Yevhen Mahda: Zuzana is not only the name of the President of Slovakia, but also the name of the 155-caliber howitzer
02.12.2022
Yevhen Mahda
The countries of Visegrad group (V4), how important were they, and will be in the long-term for support of Ukraine both during current conflict and beyond, and not only in the military-political aspect? To what extent the integrity and coordination of this support is affected by the “Hungarian” factor, both from a Ukrainian and an objective point of view? The Newssky asked Yevhen Mahda, director of the Institute of World Policy to comment.
The situation in the Visegrad Four group in the contest of the Russian-Ukrainian war can be titled as a typical reflection of the Old-Worldsentiment regarding this challenge. However, a certain piquancy of the situation is added not only by the V4 countries being neighbors with Ukraine, but also by the unsuccessful desire to create a “V4 + 1” format.
Poland looks like the undisputed leader when it comes to supporting Ukraine, although the Czech Republic has accepted proportionally more Ukrainian refugees on its territory. However, it was Warsaw that became an active player of support for Ukraine in the global context, in particular, Andrzej Duda directly campaigned for granting Ukraine the candidate status for EU membership. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki visited Ukraine four times this year, and even Jaroslaw Kaczynski visited Ukraine twice. Still, it is much more important that millions of ordinary Poles support Ukraine, as they understand very well the scenarios in the event of a hypothetical defeat of Ukrainian state.
Relationships within the Czech government did not allow its authorities to support Ukraine monolithically, although President Milos Zeman significantly changed his rhetoric. The government of Petr Fiala is quite consistent in supporting Ukraine, including the supply of weapons, but military-technical assistance from Poland seems more significant.
The leading voice for determining Slovakia’s participation in supporting Ukraine is Zuzana. Zuzana is not only the name of the president of the country, but also the name of the 155-caliber howitzer. In addition, Slovakia transferred the S-300 air defense system to Ukraine and accepted a significant number of Ukrainian refugees.
It is worth noting that refugees from Ukraine were also accepted in Hungary, but this was one of very few components of pan-European assistance implemented by Budapest. Viktor Orbán used Russia’s attack on Ukraine for his own political purposes, by retaining full power in the country during April’s parliamentary elections. Hungary defiantly sought not to spoil relations with Russia, and its Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó repeatedly visited the Russian Federation. Contacts with Moscow and the desire to achieve concessions from Kyiv on the issue of ensuring the rights of the Hungarian minority are the key aspirations for Hungary. In the end, Hungary’s public rejection of one of Europe’s leading principles – solidarity – led to the deterioration of the relationships with Poland and other members of the Visegrad group.
It would be a mistake to believe that Ukraine will be able to replace Hungary as a part of V4, and Ukraine must take into account that building relationships with neighboring countries that have recently stepped away “from socialism” will be an important element of European integration.
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