The Zakarpattia Oblast holds special significance for Hungarians. It is a territory that lies on the border of Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary. Historically, the territory has been part of Hungary several times. It is inhabited by a Hungarian minority, currently estimated at around 75,000-80,000.

Transcarpathia is an area of political rivalry between Hungarian political parties, especially now, less than a year before the parliamentary elections, which will likely take place in April. This rivalry is aimed not only at caring for citizens but also at particular political interests – the diaspora has always supported Fidesz, and the opposition would like to change this balance.

Although data on the nationalities of those injured in the Russian attack (at least 16 people) are not disclosed, it is highly probable that those injured also include people of Hungarian origin. It is worth noting that the news about the attack was not the first in the Hungarian media. The pro-government media placed it somewhere in the middle of the portal, sometimes only in the"Ukrainian-Russian war" tab.

The Hungarian president's contortions

Although it is obvious that Russia carried out the attack, the statement sent the Hungarian President's office into a tizzy. The first post on President Tamás Sulyok's profile appeared at 8:35 a.m., in which the president wrote:

"I express my deepest sympathy to those injured in the Russian missile attack on Mukachevo, wishing them a speedy recovery and full convalescence. The fastest possible end to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is in the interest of all of us. I believe that the warring parties will be able to understand this and, thanks to the efforts of international diplomacy, will soon put an end to this inhuman and senseless bloodshed."

In the edited version at 9:33, the phrase"Russian missile attack" was removed, replacing it with"missile attack."

What is also worth noting in this entry is the president's statement about the "warring sides" - once again, the Hungarian president does not point to the perpetrator of the war.

Russia? What Russia?

The second speaker was Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó at 10:53 a.m. This timeline is important because information about the attack had been available since at least six a.m.

"The news coming from Ukraine this morning confirms once again that peace is urgently needed! Everyone must make every effort to conclude a peace agreement to end the war as soon as possible! This is the only way to prevent further bloodshed and destruction."

Of course, the phrase"news coming from Ukraine this morning" made it possible not to blame Russia for the attack.

Viktor Orbán enters the stage

The last official to speak was Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who did so at 5:17 p.m.

"At today's government meeting we discussed the consequences of the Russian missile attack on Mukachevo. (…) Péter Szijjártó spoke with representatives of the Hungarians from Transcarpathia, to whom we also offered the Hungarian government's assistance. Efforts for peace and the negotiation process initiated by President Trump must continue. Only peace!"

Orbán wrote directly about the Russian attack, distinguishing himself from the president. He likely did so because of public sentiment and the widely commented"erasing" of the Russian attack from President Sulyok's post. However, even naming the perpetrator didn't sway the condemnation of Russia.

Orbán commented on the attack five and a half hours after his biggest rival, Péter Magyar from the TISZA party, did the same. He naturally had to refer to Magyar in some way (i.e., write about the Russian attack). The opposition leader wrote:"It is with deep sadness that we received the news of the Russian missile attack on the city of Mukachevo, and thus on our Hungarian compatriots. We wish a speedy recovery to those injured! (...)".

Magyar didn't publish his post until 11:45 a.m., which is an unusually long delay. It's hard not to consider this action deliberate. Péter Magyar had already seen the mood resonating among his constituents in response to the propaganda version of his posts. This allowed him to tailor his message and tailor it to his electorate.

As we wrote, the approach towards Ukraine of TISZA and Fidesz is not distant, and voters of both parties react very similarly.

The leader of the far-right party Mi Hazánk, a potential coalition partner for Fidesz after the elections, stated that the shelling was de facto Ukraine's fault, and that it itself had started the war."If the Ukrainian regime had not trampled on international law for decades and had adhered to the results of the 1991 referendum in Ukraine, Russian soldiers would not have bombed the plant in Mukachevo (...)." His tirade appeared at 1:28 p.m.

"The inhabitants of Zakarpattia would not have to take part in a war that does not concern them at all and which broke out due to Ukrainian provocations supported by the West (among others, it was the victim of 50 pro-Russian civilians in Odessa in 2014)."

He also added: "It is a shame that apart from the Mi Hazánk party no Hungarian party is demanding autonomy! Instead, they hypocritically wish a speedy recovery to the wounded from Mukachevo and use this sad case for liberal-globalist, anti-Russian propaganda (...)".

The person who reacted to the events in Ukraine the fastest was Klára Dobrev from the Democratic Coalition. At 9:00 a.m., she wrote that"Putin should go to hell with his aggression. And take Viktor Orbán with him if the Hungarian prime minister still prefers to pat the Russian dictator on the back after the attack on Mukachevo." She added that if the prime minister doesn't condemn Russia, he will"prove once again that he is just a puppet of Putin."

The attack on Transcarpathia has a significant political dimension. Russia bombed a region that was supposed to have a special status, guaranteed by Hungarian-Russian relations. The point is that Transcarpathia is one of the arguments defending Hungary's stance in the Russian-Ukrainian war. The failure to deliver weapons, as well as the ban on their transit through Hungarian territory, was justified by both Viktor Orbán and, in recent interviews, his biggest rival, Péter Magyar, in terms of the welfare of the diaspora in Transcarpathia and the need to protect the region from attacks.

So far a rocket has hit Zakarpattia once - on May 3, 2022, when a railway substation near Volovets was shot down.

If we take this perspective, the attack puts the prime minister in a difficult position, yet he is completely oblivious to it. On the other hand, the fact that the attack was carried out against an American company could be interpreted as a slap in the face to Trump after the talks in Alaska. Flex itself stated in a statement that it remains in contact with the US government. It also emphasized that the factory attacked by Russia does not and has never played any role in military production. It also noted that while"the incident is of great significance to our Flex colleagues, this facility generates approximately 1% of the company's revenue."

The media (mainly pro-government) strongly resonated with an interview with an expert from the National University of Civil Service, who stated that the attack is not related to the peace talks, because such actions are planned weeks in advance, also due to the need to"program" the devices.

Dominik Héjj