THE POSITIONS OF THE COUNTRIES OF THE VISEHRAD GROUP REGARDING THE RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR: THE PUBLIC DIMENSION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29038/2524-2679-2023-03-125-149Keywords:
Visegrad group, Ukraine, Russian-Ukrainian warAbstract
The article analyzes the attitude of the countries of the Visegrad Group regarding the events of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which began in a hybrid form in 2014 and entered the active phase after the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. It was found that despite the declared support of Ukraine and its European aspira- tions, each country of the Visegrad Group has its own peculiarities of perception of the events of this war and attitude towards the aggressor country. Fluctua- tions in the position of countries such as Slovakia and the Czech Republic have been revealed, while Poland and Hungary demonstrate a certain stability of their position, at the same time diametrically opposite. Existing differences between the members of the Visegrad Group became noticeable since 2014: when only Poland took a clear pro-Ukrainian and anti-Russian position; Slovakia vacillated between public recognition of Russian aggression and its default; and the Czech Republic and Hungary, despite their declared support for Ukraine and joining the European policy of sanctions against Russia, actually took an anti-Ukrainian position. It was revealed that the V4 countries did not create a united front re- garding support for Ukraine and assistance in the war against the Russian Federa- tion in 2022. From among the Visegrad Four, three countries (Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia) joined other European countries that actively provided military assistance to Ukraine, in while Hungary demonstrates a completely op- posite position, which in the public dimension is clearly pro-Russian. The article also reviews the changes made to the legislation of the Visegrad Group countries since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. It has been proven that the Ukrai- nian issue had a significant place on the agenda both in the institutions of indi- vidual countries and in the V4 format, and it contributed to the visualization of the already existing differences in the positions of the Visegrad Four and revealed disagreements in the V4, which is perceived as a crisis or decline of this regional unity.
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