Is it safe to travel to Hungary? Latest UK travel advice explained after Russia launches invasion of Ukraine

The foreign office has not issued a travel advisory for hungary, but the country will experience some knock-on effects from the conflict, not least a predicted influx of up to 600,000 refugees.

travel hungary ukraine war

As war breaks out on the borders of the European Union , countries next to the conflict zone are preparing for what comes next.

Nations neighbouring Ukraine, including Hungary, have made it clear that they will not be drawn into a military conflict with Russia.

However, Hungary is sure to experience some knock-on effects, not least a  predicted influx of 600,000 refugees .

Here is everything you need to know about travelling to Hungary during the Russian war on Ukraine.

Does Hungary share a border with Ukraine?

Yes. The two countries share an 85-mile border. Connecting the countries are five road border checkpoints and one passenger rail line.

Nato has sent troops to strengthen its eastern flank near Ukraine, including along Hungary’s 85-mile border with the country.

What does the Foreign Office say about travel to Hungary?

The Foreign and Commonwealth (FCDO) has no warnings in place against visiting Hungary.

However an update on the FCDO website issued on the morning of Thursday 24 February advised that people “should not attempt to cross into Ukraine from Hungary” due to “multiple reports of widespread military activity in Ukraine”.

Do flights from the UK to Hungary travel over Russian, Belarusian or Ukrainian airspace?

On Friday 25 February, Russia instituted a ban on UK airlines entering Russian airspace.

But flight paths from the UK to Hungary have never needed to travel over Russian, Belarusian or Ukrainian airspace. All scheduled flights to the country are continuing as normal.

Even before the recent escalation of tensions and Russian invasion, most airlines had taken steps to avoid flying over Ukraine. In response to the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 by pro-Russian separatists in 2014, airlines began diverting around the country.

More on Russia-Ukraine war

Moscow launches wave of ‘missile strikes’ following Ukraine attack on Crimea

Will refugees be arriving in Hungary?

Yes. Hungary has issued a regulation allowing entry for anyone from Ukraine, with the Hungarian Defence Forces expecting up to 600,000 refugees, Hungary Today reports .

Hundreds of refugees have begun arriving at the border, many travelling on foot.

Unicef says that as many as 5 million people may flee Ukraine and that it is strengthening its capacity to help those fleeing the war in Moldova, Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that police and military would be deployed to the border to help manage the humanitarian situation.

After a meeting of the national security cabinet on Thursday, he said: “In the aftermath of today’s military attack, unfortunately, we can expect an increase in the number of Ukrainian citizens arriving in Hungary who will probably request asylum.

“We are prepared to take care of them, and we’ll be able to rise to the challenge quickly and efficiently.”

i has compiled a list of ways you can help the Ukrainian people including, including donating to the British Red Cross Ukraine crisis appeal .

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International Edition

As war rages in neighboring Ukraine, Hungary's hard-line leader benefits from closeness to Putin

Ukraine conflict - EU summit in Versailles

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Five days before the Hungarian election, Péter Márki-Zay , a candidate who has helped make Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's re-election battle the toughest in a decade, acknowledged that the Russian invasion of Ukraine had changed things.

Standing behind an outdoor stage in Budapest’s buzzing Széll Kálmán Square, Márki-Zay said that Orbán’s tight control of the media and his ability to spread “fake news and false allegations” about Russia's war on Ukraine had created an enormous disadvantage for the opposition's quest to unseat the conservative nationalist leader, who has been accused of chipping away at the country’s democratic institutions .

“He alleges that the opposition would send untrained kids to die in Ukraine,” Márki-Zay said, as he waited to be introduced at one of his final campaign events ahead of Sunday's election.

“Now, hundreds of thousands of Hungarians are frightened that if Orbán loses and the opposition wins, that we will send their kids to die in Ukraine," he said. "That’s how evil this fake news machine of Orbán is.”

After six opposition parties spanning the political spectrum managed to form a united front in October to oust the anti-immigrant, far-right prime minister for the first time in over a decade, it looked like Orbán, 58, and his Fidesz party could be on the ropes.

But the Russian invasion of Ukraine has complicated the last month of the election campaign, with polls showing Orbán, who has been embraced by influential American conservatives, such as Tucker Carlson , pulling ahead to lead the opposition by an average of 5 percentage points.

In its final push to energize voters, the united opposition has seized on Orbán’s close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Hungarian opposition candidate Peter Márki-Zay, seen here in Budapest on Tuesday, says it has been difficult to get Orbán to pay a political price for his friendliness toward Moscow.

Opposition candidates have portrayed Orbán as Putin’s pawn, pointing to the dozens of meetings the two leaders have had over the years, including as recently as Feb. 1 , just days before the invasion.

They have criticized Orbán for striking deals with Russia, including awarding a Kremlin-owned company a contract to expand Hungary’s only nuclear power plant, and allowing the International Investment Bank , a Moscow-backed financial institution that critics say is a cover for Russian intelligence operations, to locate its headquarters in Budapest.

And Orbán’s insistence that Hungary remain “ neutral ” in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, they argue, has only further isolated Budapest from its European allies.

But making Orbán pay a political price for his friendliness toward Moscow has proved difficult for the opposition, even as the prime minister has stood out from other European Union and NATO members for refusing to forcefully condemn Putin’s actions, a position that drew direct criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy .

Peter Kreko, the director of the Political Capital Institute, a Budapest-based think tank, said that while Orbán’s focus on neutrality was “bizarre” given Hungary’s status as a member of the E.U. and NATO, his message was striking a chord with a nation concerned it could be teetering on the edge of conflict.

“There is some rally-around-the-flag effect in the sense that a lot of voters think that a more experienced government might be best in order to avoid the worst,” he said.

Fidesz supporters are counting on Orbán’s message of stability to keep him in power for a fourth consecutive term.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban Addresses Pre-Election March

Sitting over a bowl of halászlé, a traditional Hungarian fish stew, at a lunch spot on the Danube River frequented by members of Parliament, Zsolt Németh, who founded the Fidesz party with Orbán in the 1980s as a student and has served in Parliament since 1990, argued that the war reframed the election in Fidesz’s favor.

Many voters identify with the estimated 140,000 ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine, most of whom live in the Transcarpathia region in the western part of the country, Németh said, making Orbán’s message of peace and neutrality particularly appealing.

And many voters are afraid the conflict could spill over into Hungary, which borders Ukraine — a fear that is stoked by memories from 1956 when the then-Soviet Union’s Red Army brutally quashed Hungary’s revolt against Moscow . Bullet holes from the failed uprising can still be seen in buildings around Budapest. 

Now, a Russian invasion next door could be what saves Orbán, who famously launched his political career in a speech in 1989 at a ceremony honoring one of the leaders of the 1956 uprising who had been executed by the Soviets, making a bold call at the time for free elections and demanding that Soviet troops leave Hungary.

“You have to choose between Putin and Europe, that is the approach of the Hungarian opposition. And our communication is that we have to choose between war and peace,” Németh said.

“The Hungarian public is now scared. And I think they will choose peace and security,” he said.

