Two far-right parties in NATO nations have laid claim to swaths of Ukraine, expressing their desire to seize portions of the country and perhaps exploiting a hypothetical victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his forces fighting there.
Over the past week, leaders of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) and the Hungarian Our Homeland Movement have both raised the possibility of annexing parts of western Ukraine, citing territorial claims dating back hundreds of years. The claims come as the Ukraine-Russia conflict nears its two-year anniversary.
Newsweek has contacted the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry by email to request comment on both parties’ claims.
Claudiu Târziu, one of the leaders of the AUR, said in a speech last week: “We will not be truly sovereign until after we restore the Romanian state within its natural borders.” He said these would include the western Ukrainian regions of Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and Transcarpathia. The Hungarian regions are home to significant Romanian and Hungarian minorities.
“Bessarabia must come home,” Târziu said. “Northern Bukovina cannot be forgotten, southern Bessarabia, the land of Hertsa, Transcarpathia, everything that was and is of the Romanian nation must return to the borders of the state.” Târziu added: “Our goal is for Romania to be one of the leading countries in the world.”
SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images
László Toroczkai, leader of the Our Homeland Movement, likewise set his sights on Transcarpathia, which comprises Ukraine’s westernmost Zakarpattia oblast.
“Regarding the war in Ukraine, our message is very simple: immediate ceasefire, peace and a resolution through talks,” Toroczkai said in a video posted on his party’s website.
“If this war ends up with Ukraine losing its statehood, because this is also on the cards, then, as the only Hungarian party taking this position, let me signal that we lay claim to Transcarpathia.”
Such territorial claims are not new, particularly among the nationalist far-right in both countries. However, such sentiment extends into the mainstream, too. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, for example, angered both Romania and Ukraine in November 2022 by wearing a soccer scarf bearing a map of an expanded Hungary.
Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and the chair of the body’s foreign affairs committee, told Newsweek the simultaneous territorial claims are a concern for Ukraine because of the timing.
“Russia is trying to start an offensive,” Merezhko said. “This is exactly what Putin wants. I don’t rule out that these statements might be somehow coordinated. At the same time, I don’t see—as of now—strong reaction to these unacceptable statements from the authorities in Hungary and Romania.”
“Such statements are dangerous especially now,” Merezhko added. “They undermine trust.”
The Kremlin routinely seeks to weaponize European far-right and far-left parties in its efforts to destabilize Western capitals. George Simion, a co-leader of the AUR, has previously been accused by Ukrainian intelligence of past ties with the Russian security services.
Both the AUR and Our Homeland Movement have traditionally espoused pro-Russia views. The latter has described Ukraine as an unfriendly country and urged Kyiv to give up the land occupied by Moscow’s forces in exchange for peace. The AUR has pushed back against Romanian military support for Ukraine, asserting that the war is “not ours.”
Tense Ukrainian-Hungarian relations pre-date Moscow’s full-scale invasion, undermined by a long-running dispute over the rights of the Hungarian minority living in western Ukraine.
PETER KOHALMI/AFP via Getty Images
The enmity has deepened since Russia’s attack on February 2022 due to Orbán’s “spoiler” role within the European Union and NATO. The right-wing populist leader has repeatedly sought to block or water down EU sanctions and is still standing in the way of NATO enlargement to include Sweden.
Bucharest has been a key partner for Kyiv since February 2022, providing a wide range of weapons and supplies to Ukraine’s defenders and serving as a vital conduit for Western aid and Ukrainian exports.
This pro-Ukraine stance may be challenged later this year and next via presidential and parliamentary elections. The AUR is polling second behind the Social Democratic Party, which, with the support of the center-right National Liberal Party, leads the ruling coalition under Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.