There has never previously been such a mobilization in Transcarpathia since the war broke out: hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers and policemen appeared in the region recently to register and round up whomever they could. According to sources who wish to remain anonymous for fear of recrimination, there is word that the Ukrainians want to enlist ten thousand men from this area, probably because the largest brigade, the 128th brigade from Munkács, may have suffered a huge loss at Soledar, whose occupation the Russians announced recently.
The locals don’t know the real reason for the situation, but more and more videos are appearing on social media where people are being forcibly dragged from their homes and taken away as conscripts.
An anonymous source told the paper that more and more people in Csap believe almost no one is safe who can be conscripted. The authorities are already registering even 16-year-olds, and the registration rules are becoming stricter.
According to the recently adopted decree, students who do have not proof of registration cannot be admitted to university. Employers and local governments must also keep records, and all conscripts must be registered.
The air raid sirens often go off several times a day, at which time children are taken to shelters in schools and kindergartens, offices and shops are closed, but thus far only one rocket has reached Transcarpathia, and people continue with their work.
According to one housewife, if the present situation continues, she will not stay with her community in because of the power cuts. It is not possible to cook or wash all day long, manybpeople cannot even heat without electricity, and in fact the water is also shut down frequently. She also talked about the Roma people, who until now have not been drafted. But recently policemen and soldiers appeared with jeeps and dogs in the Romani settlement of Szürte to forcibly take the men.
The soccer academy built by the Hungarian state is located in Dercen, 17 km from the town of Munkács, and the Hungarian flag and inscriptions have also been removed from the building. No more children attend the academy. Valéria Kolorovics – who was awarded the Hungarian Silver Cross of Merit in 2020 – and her husband, who until now organized the folk dance education, preserving Hungarian traditions, were both suddenly and unreasonably removed from their posts.
István Schink, after 17 years in Munkács, was removed from his position as principal of Ferenc Rákóczi Secondary School. According to the locals, a campaign of persecution is being waged against father-son Viktor and Andrij Baloga. The campaign is connected with the demolition of the Turul statue in Munkács. The Balogas have been were banned from the territory of the European Union due to the illegal statue decision. They allegedly learned this when the family recently went skiing in Austria and were turned back at the border.
Part of the revenge campaign is that the Ukrainian ombudsman wrote his report in favour of the Baloga family – who recently established how serious a violation of the law it is that there is no class where education is conducted only in Ukrainian in Hungarian settlements like Rafajnaújfalu.
According to the newspaper Magyar Nemzet, one of the morgues near Munkács is already filled with the corpses of soldiers killed on the Eastern Front, but the identification and release of the bodies is being deliberately slowed down.
(Note from translator: None of the sources identified in this story were willing to be quoted for fear of recrimination. This is a sad commentary on the lack of freedom of speech in Ukraine)