The opposition has said it is challenging to compete with Fidesz’s portrayal of them as warmongers who will put Hungary’s peace at risk, given the control of the media that Orbán has built up over the past 10 years, making it very difficult, and at times impossible, for Hungarians to access independent news.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban Addresses Pre-Election March

That challenge is especially difficult in more rural areas of the country. Those regions have a high concentration of older voters who rely on pro-government radio for information and are not as fluent in social media, where some independent Hungarian news organizations are still active.

But that doesn’t mean the opposition isn’t making an effort to break through.

On the Monday before the election, united opposition leaders stood in the center square of Mezőkövesd, a small countryside town run by a mayor accused of being one of Orbán’s cronies, to urge voters to support Márki-Zay on April 3.

“The chance we win areas like this are almost impossible, but of course we will try,” lamented Zsolt Gréczy, a Democratic Coalition member of Parliament, pointing to the mayor’s office across the street from the town square, where a camera peeked out behind the curtains of a first-floor window. Gréczy said the mayor was recording who in the town attended the opposition event.

“This is a small town and everybody knows everybody. And everybody who is present here will be marked down by name as the traitors who are voting for the opponents,” he said.

András Fekete-Győr, a founding member of the liberal Momentum party, part of the unified opposition, said that the media environment in Hungary has forced the opposition to travel to towns like Mezőkövesd to speak with undecided voters who might not otherwise come across their campaign message.

The biggest challenge in the final days of the race, Fekete-Győr said, is convincing “the undecided voters that in a time where there is war in the neighborhood ... it is worth it to vote for change.”

“Change is always stressful for the people. Even if they hate the system, they have learned to live within the framework of the system,” he said.

That was how Sandor Balog, 54, a voter from Mezőkövesd, viewed his upcoming decision in the election. 

“Everybody is afraid,” Balog said. “But Orbán is keeping Hungary safe, it’s good that he is keeping Hungary out of the war. We have to vote for him.”

travel hungary ukraine war

Lauren Egan is a White House reporter for NBC News based in Washington.

Hungary, a country that once shut out refugees, has opened its doors to those fleeing Ukraine

More than 350,000 ukrainian refugees have registered in hungary, un says.

travel hungary ukraine war

Hungary welcomes Ukrainian refugees in stark contrast to past

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Inside a sports hall in Budapest, Hungary, dozens of volunteers and aid workers stand ready to help the hundreds of Ukrainian refugees who pass through every day. 

After they unload from the shuttle buses and register, they can get a meal, a free SIM Card and, if they want, a train or bus ticket to take them to their next destination. 

If they stay, they can be put up in accommodation, like a school, a rented hotel room or a private home offered up by a Hungarian host. 

"I saw these children flooding from Ukraine with their mothers … and I really felt I [had] to do something," said Eszter Zombory-Balogh, 38, who is currently hosting eight Ukrainian refugees in a vacant apartment owned by her father.

"Hungary is not internationally seen as a refugee welcoming country because of our government. But this case is, I think, is different because …they are like us."

travel hungary ukraine war

There is wide support among the public and politicians to open the doors to the Ukrainian refugees streaming in since Russia's invasion, even as there are reports that Hungary continues to push other migrants back over its heavily fortified southern border with Serbia.

The country's hardline prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has been criticized by the EU and the United Nations Refugee agency for the government's anti-immigration policy toward would-be asylum seekers from countries like Syria and Afghanistan, but with a war just beyond its eastern border, Hungary's government, aid groups and private citizens have mobilized to help. 

So when Zombory-Balogh's father, Imre Balogh, agreed to offer up his vacant apartment, his daughter started collecting donations to furnish it and provide refugees with the essentials like clothes and food. 

She then went down to the train station looking for those who needed a place to stay. 

WATCH | A Ukrainian mother fled with her son to Hungary:  

travel hungary ukraine war

Hungarian mother takes in eight Ukrainian refugees

She connected with Iuliia Sergeieva, 38, who works as a human rights advocate and lawyer. Sergeieva fled Kyiv, Ukraine, with her six-year-old son and was later joined by her mother and 93-year-old grandmother. 

"It was my hardest decision in my life to cross the border … my heart was tearing," Sergeieva said.

"It's a great luck meeting good people like Eszter and her family, which we are super grateful for."

A question of who will stay

More than 350,000 Ukrainian refugees have registered in Hungary, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency .

The majority have moved through the country, with fewer than 10,000 applying for temporary protection — a designation that would ensure children are eligible for school and families could access the health-care system. 

But András Léderer doesn't think temporary protection applications are a good indicator of how many refugees have stayed in Hungary. 

He is an advocacy officer for the human rights organization Hungarian Helsinki Committee, and he says when he and his colleagues visited shelters where refugees were staying, most weren't aware they could apply for the program. 

"I think there is this calculation that if you don't allow people to be channelled into the temporary protection scheme, they will move on to other EU member states and ask for protection there," he said.

travel hungary ukraine war

Still, he says the government's response to this crisis is much different than in 2015, when Hungary shut down its border and stranded hundreds of migrants on the Serbian side of the fence. 

In the years that followed, the government ran anti-immigration advertisements, but now officials are asking Hungarian citizens to do their part to help the Ukrainian refugees. 

The difference in messaging is stark. 

  • As It Happens Ukrainian rock star performs for refugees, soldiers and wounded children
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But András Kováts, director of the Menedék Hungarian Association for Migrants, says it's understandable, given that Ukraine is a neighbouring country and Hungary is one of its first safe havens.

While Syrians are also fleeing war, Kováts said there is a debate In Hungary about whether they were legitimate asylum seekers, because they could have applied for protection in other countries they had to travel through, like Serbia. 

He admits, however, that race and religion were obvious factors too.  

"The closer you are in terms of how you look, how you behave, how you dress, the easier it is to feel sympathy, to feel empathy," he said. 

"This is how people work everywhere."

Election on the horizon

The language used by Hungary's prime minister, meanwhile, was much more controversial than nuanced identity politics. 

In 2018, he told a German newspaper that the migrants gathered near the border fence were "Muslim invaders."

Orbán, who faces an election on April 3 and is trying to seek his fourth consecutive term, has insisted that Hungary will remain neutral when it comes to the war next door but will help the refugees. 

travel hungary ukraine war

Challenges face Roma refugees

That offer of help has also been extended to the Roma refugees fleeing Ukraine. Though the cultural group has faced longstanding discrimination, Hungarian social worker Tamás Szűts says no one is asking about the ethnicity of the refugees when they drop off donations at the home where he is working.

In this sprawling yard in a neighbourhood in Budapest, dozens of children run on the grass while others ride scooters and tricycles. 

Until a few weeks ago, this was the site of a seniors home, but in February the 16 residents were moved out and seven families from Western Ukraine were moved in.

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All of the people staying in the home are Roma and, while they speak Hungarian, they face a series of other challenges as many are illiterate, come from poverty and are discriminated against. 

