Hungary: Obstruction of Weapons Flow to Ukraine Continues

On July 19, multiple Ukrainian media outlets reported that Hungary, which has distanced itself from Russia’s war on Ukraine, had decided to allow the transit of weapons to Ukraine via its territory.

However, the country, which borders the Ukrainian region of Transcarpathia, has since refuted these claims.

According to the latest reports, Hungarian journalists asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to clarify the country’s position regarding transit

In its official response on July 20, the Ministry wrote, “Hungary’s stance on weapons delivery has been clear from the outset: we will not send our soldiers or weapons, and we will not allow the weapon transit to cross the border between Hungary and Ukraine,” adding that “our stance remains intact. All other news that claims otherwise do not reflect the reality.”

The Ministry explained that their decision is explained by fears that it would “undermine Transcarpathia’s security and put the Hungarian people at risk.”

This is not the first time Hungary is citing Transcarpathia, which is home to 150,000 ethnic Hungarians that received Hungarian passports during Viktor Orban’s rule, as its reason for obstructing help.

At the beginning of July, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó claimed that Russia would be targeting such weapon deliveries, which is why Budapest is not willing to help Kyiv.

Over the years, the relations between Kyiv and Budapest have been marred by multiple disputes, with Hungary criticizing Ukrainian education law, which, according to Budapest, violates the rights of the Transcarpathian ethnic minorities. Ukraine has denied this and blamed their differences on Orban’s friendship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Budapest’s scarcely veiled pro-Russian stance.