Hungary welcomes Ukrainian parliament's statement on 1944-1946 repressions in Zakarpattia

Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada unanimously adopted, with 261 votes, a statement on September 3 recognizing and condemning crimes committed by the Soviet military administration in the Zakarpattia region between 1944 and 1946. Hungary's Foreign Ministry welcomed the decision.

The ministry recalled that during those years, Soviet occupation authorities arrested and deported tens of thousands of Hungarian- and German-speaking men aged 18 to 50 into the depths of the Soviet Union. The men were subjected to forced labor known as "malenkiy robot" ("little work"). Thousands died due to inhumane detention and working conditions.

The Hungarian ministry stated that the Ukrainian parliament's decision is a fitting tribute to the memory of the victims and an important step toward reckoning with the Soviet past and establishing the truth about these events. Hungary also stressed that it firmly condemns all forms of ethnic discrimination and persecution.

The ministry added that Hungary respectfully welcomes and highly values Ukraine's decision and is ready to cooperate both in further establishing the truth about the past and in preserving and honoring the memory of the victims.

Hungary's parliament also welcomed the Verkhovna Rada's statement, but called on Ukraine to implement, as soon as possible and in full, the agreement on minority rights. That agreement is linked to Ukraine's path toward European Union membership.