The increasingly bitter diplomatic conflict between Hungary and Ukraine reached a new level this week, when Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Levente Magyar said that Ukraine has compiled a “death list” of Hungarians living in Transcarpathia (Western Ukraine). Mr. Magyar added that on the website of Ukraine’s parliament, people are advocating for the mass deportation of those ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine with dual citizenship. Further, the Minister of State warned that Ukraine is preparing to station soldiers near the border with Hungary.
Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the Ukrainian ambassador in Budapest, adding that “Ukraine’s anti-Hungarian politics have reached a new level.”
Levente Magyar
What we know for certain is that several hundred civil servants in Ukraine with Hungarian citizenship will be subjected to a new background check and that authorities plan to use a list published by a nationalist Ukrainian website entitled Mirotvorec of some 313 individuals with Hungarian citizenship. The far-right website sees as its mission to “uncover” and then publish the personal data of people it feels are enemies of the Ukrainian nation. As HVG noted, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó is himself on this list, as he is perceived by Ukrainian nationalists to disrespect Ukraine’s national sovereignty.
The published list is undoubtedly disturbing for all those nationals of Ukraine who have now had their home address, full name, date of birth and Hungarian passport numbers disclosed by these right-wing extremists.
Precisely why Ukrainian authorities decided to take action and begin background checks based on this list is a mystery, as an estimated 300,000 Ukrainian nationals are believed to hold dual citizenship as it is. At the moment, Ukraine cannot take legal action against these ethnic Hungarians, although one wonders whether they may find other grounds to justify their dismissal from the civil service.
Mirotvorec has close connections to the current Ukrainian government. Founder Georgy Tuka serves as Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories. Mr. Magyar may not be unjustified in referring to the list they publish as a “death list.” Shortly after journalist Oles Buzina and parliamentarian Oleg Kalashnikov were added to the list, they were both murdered.