Of the 53 people living there, 32 of them are children and have just started attending a school next door that is being run by a Lutheran church. ​​

travel hungary ukraine war

Szűts has been hired to help mothers and children adjust to life in Hungary and is working on everything from filling out government paperwork to getting them dental care. 

All of the shelves are lined with donations including medicine and food. All the toys in the yard were dropped off as well. 

He says the public's response has been heartwarming, especially considering that refugees haven't received a lot of support in the past. 

"They don't care," he said of the donors. "They just come here and help and that's it. So it's a very, very nice moment."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

travel hungary ukraine war

Foreign correspondent

Briar Stewart is CBC's Russia correspondent, currently based in London. During her nearly two decades with CBC, she has reported across Canada and internationally. She can be reached at [email protected] or on X @briarstewart

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Hungary, Slovakia remain opposed to sending any arms to Ukraine to fight Russia's invasion

PRAGUE — Four Central European countries remain deeply divided over how to resolve Russia's war against Ukraine , their foreign ministers said Thursday.

The foreign ministers from the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia met Thursday and discussed a Czech plan to acquire ammunition that Ukraine badly needs from third countries outside the European Union.

“It’s necessary to boost support for Ukraine in all areas including military assistance,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said.

Under the plan, the Czechs seek to obtain 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine. Czech leaders previously said the first shells should be delivered to Ukraine no later than June.

At least 18 countries have joined the initiative, Czech leaders have previously said.

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski called the Czech plan an “excellent idea.”

“We’re very happy to contribute,” he said. Sikorski said Poland would contribute funds as well as help deliver the ammunition to the front.

But the foreign ministers of Hungary and Slovakia said they are not ready to change their strict refusal to provide arms to Ukraine.

“Hungary has not and will not send any weapons to Ukraine,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

Slovakia’s view has not changed because “the conflict doesn’t have a military solution,” its foreign minister, Juraj Blanar, said.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

travel hungary ukraine war

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Hungary, Slovakia remain opposed to sending any arms to Ukraine to fight Russia’s invasion

Czech Republic's Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, 2nd left, welcomes his counterparts from Poland Radoslaw Sikorski, left, from Slovakia Juraj Blanar, right, and Hungary Peter Szijjarto, second right, as they meet in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Czech Republic’s Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, 2nd left, welcomes his counterparts from Poland Radoslaw Sikorski, left, from Slovakia Juraj Blanar, right, and Hungary Peter Szijjarto, second right, as they meet in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar, right, and his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto, right, attend a photo call as they meet in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Czech Republic’s Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, right, and his counterpart from Poland Radoslaw Sikorski, left, pose for a photo as they meet in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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PRAGUE (AP) — Four Central European countries remain deeply divided over how to resolve Russia’s war against Ukraine , their foreign ministers said Thursday.

The foreign ministers from the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia met Thursday and discussed a Czech plan to acquire ammunition that Ukraine badly needs from third countries outside the European Union.

“It’s necessary to boost support for Ukraine in all areas including military assistance,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said.

Under the plan, the Czechs seek to obtain 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine. Czech leaders previously said the first shells should be delivered to Ukraine no later than June.

At least 18 countries have joined the initiative, Czech leaders have previously said.

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski called the Czech plan an “excellent idea.”

“We’re very happy to contribute,” he said. Sikorski said Poland would contribute funds as well as help deliver the ammunition to the front.

But the foreign ministers of Hungary and Slovakia said they are not ready to change their strict refusal to provide arms to Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lights a candle to commemorate the victims of an attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue, on the day of national mourning, in Russia, Sunday, March 24, 2024. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

“Hungary has not and will not send any weapons to Ukraine,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

Slovakia’s view has not changed because “the conflict doesn’t have a military solution,” its foreign minister, Juraj Blanar, said.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

travel hungary ukraine war

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Russia-Ukraine war: conflict could spin out of control due to Nato actions, claims Russia – as it happened

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova says war could expand geographically. This live blog is closed

  • 13 Mar 2024 Closing summary
  • 13 Mar 2024 Ukrainian minister: 'quite optimistic' messages from US politicians about Ukraine aid bill
  • 13 Mar 2024 Russia: Ukraine war could spin out of control due to Nato actions
  • 13 Mar 2024 Russia claims it thwarted drone attack on Belgorod thermal power plant
  • 13 Mar 2024 Death toll rises to three in Russian overnight attacks on eastern Ukraine
  • 13 Mar 2024 Lithuanian president says Volkov attack was clearly pre-planned
  • 13 Mar 2024 EU lawmakers push for more action on Ukrainian children taken to Russia
  • 13 Mar 2024 'Ramping up our defence industry is priority number one,' Finnish prime minister says
  • 13 Mar 2024 Drone attacks intended to hit Russian economic potential, Ukrainian source tells Reuters
  • 13 Mar 2024 Fire extinguished at Russian oil refinery, governor says
  • 13 Mar 2024 Ukrainian defence minister thanks US for package
  • 13 Mar 2024 At least 6 killed in Ukraine as Russian strikes hit residential buildings
  • 13 Mar 2024 Putin says Russian forces and 'systems' will be placed at Finnish border

Vladimir Putin

Russia: Ukraine war could spin out of control due to Nato actions

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has warned that the war in Ukraine could spin out of control due to the actions of countries in the west.

She told Reuters she believed the west was walking “on the edge of the abyss” and pushing the world to the edge too with its actions over Ukraine.

She said that the war in Ukraine could spin out of control and expand geographically due to the ill-considered actions of one or two member states from the Nato military alliance, and advised the West to give up on the idea of strategically defeating Russia .

In a message on Telegram, Zakharova accused Kyiv of “terrorist activities”, which she linked to attempts to disrupt the forthcoming Russian election.

Earlier, in a televised interview, president Vladimir Putin said that Russia would be stationing troops and equipment on the border with Finland, where there were none before, as a result of Finland and Sweden joining the Nato alliance.

Closing summary

This blog is now closing. Below is a summary of today’s stories:

Lithuanian president Gitanas Nauseda blamed a hammer attack on Leonid Volkov, the top aide to late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny who lives in Lithuania, on Moscow, saying it was clearly pre-planned and ties in with other provocations against the Baltic nation. Addressing Russian president Vladimir Putin, Nauseda said: “I can only say one thing to Putin – nobody is afraid of you here.”

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has warned that the war in Ukraine could spin out of control due to the actions of countries in the west. She told Reuters she believed the west was walking “on the edge of the abyss” and pushing the world to the edge too with its actions over Ukraine.

Russia has claimed to have thwarted a drone attack on a thermal power plant in Belgorod, according to state-owned Russian news agency Tass. The agency quotes State Duma deputy Alexander Khinshtein saying: “When [Ukrainian forces were] trying to break through the state border in the Belgorod region, military personnel and employees of the Russian Guard did an excellent job … six attack drones were neutralised, including when approaching the Belgorod thermal power plant.”

Ukrainian justice minister Denys Maliuska said on Wednesday that he had received “quite optimistic” messages from lawmakers in the US House of Representatives and Senate about the passage of a bill that would provide aid for Ukraine . “What we call for is to put aside any divisions or political disputes aimed at internal needs, since we see that in both camps – Republicans and Democrats – they all agree that support shall be provided,” Maliuska told reporters during a news conference at the Ukrainian embassy in Washington.

