Abstract. The Ukrainian crisis started in 2014 has become a severe test for the Hungarian foreign policy strategy complicating its implementation. The primary and by far not a final outcome of this crisis for Hungary is that the already usual need to reconcile European and Euro-Atlantic obligations with national interests has acquired a new painful sharpness. At this stage Budapest is more concerned not about a geopolitical choice of Ukrainians but about their ability to maintain civil peace in their own country. In this context the Hungarian government takes a special inter-est in protection of its compatriots rights living on the territory of Ukraine. This creates additional reasons for diplomatic tensions with the official Kiev.