Ukraine’s ambassador in Hungary, Sándor Fegyir, has claimed that Hungarians are reacting too emotionally to the Russian disinformation campaign, but had nothing to say about the videos of brutal forced conscription that are considered authentic.
Citing a report out of Rzeczpospolita, Mandiner says that Fegyir believes Russia is conducting a disinformation campaign in Hungary to exacerbate Hungarian-Ukrainian tensions.
According to the ambassador, the Russian embassy and media are actively participating in these efforts.
“The Hungarian side often reacts emotionally to false information, so authentic information and patience are of utmost importance,” Fegyir said, adding that Moscow’s goal is not only to incite military, but also diplomatic, economic, and social conflicts.
However, Fegyir had nothing to say regarding the videos showing the brutal and inhumane forced conscription taking place in Ukraine and whether these were part of the Russian disinformation campaign.
Tensions between Hungary and Ukraine have been high ever since the start of the war in Ukraine, which Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has resisted, refusing to send weapons and pushing for a ceasefire since 2022. Even before this conflict, issues with language and other rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine were a constant point of contention.
Earlier this month, concerns over ethnic Hungarians being targeted for conscription reached a new high following the death of József Sebestyén. The 45-year-old ethnic Hungarian man from Transcarpathia was allegedly beaten by Ukrainian recruiters during a forced conscription attempt.
Hungary summoned Ukraine’s ambassador to Budapest at the time over the “outrageous” incident.
“A country where this could happen cannot be a member of the EU,” Orbán said at the time on Kossuth Radio.