Vladimir Putin signalled that he intends to boost forces along the country’s border with Finland. The Russian leader criticised Finland and Sweden’s Nato accession and said: “This is an absolutely meaningless step [for Finland and Sweden] from the point of view of ensuring their own national interests. We didn’t have troops there [at the Finnish border], now they will be there.”

European lawmakers are stepping up calls for the return of Ukrainian children who had been forcibly moved to Russia. “At least 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported to Russia or relocated to Belarus,” said Michaela Šojdrová, a Czech centre-right member of the European parliament.

Ukrainian minister: 'quite optimistic' messages from US politicians about Ukraine aid bill

Ukrainian justice minister Denys Maliuska said on Wednesday that he had received “quite optimistic” messages from lawmakers in the US House of Representatives and Senate about the passage of a bill that would provide aid for Ukraine , Reuters reports.

“What we call for is to put aside any divisions or political disputes aimed at internal needs, since we see that in both camps – Republicans and Democrats – they all agree that support shall be provided,” Maliuska told reporters during a news conference at the Ukrainian embassy in Washington.

Maliuska said he and deputy justice minister Iryna Mudra met with a large number of lawmakers during their visit to Washington, but not with house speaker Mike Johnson .

He said they were reassured that US lawmakers understood the stakes involved for Ukraine’s two-year struggle to repel Russian forces and warned that failure to secure the funds would result in “a disaster on the battlefield.”

He said he expected US assistance to be provided in the short term, and that it was essentially a matter of resolving certain technical issues.

Asked about a proposal to transform $8.5bn of the $61bn in direct budget assistance proposed for Ukraine into a loan, instead of a grant, Maliuska said the final decision would be up to the finance ministry. He said Kyiv would clearly prefer a grant, but would probably accept was offered.

“If this sort of discussion will delay the process of the provision of financial assistance, then let’s put the discussion aside and take whatever is given,” he said.

The first deliveries of artillery ammunition under a Czech-led plan to boost supplies by buying shells outside Europe should reach Ukraine by June at the latest, a senior Czech official said on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

"At the moment we are supplying large-calibre ammunition secured under previous orders. First deliveries from the so-called 'Czech ammunition initiative' can be expected in Ukraine in June at the latest," national security adviser Tomas Pojar told Reuters.

Norway's prime minister Jonas Gahr Stoere will meet with leaders of rival political parties in parliament on Thursday to discuss the upcoming long-term plan for the country's military, the government said in a statement on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

Stoere has said the minority Labour-led coalition government plans to raise military spending as Norway, a NATO member, lags the defence alliance's goal of each nation spending at least 2% of their gross domestic product.

The prime minister, the finance minister and the defence minister will be present at a press conference on Thursday morning, the government said.

Russia claims it thwarted drone attack on Belgorod thermal power plant

State-owned Russian news agency Tass is reporting that Russia has claimed to have thwarted a drone attack on a thermal power plant in Belgorod.

It quotes State Duma deputy Alexander Khinshtein saying:

When [Ukrainian forces were] trying to break through the state border in the Belgorod region, military personnel and employees of the Russian Guard did an excellent job … six attack drones were neutralised, including when approaching the Belgorod thermal power plant.

Moldova’s foreign minister Mihail Popșoi is in Kyiv where he has met his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba . Kuleba has spoken to the media about the meeting, assuring Moldova of Ukraine’s support.

Ukrinform quotes Kuleba saying:

I’d like to publicly assure my colleague and all citizens of Moldova that Ukraine will continue to firmly defend not only its freedom and independence, but also the peace and tranquility in Moldova. Ukraine is interested in a strong democratic pro-European Moldova, and Moldova is also interested in the same Ukraine. Together we can help each other.

Kuleba added “We fully support the integrity of Moldova, we condemn any attempts to involve Russia in solving Moldova’s domestic political issues.”

Dmytro Kuleba speaks in Kyiv.

Death toll rises to three in Russian overnight attacks on eastern Ukraine

Reuters reports that at least three people were killed in overnight Russian drone and bomb attacks in Ukraine’s eastern Sumy and Donetsk regions, local officials said on Wednesday.

Russians dropped a bomb on Myrnohrad town in Donetsk region, killing two and injuring five people, local governor Vadym Filashkin said on the Telegram messaging app.

The Sumy regional military administration said a Russian drone hit an apartment block overnight.

One body was pulled out from under the rubble in Sumy as rescuers continued working at the site, emergency services said on Telegram. Eight people were injured, and more may stay under the collapsed building constructions.

The administration said 30 apartments of a five-storey residential building were damaged, 15 of them largely destroyed.

Late on Tuesday, two apartment buildings caught fire as a result of a Russian missile attack in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih. The death toll there rose to five people on Wednesday, local authorities said, with at least 50 more injured.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy , who was born and raised in the city, praised rescue teams on Telegram and vowed Russia would be brought to account.

Russian officials in regions bordering Ukraine on Wednesday reported Kyiv had launched a sweeping drone attack for the second night in a row, again targeting energy facilities.

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova claimed on Wednesday that the US planned to stage cyber-attacks on Russia’s electronic voting system during its presidential election from to be held this week.

Zakharova also said Washington had tasked US non-governmental organisations with undermining the election by decreasing voter turnout.

Her comments echoed similar accusations by Russia’s foreign intelligence service made this week.

Reuters reports that Polish farmers protesting at the Dorohusk border crossing with Ukraine will let all trucks stuck there pass through as a gesture of goodwill, a protest leader told state news agency PAP on Wednesday.

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Pressure Mounts on Ukraine to Scrap 'Sponsors of War' Blacklist

Pressure Mounts on Ukraine to Scrap 'Sponsors of War' Blacklist

Reuters

FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends an interview for the representatives of Ukrainian media, as Russian's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine April 4, 2022. Picture taken April 4, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS/ File photo

By Tom Balmforth and John O'Donnell

LONDON/BERLIN (Reuters) -Ukraine could dismantle within days its "sponsors of war" blacklist, central to Kyiv's campaign to expose companies doing business with Russia, after a backlash from countries including China and France, two people familiar with the matter said.

The people said Ukraine could, as soon as Friday, scrap not only the list, but a related website that gives detailed information about individuals under Western sanctions, companies and the origin of Russian weapons parts.

The blacklist has no legal standing, but has been an embarrassment for around 50 major companies singled out for operating in Russia and helping the Kremlin's war in Ukraine by, for instance, paying taxes.

The demise of the name-and-shame campaign, if it happens, would be indicative of how Kyiv may have to soften its stance as it becomes harder to maintain global support for its war effort more than two years into the full-scale invasion.

