Szijjártó offers assistance to ethnic Hungarians of Zakarpattia after Russian strike on Mukachevo – Orbán

The Hungarian side offered assistance to Ukrainian citizens of Hungarian nationality after the Russian occupiers struck the city of Mukachevo in Zakarpattia region on Thursday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said.

"At today's government meeting, we discussed the consequences of the Russian missile strike on Mukachevo. I instructed the Minister of the Interior to prepare hospitals in Debrecen and Nyíregyháza to receive the wounded. Thank God, this was not necessary. Péter Szijjártó [Hungarian Foreign Minister] spoke with representatives of Hungarians in Zakarpattia, to whom we also offered assistance from the Hungarian government," Orbán said on Facebook.

In turn, Hungarian President Tamás Szujók expressed his "deep condolences to the victims of the missile strike on Mukachevo" on his page. He initially wrote "Russian missile strike" but later edited the post and removed the word "Russian" which caused a wave of indignation and discussion in the comments.

"I wish them a speedy recovery and full recovery. An immediate cessation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is in our interests. I am confident that the warring parties are able to understand this and, thanks to international diplomatic efforts, will soon put an end to this inhuman and senseless massacre," Szujók said.

As reported, the Russian occupiers struck the plant of the U.S. company FLEX in Mukachevo at night. The city was under attack by the Russian army for the first time during a full-scale invasion. Thanks to the detailed measures for responding to air raids, all 600 workers who were on shift at the time went down to shelter in time, which saved their lives. In total, 19 injured people aged 22 to 63 were reported. After examination, six citizens remained in hospital, one of them is in serious condition.

According to the only census conducted in Ukraine since independence in 2001, 8.5% of Mukachevo residents and 12.1% of the population of the entire Zakarpattia region indicated their Hungarian nationality.