Report: Hungary finally gives green light to Ukraine’s ambassador, who serves in army
Hungarian president Katalin Novak on Tuesday gave formal approval for a new Ukrainian ambassador, months after Kyiv sent a request, local TV channel ATV reported.
Fedir Shandor, a university professor from the Zakarpattia region in western Ukraine, with a Hungarian national minority, is expected to start his diplomatic tenure in Budapest in the coming weeks.
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He enrolled in the Ukrainian army as a volunteer in February 2022, after Russia’s full-scale invasion, and became famous for giving lectures to students from the trenches.
While Ukraine reportedly sought the agrément, meaning a formal approval of a new ambassador, back in March, the delay has reportedly been due to the fact that "Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not been available to Katalin Novak for several months".
The agrément is now expected to be countersigned by the Hungarian foreign minister.
Relations between Kyiv and Budapest have soured in recent years, particularly due to disagreements over education and language rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine.
While Hungary has so far approved all EU sanctions packages, its leadership, including prime minister Victor Orban, have repeatedly called for the restrictions to be lifted, arms supplies to Ukraine to be stopped, and peace negotiations to begin as soon as possible.