The Latest Photos From Ukraine

TOPSHOT - Ukrainian anti-aircraft gunners of the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade Kholodny Yar monitor the sky from their positions in the direction of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on February 20, 2024. (Photo by Anatolii STEPANOV / AFP) (Photo by ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images)

"It's China, but not only China," said one person with direct knowledge of the matter, also alluding to pressure from France to remove retailer Auchan and Leroy Merlin, a home improvement and gardening retailer, from the list.

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Beijing, a major consumer of Ukrainian grain, demanded in February that Kyiv remove 14 Chinese companies from the list to "eliminate negative impacts".

Though China is seen as an ally of Russia, Kyiv has said it hopes the world's second largest economy will take part in a summit of world leaders this spring to advance President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's vision of peace.

The second source said that Austria, China, France and Hungary had all exerted pressure on Kyiv over the list, adding that it could be taken down from the internet within days.

A third person said that there was frustration with Ukraine for singling out companies from countries that supported Kyiv.

The foreign ministries of the four countries did not immediately respond to or declined requests for comment and the sources all requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

THREATS AND NEGOTIATIONS

Hungary has long had strained relations with Kyiv and maintained ties with Moscow. While Prime Minister Viktor Orban condemned the Russian invasion, his government refused to send weapons to Ukraine and has repeatedly argued for peace talks.

In 2023, Hungary threatened to block European Union military support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia unless its bank OTP was taken off the blacklist. It was removed months later.

Austria, which continues to use Russian gas and acts as a hub for Russian money, took a similar stance.

Late last year, its government said it would not agree to European Union sanctions until its Raiffeisen Bank International, the biggest Western bank in Russia, was struck off the blacklist. Raiffeisen was suspended from the list.

The list includes nine U.S. companies and four each from France and Germany.

Two of the sources said it was possible that the list, which is drawn up by the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP), would be transferred under the remit of the Ukrainian military intelligence agency and maintained.

It was unclear in that scenario whether the list would remain public.

In the first indication of mounting pressure on the list, the government Cabinet of Ministers said in a statement on Tuesday that a meeting of senior government officials and foreign diplomats had been convened that day.

The statement said the list had had a "negative impact" on the adoption of "important decisions to counter Russian aggression" and that diplomatic representatives had complained about the list's "lack of a regulatory framework".

"The NACP agreed that there is indeed a question of the further functioning of the list," it said.

(Editing by Mike Collett-White and Barbara Lewis)

Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .

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Maddow Blog | Hungary’s Orbán offers rare peek into Trump’s plans for Ukraine

U nder normal circumstances, when foreign leaders visit the United States, they go the White House for a presidential meeting. Late last week, however, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán arrived on American soil — and went to Mar-a-Lago.

Some questions about Donald Trump hosting the autocratic leader have already been answered. We know, for example, that the former president welcomed Orbán to his glorified country club. We also know that the Republican celebrated the prime minister’s authoritarian style of governance .

What the two men talked about, however, has remained murky — at least, that is, before the Hungarian leader shed light on the private conversation. NBC News reported :

“He has a very clear vision that is hard to disagree with,” Orbán said, referring to Trump. “He says the following: First of all, he will not give a penny in the Ukrainian-Russian war. That is why the war will end, because it is obvious that Ukraine cannot stand on its own feet. If the Americans don’t give money and weapons, along with the Europeans, then the war is over. And if the Americans don’t give money, the Europeans alone are unable to finance this war. And then the war is over.”

In other words, according to Trump’s plan, according to his Hungarian ally, is to cut off aid to Ukraine and let Russia win.

The presumptive GOP presidential nominee has had plenty of time to push back against Orbán’s on-air comments. The fact that Team Trump hasn’t done so is telling.

The prime minister’s comments were striking for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that Orbán appears to have pulled back the curtain on a well-guarded secret: Trump’s plan for the war.

Circling back to our earlier coverage , in February 2022, as Vladimir Putin faced international condemnations, the former American president offered rather enthusiastic praise for the Russian leader, touting Putin’s aggressive moves against Ukraine as “genius” and “very savvy.”

In the months that followed, Trump repeatedly claimed he had a secret plan to negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine “ within 24 hours ,” going so far as to boast that it’d be “ easy ” to end the crisis.

In September, the Republican appeared on “Meet the Press” and told NBC’s Kristen Welker there were “ certain things ” he would tell Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, though he didn’t want to elaborate on the details of his secret plan.

Asked if he would push for a deal that allowed Putin to keep Ukrainian territory, Trump replied , “No, no, no, no.” (Trump said largely the opposite months earlier.)

That was six months ago. Now, following a private chat at Mar-a-Lago, Orbán was left with the impression that Trump has adopted a let-Russia-win strategy — and Trump has made no effort to correct him.

This past weekend, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a shameless Trump sycophant, also appeared on “Meet the Press” and told viewers , “[I]f you want to get the world back in order, you’d better vote for Trump.”

But as a practical matter, what would “order” look like? According to the Trump-aligned prime minister of Hungary, it’s a vision that includes giving Putin the victory he craves.

This post updates our related earlier coverage .

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com

Maddow Blog | Hungary’s Orbán offers rare peek into Trump’s plans for Ukraine

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Hungary Blocks Ukraine Aid After E.U. Opens Door to Membership

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine welcomed the breakthrough as talks on joining the bloc officially opened. Securing more financial aid will have to wait.

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Charles Michel, wearing a dark suit, spoke with an orange microphone in front of him while surrounded by reporters.

By Matina Stevis-Gridneff and Steven Erlanger

Matina Stevis-Gridneff reported from Brussels, and Steven Erlanger from Berlin.

Hungary on Friday blocked the European Union from approving a financial aid package for Ukraine, though E.U. leaders agreed to officially open accession negotiations for Ukraine to join the bloc, an important breakthrough for Kyiv as it tries to bolster support from its allies.

Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, said that all but one of the E.U.’s 27 countries backed the package of 50 billion euros, about $52 billion, in financial support for Ukraine.

“One leader couldn’t agree on this,” Mr. Michel said at an impromptu 3 a.m. news conference, referring to Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary. He said leaders would reconvene early next month to try to reach unanimous agreement, which is required for the plan to go through.

Mr. Orban, who in the past has delayed some E.U. sanctions against Russia and is seen as President Vladimir V. Putin’s closest ally in the bloc , had said on Thursday that the aid should be extended only after Europe-wide elections planned for the summer.

The agreement on E.U. membership talks came at a crucial time for President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who had just returned from a bruising visit to the United States, where he pleaded for desperately needed money for his war effort that is being held up by political divisions in Congress.

Although accession to the E.U. would take years, the announcement on Thursday was a symbolic win that was likely to anger Mr. Putin, who has decried Ukraine’s European ambitions as a form of aggression.

“This is a victory for Ukraine. A victory for all of Europe. A victory that motivates, inspires and strengthens,” Mr. Zelensky said on X in response to the news.

At the start of the meeting on Thursday, Mr. Orban said he planned to veto an official opening of the accession talks, arguing that Ukraine was not ready and that its entry would be bad for the bloc, and for Hungary.

But in the end, at the behest of Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Mr. Orban literally left the room when it was time to raise objections to opening the negotiations, allowing the decision to be reached while he effectively abstained.

