babják

Transcarpathia was not among the primary or even secondary targets of the invading Russian forces in the last more than 1,000 days of war. A missile attack targeting Transcarpathian places was conducted only back in February 2022, which is why there is no curfew in Transcarpathia, which is exceptional among the Ukrainian regions.

In 2001, the first and only Ukrainian census found more than 150,000 Hungarians in Transcarpathia. As all Hungarian communities beyond the borders of Hungary in the Carpathian Basin, the number of Transcarpathian Hungarians has fallen steeply in the past decades. A 2017 survey found approximately 131,000 Hungarians in the region. Currently, estimates talk about 100,000 Hungarians.

Government hopes common sense prevails for Christmas ceasefire

The Hungarian government hopes that “common sense and humanity will prevail” in connection with the proposed Christmas ceasefire and prisoner exchange in Ukraine, the foreign minister said in Sofia on Friday. Péter Szijjártó said the war has been under way for more than a thousand days in the neighbouring country, and Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election had given new hope to the world that the war could end. “Christmas is approaching, and when we talk about Christmas, peace gets special emphasis, which is why Hungarian diplomacy — with the prime minister surely taking the lead — took some serious steps recently in order to improve the situation for people living in the affected area, even before the war finally ends,” Szijjártó said.

“We have therefore proposed a Christmas ceasefire and a large exchange of prisoners, so that more people can celebrate Christmas at home and in peace even in that part of the world,” he added. “We presented this proposal to President Putin and and to several Russian government officials who received it basically in a positive and open manner, demonstrating an openness to considering the proposal and carrying out the related talks,” Szijjártó said.

“Unfortunately, the president of Ukraine rejected the opportunity to negotiate … but we are still hoping that common sense and humanity will prevail, and as many people will celebrate Christmas in peace, calm, safety and at home, also in the eastern part of Europe, as possible,” he added. Commenting on the situation in Syria, he said Hungary had a vested interest in the stability of the Middle Eastern country because if it faltered, a new wave of illegal migrants may be triggered.

Hungary will make every effort at international platforms in order to restore stability and protect Christian communities, so that extremist organisations and ideologies do not gain control in the area, he added. He also said that in such situations political players must ensure that they make statements in a responsible manner because fake news could have tragic consequences. “Unfortunately, several persons from the worlds of media and politics acted very irresponsibly, which proved that they are unfit to fulfil more serious positions,” he said.

“To give the impression that the Syrian president was in Hungary after a series of events carried out with the involvement of terrorist organisations and extremist groups posed very serious risks to Hungary, and to Hungarian people regardless of where they lived in the world,” he added. “I believe that those who spread such fake news solely for political sensation-seeking and profiting, have proved that they were not suitable for any serious position, and if they were to fulfil a serious position, they would pose a very serious danger to Hungary and to the Hungarian people,” Szijjártó said.

Read also:

• A surge of Ukrainian refugees: the disappearing Hungarian identity in Transcarpathia – read more HERE
• FM Szijjártó continues peace mission: he negotiated with Lavrov in Malta

Featured image: depositphotos.com