Hungarian Minority in Ukraine: Transcarpathia and the Erased Rights

The Transcarpathian region (Zakarpattia, in the far west of Ukraine) is home to a large ethnic Hungarian community , estimated at around 150,000 people. This mountainous land, once part of the Crown of Hungary and then Czechoslovakia, passed to the Soviet Union after World War II and finally to Ukraine in 1945, on the basis of a treaty with Prague. For Budapest, the cultural survival of these "Hungarian brothers" is a historical duty, while on the Ukrainian side Transcarpathia is often seen as just a periphery to be controlled within the broader national cohesion.

In recent years , the government in Kiev has taken measures that have attracted strong criticism from the Hungarian side . After 2014, the 2012 law on linguistic minorities was abolished, which guaranteed the teaching of the native language (e.g. Hungarian) in local schools and courts if the minority exceeded 10% of the population. In 2017, a new law on education further reduced the space for minority languages: only primary school can be taught in Hungarian, while from secondary school onwards it is mandatory to study in Ukrainian . In response, thousands of Hungarians have obtained Budapest passports (it is estimated that over 90,000 Hungarian citizens were born in Transcarpathia since 2014), while Kiev prohibits dual citizenship.

• Erasure of historical linguistic status : higher education is now compulsorily taught in Ukrainian.

• Dual citizenship banned : Kiev punishes simultaneous possession of Hungarian and Ukrainian passports as treason.

• Forced recruitment : According to Budapest, the Ukrainian administration had pressured young Hungarians to renounce their native language and join the national army.

These policies are perceived by the Hungarian government as a direct affront to the rights of its ethnic community outside its national borders . The fact that the Ukrainian authorities have included Hungarian citizens in the controversial “Myrotvorets” database – which collects information on individuals considered hostile to the Ukrainian state – has fueled resentment over a systematic discriminatory campaign against the Hungarian minority . The line adopted by Kiev therefore takes on the characteristics of coercive nationalism , which not only ignores the obligations provided for by international treaties on the protection of minorities, but also represses cultural pluralism in the name of identity centralization.

Just think of the Italian case of Alto Adige: the German linguistic issue, although delicate, has been addressed with institutional intelligence through special autonomy and the equal use of German in schools and public administration. But what is happening in Ukraine is even more serious: it is not only the suppression of minority languages ​​such as Hungarian, but also a repression of the Russian-speaking identity, which constitutes a substantial part of the country's population. In fact, we are witnessing a double discrimination, which has contributed to exacerbating ethnic tensions and fueling the secessionist push in the eastern regions of Donbass and, as we see today, also in Transcarpathia.

Souring relations and espionage accusations

The differences took a diplomatic turn when, on May 9, 2025, the Ukrainian security services (SBU) announced that they had dismantled a spy network attributed to Hungarian military intelligence in the Transcarpathian region ( According to the SBU, the agents, recruited locally, were tasked with collecting data on Ukrainian defenses and " studying the reaction of the local population in the event of a hypothetical entry of Hungarian troops into the territory." In response, Kiev immediately expelled two Hungarian diplomats , citing the defense of "national interests."

Budapest reversed the accusation, calling the whole episode “propaganda” and taking similar measures: Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced the expulsion of two Ukrainian officials from Budapest in retaliation for each other.

But these were not simple judicial arrests. These arrests were carried out with the use of special military units and war vehicles , including armored vehicles. All of this was carried out with brutal force and in a spectacular manner . The aim of this show of force was not only operational, but also communicative : to convey the message that Hungary considers these arrests part of a military action , not a simple police act.

In this context, the perception is that the level of confrontation is high. Military force is already being used in field operations , even if a formal war has not yet been declared. The political message behind all this is that Hungary sees itself as already involved in a conflict with the Zelensky “regime” , using very ‘direct’ language to justify drastic and dangerous actions.

This point represents a change of phase , from diplomatic confrontation to direct force actions , making the scenario even more precarious and raising in some sources the prospect of a real invasion.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has branded the arrests as “ an attack by Ukrainian intelligence ” aimed at discrediting the government in Budapest. Regarding the alleged military plan, Szijjártó said he had not received any official communication from Kiev and urged people to take the Ukrainian claims “with caution,” accusing the government of using the spy dossier as a pretext to strike at Hungary.

The authorities in Budapest denounce that there are geopolitical motivations behind this affair: the Hungarian nationalist opposition accuses Kiev of wanting to distract from internal problems and of threatening the Transcarpathian Magyars, while Ukraine speaks of “ Greater Hungary” and plans for hegemony. In this context, even a meeting already scheduled between the deputy foreign ministers – aimed at discussing the rights of minorities – was cancelled at the last minute by Budapest due to “lack of constructive conditions”. For the Hungarian government, the affair of the “spies” appears to be a ploy to block dialogue on the real problems of Transcarpathia.

Budapest's view and peace strategy

Behind the rhetoric of defending Ukrainian national unity, Budapest claims to be aiming solely at protecting its minority and peace on the continent. Prime Minister Orbán has repeatedly stated that defending compatriots abroad is not revanchism, but a moral imperative, and that Hungary calls for an immediate ceasefire to accelerate peace negotiations in the East (as a corollary to his visit to Kiev in July 2024). On the Hungarian agenda there are no explicit territorial claims , but rather the recognition of identity choices and funding for the Magyar schools of Transcarpathia , as is already happening today through foundations supported by Budapest.

According to György Dunda, editor-in-chief of the local Hungarian daily newspaper Kiszo , the citizens of Transcarpathia (including Hungarians) feel support from Hungarian society, but there are no indications of a mass movement for return to Hungary.