Negotiations to join the bloc normally take a decade or longer and involve major reforms to align a candidate country with E.U. rules and standards. The E.U. also approved accession talks for Moldova, the impoverished neighbor to Ukraine’s south that is also threatened by Russia.

Ukraine is seen as a highly motivated candidate, and its government has been following E.U. requests for reforms. But it will still need to radically restructure parts of its governance and apply a raft of stringent rules in its economy, administration and justice systems to one day qualify for accession.

Ukraine can withstand a small delay in the approval of the aid package. The E.U. already has funding in place for Ukraine in its current budget, while the $52 billion is earmarked for a new aid package known as the Ukraine Facility that will provide grants and loans to the country from 2024 to 2027.

If Mr. Orban continues to block the funds, the E.U. can still create a trust with the other 26 member countries, which have all signaled their approval. But doing so would be cumbersome and would further illustrate the problems that Mr. Putin relishes: cracks in the group’s support for Ukraine.

“We have various tools in our toolbox to ensure that we deliver on our political promises,” Mr. Michel said when he was asked if the 26 E.U. leaders who agreed on aid for Ukraine could just leave Hungary out of the process.

Critics have said Hungary’s objections to Ukraine’s formal membership talks and long-term funding are best understood as an effort by Mr. Orban to extract E.U. funds earmarked for Hungary. That money has been frozen over its violation of different E.U. rules.

On Wednesday, the E.U. released 10 billion euros, about $11 billion, in such frozen aid. The European Commission, which authorized the release, said it had acted after Hungary had fulfilled demands for judicial reforms. The timing, on the eve of the crucial Ukraine summit, was a coincidence, officials insisted.

Critics decried the move as capitulating to Hungarian “blackmail,” a claim that Mr. Orban rejected. “We are here not to make business,” he said. “It’s not about a bargain. It’s not about a deal. We represent approaches and principles.”

He added: “Hungary does not connect any Hungarian issue to any Ukrainian or other issue.”

Still, in a further sign that he plans to continue upsetting Ukraine’s E.U. progress, Mr. Orban called the opening of formal negotiations a “bad decision.” Balazs Orban, one of his closest advisers, who is not related to the prime minister, suggested on the social media platform X that Hungary would have multiple opportunities over the course of the negotiations to disrupt Ukraine’s accession talks.

As the year comes to a close, pressure is growing in the United States and the European Union to provide more support to Ukraine, despite political headwinds from powerful minorities.

Warnings have accelerated that the support is critical, with Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, saying on Wednesday: “I do not think it’s hyperbole to say that basically the security of Europe is at stake, and therefore the risk of American men and women having to go deal with another massive war in Europe, as we have before, if we don’t work with Ukraine to stop Russia.”

Also on Wednesday, Mr. Scholz, the German chancellor, repeated Germany’s pledge to double aid to Ukraine to nearly $9 billion next year.

“Putin is still determined to bring Ukraine to its knees by military force,” he told the German Parliament. “And he is counting on international support for Ukraine waning. Unfortunately, one cannot deny the danger that this calculation might work out.”

Even if the United States turns away from Ukraine — if, for instance, former President Donald J. Trump returns to office — “Europe does not have that luxury,” said Nathalie Tocci, director of Italy’s Institute of International Affairs.

“We can’t say, ‘We’re tired, and please Russia take some more,’” she said. “I don’t see the Europeans stopping trying to aid Ukraine, even if our aid is not sufficient.”

With the Americans moving into a difficult election, “Europe needs to own Ukraine,” said Ulrich Speck, a German analyst, instead of feeling that “they participate in a U.S. operation.”

“Europe needs to take responsibility,” he said. “The U.S. is not going to do everything anymore.”

On Thursday evening, Kyiv residents greeted the announcement of accession talks with a sigh of relief, describing it as a piece of good news in an otherwise somber period for the country.

“It’s a signal that we’re not left out,” said Victoria Titova, 30, in a snow-covered street of central Kyiv. “It means that this country still has a future.”

Many Ukrainians see integration into the bloc as the only way to obtain guarantees of continued support against Russia’s aggression.

“Only the E.U. will be able to protect us,” said Slava Kosenko, 37. “It’s our only chance.”

Constant Méheut contributed reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine.

An earlier version of a capsule summary with this article referred incorrectly to Viktor Orban. He is the prime minister of Hungary, not the president. The error was repeated in a later version of the article itself.

How we handle corrections

Matina Stevis-Gridneff is the Brussels bureau chief, leading coverage of the European Union. She joined The Times in 2019. More about Matina Stevis-Gridneff

Steven Erlanger is the chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe and is based in Berlin. He has reported from over 120 countries, including Thailand, France, Israel, Germany and the former Soviet Union. More about Steven Erlanger

Our Coverage of the War in Ukraine

News and Analysis

Russian missiles streaked into Kyiv  in the biggest assault on the Ukrainian capital in weeks, injuring several people and damaging several buildings.

Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s top national security official, made a secret trip to Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and reaffirm the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine.

Under pressure to come up with billions of dollars to support Ukraine’s military, the E.U. said that it had devised a legal way to use frozen Russian assets  to help arm Ukraine.

Symbolism or Strategy?: Ukrainians say that defending places with little strategic value is worth the cost in casualties and weapons , because the attacking Russians pay an even higher price. American officials aren’t so sure.

Elaborate Tales: As the Ukraine war grinds on, the Kremlin has created increasingly complex fabrications online  to discredit Ukraine’s leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, and undermine the country’s support in the West.

Targeting Russia’s Oil Industry: With its army short of ammunition and troops to break the deadlock on the battlefield, Kyiv has increasingly taken the fight beyond the Ukrainian border, attacking oil infrastructure deep in Russian territory .

How We Verify Our Reporting

Our team of visual journalists analyzes satellite images, photographs , videos and radio transmissions  to independently confirm troop movements and other details.

We monitor and authenticate reports on social media, corroborating these with eyewitness accounts and interviews. Read more about our reporting efforts .

Slovakia’s presidential election: A choice between Russia and the West

When Russia’s invasion began, Slovakia’s liberal president threw her support behind Kyiv. Much has changed since then.

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This week’s televised debate among Slovakia’s nine presidential candidates often sounded as though it was taking place in Moscow.

“As president, I want to extricate Slovakia from the dungeon of nations that is the European Union,” declared Milan Nahlik, a policeman who unsuccessfully ran for parliament four years ago.

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“As president, I would vote for the lifting of sanctions against Russia, because they are contrary to international law,” said Stefan Harabin, a former Supreme Court judge and third most popular candidate, echoing Russian arguments that sanctions needed to be approved by the UN Security Council.

“Mr Harabin, you are directly responsible for the large and forceful manner in which we handed over our national sovereignty to Brussels. And today you act as if you had nothing to do with it,” shot back Marian Kotleba, a neo-Nazi candidate trailing in the polls.

He was referring to Harabin’s erstwhile support for the Lisbon Treaty, which empowered the European Union to sign international treaties on members’ behalf, but fell short of a greater aspiration, to introduce majority voting on defence and foreign affairs, thus preserving member states’ power to veto decisions.

