Orban involved Ukrainian released from captivity in his election campaign - media
Kyiv • UNN
The Hungarian Prime Minister's headquarters uses videos with prisoners of war and Russian aid to boost ratings. Orban builds his campaign on Kremlin narratives and criticism of Kyiv.
The election headquarters of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is seeking assistance from Russia in the final stage of the campaign. The Hungarian Prime Minister even involved a Ukrainian prisoner of war, released from Russian captivity, in his pre-election rally, UNN reports with reference to Bloomberg.
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A Ukrainian prisoner of war, released from Moscow's captivity, became an unexpected guest at a recent pre-election rally of Viktor Orbán's party in eastern Hungary.
How he got there illustrates Russian President Vladimir Putin's attempts to help the Hungarian prime minister "survive" the upcoming elections next month.
Orbán has repeatedly tried to obstruct the European Union's efforts to support Ukraine and punish Moscow for the invasion. Most polls show that Putin's closest ally in the EU could lose power after 16 years in office.
Prisoners of war in Russia are usually not allowed to contact relatives at home, let alone record video messages asking politicians for help.
Therefore, it was even more remarkable that in late December, pro-government Hungarian groups on Facebook began publishing high-quality videos in which soldiers of Hungarian origin praised their Russian captors for humane treatment and asked the Hungarian prime minister to help free them.
By February, some of these videos had been shared on Russian government accounts, then shown on Hungarian public television, and then published by Hungarian officials. Following Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó's visit to Moscow earlier this month, Russia released two hostages, including one who appeared at an event in Debrecen last week.
Two sources familiar with the situation said that the EU has not yet taken steps to investigate the actions of the Hungarian authorities during the campaign, as well as reports of possible foreign interference, for fear of alienating Orbán if he is re-elected.
The videos are "the most convincing evidence of Russian interference so far," said András Rácz, a Hungarian analyst who studies the war in Ukraine for the German Council on Foreign Relations. The fact that they were filmed from captivity shows that Moscow was helping Orbán's election campaign, he argues.
This would not be extraordinary. The authorities of Romania and Moldova reported large-scale attempts by Moscow to influence the outcome of two key elections last year. Russia denies this accusation, but Eastern European governments remain wary of further attempts to support populist and anti-European forces, for whom Orbán is a role model.
The Prime Minister's Fidesz party has built an election campaign that closely aligns with the Kremlin's narratives regarding Ukraine. It portrays Kyiv as an "enemy" that will drag Hungarian soldiers into the war if opposition leader Péter Magyar wins on April 12.
Orban sends delegation to Ukraine over damage to Druzhba oil pipeline12.03.26, 17:18 • 4794 views
Earlier this year, Orbán accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of deliberately cutting off energy supplies to Hungary, without mentioning that the supply was interrupted by a Russian drone strike on a critical pipeline. Ukraine denied the accusation, stating that a quick restoration was impossible.
Last week, Hungarian anti-terrorist police seized a regular cash shipment en route from Austria to Ukraine. Budapest claimed that tens of millions of dollars could have been used for nefarious purposes — an assumption rejected by Austrian and Ukrainian officials. "These elections are about whether Zelenskyy or I will form the government," Orbán said at a campaign event this week. Fidesz campaign posters urge voters "not to let Zelenskyy have the last laugh."
The election campaign took a new turn on Wednesday when Orbán was filmed responding to a heavily edited video in which a seemingly long-retired Ukrainian politician appeared to threaten the prime minister and his family.
"Ukrainians threaten not only me, but also you and your grandchildren," Orbán said, calling his three daughters in turn to quiet piano music. "This is serious, but there is no need to be afraid."
Last week, the investigative portal VSquare reported that the Kremlin had begun providing advice and developing communication strategies for Orbán's campaign – a claim denied by both the Kremlin and the Hungarian government.
But Magyar had no doubts. On Tuesday, he called on Orbán in a social media message to "stop the planned election fraud and expel Russian agents from Hungary."