Haven't been here in a while. How's it going on this app?

Dr. Joe J Placє 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇺🇦🐧 on X: "https://t.co/Fz7qUGuswK (No paywall) https://t.co/lqOulqLTV8 (for medium users, please use)" / X https://t.co/Fz7qUGuswK (No paywall) https://t.co/lqOulqLTV8 (for medium users, please use)

Can read my intitial thoughts regarding #NABU and #Zelensky's new law here:

medium.com/@jjplace/dem...

OR here: jjplace.co.uk?p=451

Some pics

In rivne, about 200 people + protested the new law regarding NABU. Young, old, families. Cars supporting. Positive atmosphere. This is a significant moment.

alright fuck it ill vote for Hunter

Talks in Istanbul concluded: Ukraine and Russia agree on all-for-all exchange for two categories of PoWs Following a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul on Monday 2 June, the parties have reached an agreement on the next prisoner exchange, which will involve seriously wounde...

Talks in Istanbul concluded: Ukraine and Russia agree on all-for-all exchange for two categories of PoWs

Help defenders in the assault brigade in the GUR. They have a damaged vehicle, essential for moving supplies. Any donation can help! You did it before!
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My words on Zakarpattia, skillfully translated into German.

Die Bedrohung aus dem Westen: Warum Ungarn in Sakarpattja spioniert Ungarn soll in der Ukraine spioniert haben, um die Möglichkeiten für eine ungarische „Friedensmission“ zu sondieren. Warum in der Ukraine niemand auf eine solche Mission wartet und was dies mit den Be...

#Ungarn soll in der #Ukraine spio­niert haben – angeblich für eine "Friedensmission". Warum in der Ukraine niemand auf eine solche Mission wartet und was dies mit den Beson­der­hei­ten der Region #Sakar­pattja zu tun hat, erklärt Joseph Place @joejplace.bsky.social ➡️https://t.ly/-iy08

@libmod.de

All fine. God bless air defence last night. Expected worse news today about Kyiv

They're fine thankfully. The attack could have been a lot worse, it sounded worse. Air defence did it's job well

Seems it was the case thank god but the last thing I heard from some friends for a while was "it's really loud and close" which is always unnerving.

I cannot get hold of my friends in kyiv which is under attack. Fuck Russia.

Yeah absolutely. There's a few worrying signs and it cannot be tolerated

I wrote an Op-ed for the Kyiv Post about Zakarpattia. Detailing Orban's dangerous delusions regarding the region

www.kyivpost.com/opinion/52436

Episode 16: Zakarpattia, Ukraine's Hungarian Minority and Linguistic Realities with Olga of Uzhhorod | The Think Tank

You can also listen to me talk to a Zakarpattian on our podcast: END OF THREAD shows.acast.com/nafo-think-t...

Oh, fun fact, Andy Warhol and Milton Friedman both have connections to this region. A chief Rabbi is from Uzhhorod, and there’s a film set in Zakarpattia called My Thoughts Are Silent, you should watch it. It has English subtitles. Statues of Warhol and Friedman in Uzhhorod:

NATO and the EU should punish Hungary swiftly and resolutely. This is a violation of the concept of borders and international law, and aiding an enemy. I’m sure this operation has gone on a while, but, it is known now.

Many fled from other parts of the country to cities like Uzhhorod, including myself, for safety, to escape the war, not because they wanted to leave Ukraine altogether. It is delusional and dangerous.

If Hungarian troops (all ten of them) marched across, while perhaps some people would not care if it didn’t affect them personally, as you can encounter some apathy here, most people here do feel passionately Ukrainian.

Any notion that people want to change borders, Hungarian soldiers, or to be part of Hungary is delusional and based on a misunderstanding of the present realities. It reminds me of Russia thinking they’d be greeted as liberators in Kyiv.

The reality is that the region is not homogenous; it is not a majority Hungarian-speaking region, only certain towns, and the affinity for Hungary has been significantly reduced.

Note Zakarpattia has had one airstrike since 2022 in the mountains on a factory, though missiles have flown overhead a few times and diverted. I’d bet this is deliberate, to not jeopardise support for Hungary/Russia (which doesn’t exist, but they think it does).

Now, this has clearly been a goal of this intelligence operation. Orban, presumably with Putin’s blessing, wants to take the region back (or appear ready to), seemingly for a combination of nationalism, memories of Triannon (skill issue), and just good old russophilia.

Orban has often been convinced that Zakarpattians feel oppressed and dream of being Hungarian again. However, Hungary's response to the invasion alienated much of the Hungarian-speaking population, many of whom now identify more so as Ukrainian.

A major sticking point is the lack of state education in Hungarian, as only primary education can be provided in the secondary language. However, there are private schools in Hungarian, Polish, and even Russian. Romania has made similar concerns.

Hungary has often resented Ukraine’s promotion of its national language, arguing it restricts the rights of its minority. There may be some fair criticism of the laws, but at the same time, some Hungarians were isolated due to their language proficiency.

Ukraine, language policies and liberalism: a mixed second act - Studies in East European Thought This article analyses Ukraine’s language policies from 2002 to 2022 within a framework of liberalism, while avoiding making normative judgements or recommendations, updating the discussion raised in K...

Towns like Berehove speak primarily Hungarian, and you can find Ukrainian alongside Hungarian on signs and menus. This complies with the language laws of Ukraine (I have a paper on this, if you’re interested, open access: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

The Hungarian government have often been eager to associate speaking Hungarian with nationality. They give out passports quite freely to Hungarian speakers in the region, which gives them a very strong passport and opportunities to travel and leave.

The region was always isolated, and, bordering Hungary, it was a major spot for smuggling contraband from the west (music in particular). Many Russians and Russian-speaking Ukrainians were rewarded with property in Zakarpattia for military service, or were relocated for work