Loss of national sovereignty on external relations was a fear leading candidate and former premier Peter Pellegrini played off as well.

“Pellegrini pulled out a carefully prepared insidious lie and a story about how Germany and France will order that Slovakia must “assemble our fully armed soldiers at the railway station” for deployment to Ukraine and “no one will ask us,” wrote journalist Tomas Bella at the independent newspaper Dennik N.

Pellegrini, who leads the Hlas party, a splinter group of the ruling Smer party of Prime Minister Robert Fico and now in coalition with it, has styled himself as the pro-peace candidate, repeating Pope Francis’s recent controversial statement, “You have to find the courage to raise the white flag.”

In Slovakia, the president’s role is largely ceremonial.

However, as the official commander in chief of the armed forces, the president can declare war and mobilise, declare martial law, and return a law for parliament to reconsider. He or she can also appoint and recall judges including Supreme Court justices, demand reports from the government on specific areas, or call a referendum on a policy issue.

Are any candidates more aligned with Ukraine and its Western allies?

The lone pro-Western voice in the field and the only candidate supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion, was that of former foreign minister Ivan Korcok, who places a close second to Pellegrini in opinion polls.

“Peace in Ukraine can be tomorrow, and it will be when the Kremlin regime headed by President Putin stops killing innocents and destroying the entire country. Peace cannot be capitulation,” Korcok said.

Korcok also agrees with Ukraine that Russia should give back all five regions it has invaded since 2014.

“I do not think Ukraine should give up part of its territory in order to achieve peace,” he recently told the AFP news agency.

How are Slovaks likely to vote?

Despite the crowded field in Russia’s favour, Slovaks seem fairly evenly divided between Korcok and everyone else.

A poll last November suggested 60 percent of respondents would vote for Pellegrini, versus 41 percent for Korcok. But in a January poll, Pellegrini’s lead narrowed to within the margin of error – 40 percent versus 38 percent.

A March 18 poll put them even closer, with Pellegrini leading by just one point, at 35 percent.

“It is unlikely that anyone will gain the more than 50 percent of the valid votes needed to be elected in the first round – something that has never happened in almost 25 years of direct presidential elections,” wrote Michaela Terenzani in The Slovak Spectator.

If she’s right, a run-off vote between the two leading candidates – likely Pellegrini and Korcok – will have to take place on April 6.

Does Slovakia officially support Ukraine?

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion two years ago, Slovakia became an ardent supporter and arms contributor to Ukraine, its eastern neighbour.

Apart from ammunition, it sent self-propelled artillery, an S-300 air defence system, transport  helicopters and MiG fighter jets. Slovakia quickly received an additional NATO battle group and Patriot air defences for its own security.

Its liberal president, Zuzana Caputova, was one of the first Western leaders to stand beside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv three months after the invasion.

According to a Eurobarometer poll at the time, 80 percent of Slovaks felt sympathy towards Ukrainians.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shakes hands with Slovakia's President Zuzana Caputova before their meeting, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 31, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT

So how did Slovakia become split down the middle?

“There are so many disinformation channels. There are so many paid agents, propagandists, that Slovakia is contaminated with fake news,” Dennik N journalist and activist Michal Hvorecky told Al Jazeera.

“Most of this fake news is dealing with the Russian war in Ukraine, the situation in the Donbas, Ukrainian democracy, especially with hatred towards the West,” Hvorecky said.

INTERACTIVE-NATO-expansion-Sweden-March-24

Why would half of Slovaks now deny Ukrainians that choice?

“In 1968 we were occupied by half a million Soviet soldiers. Now, 50 percent of Slovaks will tell you, we are not part of the West, we are not part of the east, we are somewhere in-between,” said Hvorecky.

“We somehow tend to forget that many people feel themselves as losers of transformation. Long after this forgotten past 30-40 years ago, they will tell you there was more stability, there was more security,” he said.

Anti-liberal premier Fico and former justice Harabin belong to that generation of former communists, and the Smer and Hlas parties were largely built from the political talent of the Soviet era.

The younger generation feels quite differently.

A simulated election run in 180 secondary schools across the country this week showed that people too young to vote on Saturday would elect Korcok in the first round with 57 percent of the vote.

Pellegrini and Harabin would get 15 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

In addition to sympathy with the Kremlin’s narrative and a generational hankering for the past, Slovakia suffered economically from Ukraine’s war.

It is one of a handful of landlocked Eastern European states, along with Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic, which could not easily replace Russian pipeline oil when the EU banned it in December 2022.

Slovakian support for energy sanctions against Russia was among the lowest in the EU.

What’s at stake for Slovakia, and Europe?

Caputova entered politics through environmental activism and campaigned to abolish coal. She supports Ukraine, free media, LGBTQ rights, gender equality and women’s rights to choose abortion.

In almost every respect she has stood for what Fico’s three-party coalition, formed last December, abhors.

Fico stopped all military shipments to Ukraine days after winning October’s parliamentary election.

His environment minister, Tomas Taraba, denies climate change.

His culture and media minister, Martina Simkovicova, owns an online television station that amplifies Russian messaging about Ukraine.

His defence minister, Robert Kalinak, has been indicted along with Fico for allegedly using tax records to run smear campaigns against political rivals. His foreign minister, Juraj Blanar, broke with an EU policy of ostracising Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, and met with him last Saturday.

Observers believe a Korcok victory would at least preserve a liberal voice.

“As a president you don’t have executive power but people can hear you. Your voice can be very strong. You can talk in parliament, you can talk on national television. It’s a very respected position,” said Hvorecky.

That is partly what motivated him to revive protests against Fico in Bratislava last October, and the response has given him hope.

“People all winter long, November, December, all the way to March, were protesting almost every week in the frost, snow, wind, rain, every Thursday there were mass demonstrations,” he said.

He fears a return to the days of Fico’s previous premiership, when investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova, were murdered while investigating tax breaks to oligarchs. Mass protests following the murders in February 2018 forced Fico to resign.

What would a Pellegrini victory mean for Slovakia under Fico?

While nominally head of a separate party, Pellegrini is close to Fico. He replaced Fico as prime minister after Fico resigned. Smer went into the 2020 parliamentary election with Pellegrini leading the ballot.

“When Pellegrini is president, Fico’s way to power will not be blocked any more by any balance. There will be no balance of power,” said Hvorecky.

“Pellegrini presents himself as an independent political personality, but he acts mainly as Fico’s subject … Korcok does not have Fico in his head or on his shoulders the whole time. He is free and says what he thinks,” wrote journalist Matus Kostolny in Dennik N.

Even if Pellegrini wins, Fico’s progress may not be easy.

Slovakia

Slovakia, Hungary and Poland once formed an illiberal bloc, following similar blueprints to strangle opposition media outlets and control judiciary appointments.

Poland last year departed that group when it brought to power a centre-left coalition under Donald Tusk.

Hungary’s opposition to Ukraine’s EU candidacy and further financial aid were sidelined in the European Council last December and February.