According to Budapest, however, the West – and the European Union in particular – are pushing Ukraine along a warmongering and pro-Atlantic path that ignores the real needs of the population. The country has for years been the only one in Western NATO to keep open channels with Moscow, and has repeatedly vetoed European plans for sanctions and military aid to Kiev to defend its economic interests (as in the recent gas negotiations or in supplies to nuclear energy Paks). Many pro-Hungarian commentators note that Budapest only agreed under strong pressure to approve aid to Kiev and has explicitly asked the Commission and allies to review their military strategy in Ukraine.

In this vein, Minister Szijjártó has played on pacifist sentiments: at European summits he has denounced that "European politicians in favor of war" do not take into account the people's desire for peace . Invited to reflect on the future of Europe, he has stressed that Hungarian and European citizens "want peace" and that the EU must put an end to the "atmosphere of war". This anti-war position is also taken up in Budapest's internal propaganda, where it is warned that the EU, by opening up to Kiev, would end up importing problems such as corruption and criminal infiltration onto its territory. In essence, according to analysts close to Budapest, the crisis between Ukraine and Hungary is fueled by the push of the Euro-Atlantic globalist apparatuses, which force Kiev to ignore internal ethnic problems in order to project the conflict onto a broader ideological level.

Wider contrasts…

Tensions between Hungary and Ukraine in Transcarpathia are a symptom of broader contrasts: on the one hand, Ukrainian civic nationalism driven by Atlantic forces; on the other, Hungarian sovereignist claims linked to ethnic minorities. Budapest presents itself as the defender of those Hungarians “abandoned” in the former Soviet bloc, denouncing Kiev’s linguistic and cultural discrimination. At the same time, Hungary aims to consolidate internal consensus with patriotic anti-EU tones, denouncing the inertia of supranational institutions that, according to Orban, persist in favoring the line of war rather than negotiating a lasting peace.

This critical narrative highlights how, in today's Europe, minority issues can transform into new diplomatic "fronts". The Transcarpathian knot is presented by Budapest more as a cry of alarm against a warmongering globalization that overwhelms small peoples, than as a danger of territorialist expansion. In any case, the situation remains fluid: if on the one hand governments continue to accuse each other of causing instability, on the other hand the debate on the future of Europe, on the need for peace and on the true meaning of "protecting" an ethnic minority beyond national borders is also growing in Hungary.

*** UPDATE There is also news of Hungarian 'movements of armored vehicles, howitzers and tanks' towards the border on 5 directions, but this news has not yet been authoritatively confirmed. There are only a few videos but on the other hand there are sources that say that these could be recycled or speculative videos, such as those related to the MILEX 2025 exercise, which took place between March and April 2025.

Orban has sent tanks and armored vehicles to the border with Ukraine. The Hungarian prime minister is probably fed up with the violence that the Nazi of Kiev is inflicting on the Hungarian minorities in the country. Zelensky is surrounded. pic.twitter.com/eXpmijAOWf

— @CesareSacchetti (@CesareSacchetti) May 13, 2025

***

Appendix: Sources

• Defense Analysis – “The Ukrainian ‘Western Front’: Espionage, Expulsions and Tensions between Budapest and Kiev” (10 May 2025) – ( ​​https://www.analisidifesa.it/2025/05/il-fronte-occidentale-ucraino-spionaggio-e-tensioni-tra-budapest-e-kiev/):contentReference[oaicite:29]{index=29}:contentReference[oaicite:30]{index=30} .

• Valigiablu – “The diplomatic war between Hungary and Ukraine: a new front of destabilization in Europe” (9 May 2025) – ( ​​https://www.valigiablu.it/ungheria-uraina-spie-diplomatici/):contentReference[oaicite:31]{index=31}:contentReference[oaicite:32]{index=32} .

• East Journal – “Hungary and Ukraine at loggerheads again over Transcarpathia” (February 2, 2021) – ( ​​https://www.eastjournal.net/archives/114601):contentReference[oaicite:33]{index=33}:contentReference[oaicite:34]{index=34} .

• Il Fatto Quotidiano – “Ukraine, Hungary vetoes new sanctions against Russia” (May 27, 2024) – ( ​​https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2024/05/27/uraina-veto-dellungheria-su-nuove-sanzioni-alla-russia/):contentReference[oaicite:35]{index=35} .

• Il Fatto Quotidiano – “Orban in Ukraine from Zelensky: 'Immediate ceasefire…'” (July 2, 2024) – ( https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2024/07/02/orban-vola-in-uraina-da-zelensky-si-parlera-di-pace-primo-atto-dovuto-della-presidenza-ungherese-dellue/7608426/):contentReference[oaicite:36]{index=36} .

• DayItalianNews – “Espionage Accusations Against Hungary: Kiev Dismantles Network in Western Ukraine” (May 9, 2025) – ( ​​https://www.dayitalianews.com/accuse-di-spionaggio-allungheria-kiev-smantella-una-rete-nellovest-dellucraina/):contentReference[oaicite:37]{index=37}:contentReference[oaicite:38]{index=38} .

• Al Jazeera – “Ukraine and Hungary each expel diplomats in tit-for-tat espionage row” (9 May 2025) – ( https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/9/ukraine-accuses-duo-of-running-hungarian-spy-network):contentReference[oaicite:39]{index=39}:contentReference[oaicite:40]{index=40} .

• Wikipedia – “Military occupations of the Soviet Union” (consulted 2025) – ( https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupazioni_militari_dell%27Unione_Sovietica):contentReference[oaicite:41]{index=41} (post-1945 history of Transcarpathia).