Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, the Hungarian defence minister, wrote last week in a Facebook post that the Hungarian Defence Forces were closely monitoring the situation in Transcarpathia following last week’s Russian attacks and the heightened radar surveillance. Blikk wrote that the ‘Hungarian Iron Dome’ has been deployed near the Ukrainian border because even experts believe the war may reach Hungarian territories. The ministry did not share exactly where they placed the air defence system.

Orbán talked about the darkest days of the war

We wrote last week that media reports talked about two Russian missiles shot down close to the Hungarian-Ukrainian border over Pósaháza (Pavsino) and Feketepatak (Csornyij Potik). For example, almost 95% of the population of Feketepatak is Hungarian, located only 20 kilometres from the Hungarian-Ukrainian border.

The Hungarian defence minister said then that they were closely monitoring the situation. However, there is more happening in Northeastern Hungary, as the media reported before.

Hungarian media, especially the government-close outlets, regularly write about the possible escalation of the ongoing war in Ukraine. Following the deployment of North Korean troops in Ukraine, multiple Western powers allowed Ukraine to use their weapons against targets in Russia. The consequence was the Russian nuclear doctrine’s modification, followed by a similar change in the corresponding American document.

PM Orbán said in his morning interview that the possibility of escalation was never this high before, and we must wait until Trump’s inauguration in January to ease the conflict and introduce an armistice or peace.

Hungarian Iron Dome near Ukrainian border

However, it seems Hungary is preparing for the worst-case scenario. The Hungarian Defence Ministry did not want to comment or provide further details, but Blikk believes that the defence minister decided to deploy Hungary’s NASAMS (Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System) air defence system in Northeast Hungary. Szalay-Bobrovniczky said that the advanced air defence systems allow Hungarian troops to increase their efficiency concerning detection accuracy and shorten reaction times.

The new NASAMS-3 system was inaugurated in Győr last October.

Spain, Lithuania and the USA also use this air defence system, which proved very effective against Russian attacks in Ukraine. The NASAMS-3 cannot shoot down ballistic missiles, but it is good against drones, missiles and air force. Depending on the rocket type it uses, its range spans 8-50 kilometres.

Furthermore, the system’s effectiveness can be increased by the ELM–2084 radars used by the Israeli Iron Dome.

Russia may attack Transcarpathia and even Hungarian regions

István Gyarmati, a Hungarian national security expert, said it was high time to deploy the Hungarian air defence system in Northern Hungary. Mr Gyarmati said the Hungarian Defence Forces must always prepare for the worst-case scenario, and currently, Hungary is threatened only by Ukraine.

He said he expected fights even in Transcarpathia, a region populated by a community of more than 100,000 indigenous Hungarians. It has happened only twice so far, as it was Ukraine’s westernmost region that fell victim to Russian attacks. Mr Gyarmati added that provided the war escalates, Russian missiles may even hit Hungarian territories.

Ukraine events in recent days show need for immediate peace, says FM Szijjártó

Events in Ukraine in recent days such as the strikes on Transcarpathia and the launch of long-range missiles confirm that an immediate peace settlement is needed because there is a severe risk of escalation, the foreign minister said on Thursday.

The ministry cited Péter Szijjártó saying during his tour of Hungary promoting the National Consultation survey that in Brussels his European Union counterparts appeared unnerved largely in view of Donald Trump’s election win and because they expected that Trump likely remembered all the things they said about him in the past eight years.

“There were very few of us in the room with a real smile on their faces, sitting relaxed during the discussion of the day’s agenda. What’s important is that we have always stood on the right side and we are still standing there,” he added.

“After the low points of political cooperation in the past four years, I believe there is good hope that Hungary-US political ties will return to where they used to be during Trump’s first presidency…” he said.

He cited the US decision to cancel an agreement on double taxation avoidance, and that Hungarian opposition parties and the media had been receiving US financial support in recent years, neither of which were “an expression of sincere friendship”.

“It was clear that if the results in America in early November had been different, then we would have been in a position where we must really pull up our socks. We still have to do that because there are two months left and it is easy to see that the Democrats in government and their liberal friends in Europe decided to make all possible moves to thwart the possibility of making peace in January,” he added.

“Now there is the need for wisdom, strategic calm and consideration on the part of the pro-peace camp, so that the hope that was so bright in the sky just a few days ago still survives on January 20,” he added.

He welcomed the fact that the “globalist, pro-war offer” had been defeated in the US by the “pro-peace, economically patriotic approach”. He said that the latter had become dirty words in Europe. “If someone is pro-peace, they immediately get branded. Being pro-peace has become equal to siding with Putin and being Lavrov-friendly,” he added.

Szijjártó said the West has delivered hundreds of millions of euros worth of weapons to Ukraine in recent years, but this had failed to bring about a turning point on the battlefield. He said the conflict could only be resolved through negotiations.

“What do further weapons deliveries lead to?” Szijjártó said. “To a protracted war, to more casualties, more suffering, more destruction and the danger of the war’s expansion.”

“Every development of the last few days, including the missile strike on Transcarpathia, the alleged launch of ballistic missiles and the launch of long-range missiles all underscore the need for immediate peace,” he said.

“An immediate ceasefire and immediate negotiations are needed because a single accident, a single bad decision, a miscalculation or a misunderstood communication is enough for the whole world to be engulfed in flames,” he warned.

“So it’s important to strengthen peace efforts in every way possible and to remain committed over the next two months in order to avoid any kind of trouble that could trigger irreversible developments,” Szijjártó said.

Meanwhile, he said the US presidential election had brought about “a completely new reality in geopolitics and the global economy”.

“It’s clear that people are getting fed up in Europe as well,” he said. “We’ve been living under the threat of migration for nine years now. Four years ago, the European Commission failed to manage Covid… And instead of having localised the war, the European Union — or at least quite a few EU and NATO member states — are practically taking steps to globalise the conflict.”

He said European leaders were “fully aware as to how big the problems are, but aren’t prepared to admit it, because that would raise the issue of holding them accountable”.

“The politicians of the European liberal mainstream don’t want to be confronted by this,” Szijjártó said, adding that it was “up to the people to do the work” in elections.

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