Above all, none of the illiberal candidates has seriously contemplated leaving either the EU or NATO. That suggests the growing threat of Russia is making these bodies increasingly important, and sovereignty in foreign and defence policy increasingly irrelevant.

Russia-Ukraine latest: Concert attack suspects with black eyes charged in court; France raises terror threat to highest 'emergency' level

Four suspects have appeared in court in Moscow after gunmen attacked a concert on Friday. The number of people killed in the Crocus City Hall shooting has risen, with children confirmed among the dead. In France, the government has increased its terror threat level.

Monday 25 March 2024 00:39, UK

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  • Moscow court charges four men with terrorism
  • Number of people killed rises to 137
  • Explained:  Everything we know about the Russian concert shooting
  • Shapps says 'destruction' of key Russian ships a 'historic moment'
  • Analysis:  An offensive on Crimea could force Putin's hand
  • Poland demands explanation after Russian missile 'violates airspace'
  • Watch:  Video shows gunmen storming Moscow concert hall
  • Live reporting by Brad Young and (earlier) Andy Hayes

The Islamic State is very likely responsible for the concert shooting, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said.

Both the conduct of the attack and the style of the IS announcement were consistent with their previous attacks, said the US-based thinktank.

Allegations that the attack was a false flag operation are inconsistent with the evidence, it added.

The ISW also said it was "highly unlikely" IS conducted the attack under orders from Kyiv, appearing to refer to Russian claims that the perpetrators had links to Ukraine.

"IS would not falsely claim an attack that may have been conducted by one Christian state against another (or by the Kremlin against Russia's own people in some sort of false-flag operation), because the implications of IS conducting an attack at the behest of a predominantly Christian country would damage IS credentials within the Salafi-Jihadi community."

The ISW added that to falsely take responsibility for such a high profile attack would also risk undermining the purpose of IS propaganda - to "fundraise and disseminate its guidance to lower-level commanders and supporters".

"The conduct of the attack itself is also consistent with previous IS attacks, including the 2015 Paris terror attacks," said the thinktank.

"The Amaq News Agency announcement is consistent in terms of style, branding, and language with previous Amaq claims for other attacks," it added.

A fourth suspect in the concert attack - Muhammadsobir Fayzov - has been charged with terrorism, according to a Moscow court's Telegram channel.

Basmanny district court has ordered he and three other men be placed in custody for two months, until 22 May, pending trial.

If you're just joining us, the suspects were dragged into the court earlier this evening, where there was a heavy police presence.

One of the suspects was led blindfolded into the courtroom, before it was removed and a black eye was visible.

A third suspect has been charged with terrorism at Basmanny district court in Moscow over the attack on Crocus City Hall, according to the capital's courts Telegram channel.

The court remanded Shamsidin Fariduni in custody for two months, ending 22 May, after he pleaded guilty.

For details on the other two suspects, see our last post (9.47pm).

A Moscow court has ordered two suspects in the Crocus City Hall concert attack be held in custody for two months pending trial.

Dalerdzhon Barotovich Mirzoyev, a Tajikistan citizen, "admitted his guilt in full" to shooting at Russian citizens at the venue and setting fire to the building, Moscow city courts published on Telegram.

Saidakrami Murodali Rachabalizoda also "admitted guilt" to a terror charge, according to a post on the Telegram channel which did not provide further details.

The detention periods for both suspects will expire on 22 May, the channel added.

France's prime minister has announced that following a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris this evening, France is raising its terror threat level in light of Friday's concert hall attack near Moscow.

Gabriel Attal writes: "Following the attack in Moscow, the defence and security council was convened by the president at the Elysee Palace tonight.

"Taking into account the claims over the attack by Islamic State and the threat that faces our country, we have decided to increase our terror threat level to the highest possible - attack emergency."

Moscow's Basmanny district court has named two suspects in the Crocus City Hall attack: 

  • Dalerdzhon Barotovich Mirzoyev 
  • Saidakrami Murodali Rachabalizoda

Russian state media outlet TASS is reporting they have been charged, without providing details.

The suspects may face life in prison, reports another state news agency, RIA.

The Basmanny court press service has released two photos of the suspects, without attributing their names.

Suspects in the Russia concert hall attack have arrived at a Moscow district court.

There was a heavy police presence around the court, which is expected to determine pretrial restrictions for the men.

The Russian Investigative Committee suspect them of opening fire on crowds of concert goers at the capital's Crocus City Hall, killing at least 137 people.

One of the suspects was led blindfolded into the courtroom, before it was removed and a black eye was visible. 

Video filmed over the course of the attack on Crocus City Hall paints a partial picture of how it was carried out.

Sky News has determined the perpetrators likely entered the complex around 130m north of the concert hall's foyer.

Correspondent Ivor Bennett explains what we know about what happened next...

Almost 4,000 people came forward to donate blood over the weekend following the Crocus City Hall attack, Russia state media outlet RIA Novosti reports.

At least 154 people are thought to be injured.

Meanwhile, a steady stream of people have added to a makeshift memorial near the concert hall, creating a huge mound of flowers.

"It is a tragedy that has affected our entire country," said one of the mourners, kindergarten employee Marina Korshunova.

"It just doesn't even make sense that small children were affected by this event."

Poland has demanded an explanation from Russia after reporting one of its missiles strayed briefly into Polish airspace during a major missile attack on Ukraine.

The Polish foreign ministry intends to summon the Russian ambassador, after the incident prompted the NATO member to activate F-16 fighter jets.

The missile was part of Russia's third big attack on Ukraine in the past four days, and the second to target the capital, Kyiv.

Warsaw's foreign ministry said it would "demand explanations from the Russian Federation in connection with another violation of the country's airspace".

"Above all, we call on the Russian Federation to stop the terrorist air attacks on the inhabitants and territory of Ukraine, end the war, and address the country's internal problems."

A cruise missile entered Polish airspace at 4.23am local time over the village of Oserdow, between half a mile and a mile over the border, for 39 seconds, Warsaw said.

Defence minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said it would have been shot down had there been any indication that it was heading towards a target in Poland.

Andrzej Szejna, a deputy foreign minister, told TVN24 the ministry intended to summon the Russian ambassador to Poland and hand him a protest note.

A missile killed two Polish citizens in 2022 which Western officials said was misfired by a Ukrainian air defence system.

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IMAGES

  1. War in Ukraine: fighting is deadlocked

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  2. Virtue vs. Virtue Signaling: How Hungary Views the War in Ukraine

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  3. Residents Take Cover as Ukraine Border Battles Reignite Conflict

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  4. Ukraine-Hungarian relations: a tale of mounting mutual

    travel hungary ukraine war

  5. Residents Take Cover as Ukraine Border Battles Reignite Conflict

    travel hungary ukraine war

  6. Hungary Blocks Migrants in Border Crackdown

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VIDEO

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  4. Brutal moment! How Ukrainian 47th brigade attacks Russian troops near Avdiivka

  5. Hungary Ukraine possible talks #ukraine #hungary #war

  6. Will Hungary Block Ukraine From The EU? #europe

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