The Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian ambassador to Budapest on Thursday. This happened in connection with the Russian drone attacks, which also hit the area near the border with Hungary in Ukraine. It was reported by the AP agency, according to which it is a clear example of a radical turn in relations with Moscow after the accession of Prime Minister Péter Magyar.
- Hungary summoned the Russian ambassador for drone attacks near the border.
- Russian attacks hit Ukrainian Zakarpattia, where a large Hungarian minority lives.
- Anita Orbán described the Russian attacks on Transcarpathia as absolutely unacceptable.
- Volodymyr Zelenskyi welcomed the Hungarian government’s move as an important political signal.
Orbánová: It is absolutely unacceptable for Hungary that Russia is now attacking Transcarpathia
An AP reporter saw Ambassador Yevgenij Stanislavov leaving the Hungarian ministry less than 30 minutes after arriving. The Head of Diplomacy, Anita Orbán, summoned him for an interview about the attacks that also hit Ukraine’s Zakarpattia region on Wednesday, where a large Hungarian minority lives.
“I told the Russian ambassador that it is absolutely unacceptable for Hungary that they are now attacking Transcarpathia, the home of the Hungarian minority,” Orbán said on the social network after the meeting. “I emphasized that Russia should do everything for an immediate ceasefire and a peaceful and permanent end to the war as soon as possible,” she added.
The Russian government has not publicly commented on the ambassador’s summons.
Zelensky talks about an important signal
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi called it an “important signal” and thanked Magyar for his comments. “Moscow has once again shown itself to be a common threat not only to Ukraine, but also to neighboring countries and the whole of Europe,” Zelenskyy wrote on social networks.
According to the hang.hu server, Magyar told reporters on Wednesday that it was the most violent attack to hit the Transcarpathian region since the war broke out. “Hungarian railway workers also had to go to shelters because they were at the station in Čop. The Hungarian government condemns the Russian attack and Anita Orbán summoned the Russian ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday morning,” the prime minister added.
Gulyás: Hungarians from the Transcarpathian region are not to blame for the war
The chairman of the parliamentary faction of the Fidesz opposition party, Gergely Gulyás, also reacted to the news of the attack, condemning Russia’s actions. “Hungarians from the Transcarpathian region are not to blame for the war. We condemn the Russian drone attack as emphatically as possible and consider it unacceptable,” the 24.hu server quoted him as saying.
Less than a year ago, Mukachevo was hit by a Russian missile attack, and the Fidesz government at that time was not so quick to condemn the Russian attack. President Tamás Sulyok expressed “deep condolences to the victims of the Russian missile attack on Mukachevo” on Facebook, but shortly afterwards he edited his post and removed the word Russian from it, the server recalled.
