Іhor Todorov
Doctor of History, Full Professor, Department of International Studies and Social Communications, Uzhhorod National University
ORCID: 0000-0003-0986-9485
DOI: 10.37837/2707-7683-2021-43
Abstract. The article is devoted to the activity of the Ukrainian diplomatic mission in Hungary in the context of countering Russian aggression. In particular, the author examines the involvement of the Ukrainian embassy in the Hungarian media to convey the truth about Russian invasion of Ukraine and describes Ukrainian events in Hungary aimed at informing the country about Russian aggression.
It has been proven that Russian aggression against Ukraine has significantly affected security in Central and Eastern Europe, the region still seen by the Kremlin as its own sphere of influence. It has been found that in Hungarian society it is difficult to prove that Russia is not a problematic neighbour with whom it is possible to negotiate but an ‘existential enemy’, whose goal is the complete demolition of the Ukrainian state, the destruction of the European Union and NATO. From the very beginning, Russian invasion of Ukraine has had the character of a civilisational clash and, more broadly, the ‘Ukrainian front’ in the war of civilisations. That is why in the narratives, including those for Hungary, there were and remain distorted evaluations of the Revolution of Dignity as a fascist coup initiated by the EU and NATO; of the attempted annexation of Crimea as a natural step of Russia left with no other option; of the occupation of Donetsk and Luhansk regions and the establishment of puppet regimes of ‘DPR/LPR’ as a result of the ‘internal Ukrainian conflict’; of the implementation of the Minsk Agreements according to the Russian scenario, including through a direct dialogue between Kyiv and Donetsk and Lugansk; of Russia’s denial of the downing of MH17 and violations of navigation rules in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, etc. Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the activities of the Embassy of Ukraine have been aimed at persuading the Hungarian authorities and Hungarian society to stop de facto interpreting the Russian Federation as a democratic and civilised state. Victory over Russian aggression, including hybrid aggression, is possible only by consolidating the West (including Ukraine as its integral part) on the basis of common liberal-democratic values, which need to be protected and propagated in the current geopolitical conditions of turmoil and uncertainty.
Keywords: Russian aggression, Ukrainian-Hungarian relations, common values, Hungarian mass media, Embassy of Ukraine in Hungary.
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