‘Have a good trip”, says the faded tourism leaflet taped to the window of the Ukrainian border guard post with Hungary at Beregsurány. I was entering as part of the Order of Malta’s Hungarian humanitarian mission. This was possible as the Order is – still, thankfully – recognised as an independent sovereign state and my guide, the Hungarian Order’s director of foreign affairs, Daniel Solymari, has diplomatic connections. The border was closed to journalists and tourists. The sentry guard didn’t seem bothered that I had no visa. We were given a tiny paper exit chit – like a cloakroom ticket – and crossed the border by foot. After we walked through no man’s land, this chit was exchanged for a passport stamp at the Ukrainian checkpoint.