Seemingly in an effort to defuse Hungarian-Ukrainian tensions, Ukraine may send an ethnic Hungarian currently fighting in the war as the country’s ambassador to Budapest, news portal HVG reports.
The information was first announced by Hungarian investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi in a tweet where he wrote that “(Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky is considering to appoint Sandor Fedir as Ukraine’s ambassador to Hungary, sources tell me (it’s not a done deal yet). Fedir is a university professor of Hungarian ethnicity who became famous for giving lectures from the battlefield.”
Mariya Mezenceva, a Ukrainian MP active in European integration issues, did not confirm the news to hvg.hu, but told the paper that they are thinking about sending a new ambassador to Budapest. They want someone with Hungarian roots and a background in social sciences. Hungarian diplomatic sources also confirmed to the paper that they had discussed Fegyir with the Ukrainians.
It is known that the name of the ethnic Hungarian, who teaches at the University of Uzhhorod (Ungvár), came to the attention of the media when he joined the Ukrainian army as a volunteer immediately after the Russian attack and then posted photos on his social networking site of him giving lessons from the front, complete with cannon fire heard in the background.
In a subsequent tweet, Panyi confirmed the news of Fegyir’s appointment:
As Remix News reported, NATO recently convened a ministerial meeting on Ukraine without the approval of Hungary, which is still seeking equal conditions for the oppressed ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine.
