Ukraine to Summon Hungarian Ambassador Over Prime Minister's Controversial Scarf

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to summon the Hungarian ambassador in Kyiv and officially protest against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's scarf that features a map including portions of Ukrainian territory. Ukrainian media outlets have published a photo of Orbán with football players, where the scarf he wore depicted a map of Hungary, which included sections of Austria, Slovakia, Romania, Croatia, Serbia, and Ukraine.

The newspaper "Ukrainskaya Pravda" reported that the map represents the vision of Hungarian nationalists for a "Greater Hungary." Orbán was wearing the scarf at a friendly football match in Budapest between Hungary and Greece, which ended with a score of 21-1 in favor of the hosts.

Oleg Nikolenko, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated on Facebook that Ukraine demands an apology and assurances that Hungary does not have territorial ambitions towards Ukraine. In response, Viktor Orbán indirectly addressed the Ukrainians’ demands on Facebook, writing that "football is not politics, do not try to see nonexistent things; the Hungarian national team belongs to all Hungarians, regardless of which country they live in." There are significant Hungarian communities in the countries mentioned.

Hungary has repeatedly claimed that the rights of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine are being violated, particularly their rights to speak their native language and receive education. This criticism intensified after Ukraine adopted a law in 2017 that restricted the use of languages of national minorities in schools.