Ukraine's ambassador has been summoned to Hungary's foreign ministry for the second time in ten days, this time in response to the arson attack on a Greek Catholic church in a small village inhabited by ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine's western Transcarpathian region.

According to local reports, perpetrators attempted to set fire to the entrance of the church on Wednesday night, July 16, and spray-painted anti-Hungarian slogans on the wall.

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto called the incident "unacceptable, outrageous, shocking and disheartening", linking it to a broader pattern of hostility towards the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, which he said began ten years ago with laws restricting language rights.

Pro-government press attributed the attack to Ukrainian nationalists; however, observers have urged caution, citing previous cases in which similar provocations were later traced back to Russian operatives.

Security analysts note that Moscow has long sought to fuel inter-ethnic tension in the region as part of its broader destabilisation strategy. The animosity between Ukraine and Hungary would be fertile ground for such operations, fitting neatly into Moscow's agenda of sowing discord.

Kyiv has no discernible interest in fostering ethnic unrest in its relatively peaceful western areas while facing existential threats on the eastern front.

The arson attacks on the buildings of the Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association (KMKSZ) in Western Ukraine in early 2018 were first attributed to Ukrainian nationalists, but as it turned out later, the incident was carried out by two Polish nationals reportedly hired by Russian intelligence, security analyst and Russia expert Andras Racz wrote on social media.

The slogans painted on the church wall were nearly identical to those used in a 2021 Russian-backed propaganda campaign in the region. In addition, the uneven lettering, particularly the poorly written Cyrillic characters, raises suspicion that the graffiti may have been carried out by individuals unfamiliar with the alphabet, he added. The attack targeted a Rusyn Greek Catholic church rather than a Hungarian institution, further raising questions about the attackers' intentions, according to Racz.

Ukrainian authorities, including the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), are reportedly treating the matter with urgency and according to local media, a broad investigation is underway.

Since the outbreak of the war, the SBU has intensified its efforts to maintain ethnic stability in Transcarpathia, and there has been a marked reduction in ethnic incidents in the region.

Some observers warned that ethnic Hungarians in western Ukraine may be the target of nationalist attacks in response to the Orbán government's anti-Ukrainian rhetoric.

On Thursday, July 17, the government banned three senior Ukrainian military officials from entering Hungary, citing their responsibility for forced conscription practices, following the reported death of a Hungarian national during the mobilisation process.

The individuals in question are the chief of staff of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, the commander of the Western Operational Command, and the head of the Mobilisation Directorate of the Ministry of Defence. Szijjártó raised the issue at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Tuesday and the Ukrainian ambassador was also summoned to explain. Szijjártó condemned the "violent and inhumane conscription practices" carried out in Ukraine, comparing them to "manhunts".

The Ukrainian armed forces refuted the claims and said the man died of a pulmonary embolism. The case is under review at the highest level, the President's Office.

Hungarian government officials, including Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, claimed without any substantive evidence that the 45-year-old man was beaten to death with an iron rod.