Hungary is expanding its military muscle as Minister of Defence Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky announced the addition of 56 Gidrán combat vehicles, raising the fleet to 106. Developed jointly with Türkiye, these versatile armoured vehicles boast advanced protection and weaponry.
‘The principles of “America first” and “Hungary first” give us the opportunity to elevate our friendship to a level where the sky is the limit,’ Péter Szijjártó highlighted in his speech at the US Embassy reception held on Wednesday to mark American Independence Day.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán described this year’s NATO summit as a ‘battle won’ for member states advocating the strengthening of the Alliance over prioritizing Ukraine. He also emphasized that the European Union must ease its fiscal rules to enable member states to meet the new 5 per cent defence commitment by 2035.
Recent developments in the Hungary–Ukraine spy scandal indicate that one of the exposed Ukrainian intelligence officers, Roland Tseber, had a deeply embedded network within Hungarian political and defence circles. He even organized opposition leader Péter Magyar’s visit to Kyiv last July, further raising suspicions about the Tisza party and its potential cooperation with Ukrainian intelligence.
‘As the European Union and the Turkic world steadily evolve into natural economic allies, Hungary’s role in this process is becoming increasingly pivotal. Thanks to the trust it has earned…Hungary is well-positioned to act as a bridge between the two blocs. Hungarian–Uzbek relations are flourishing, with both nations serving as keystone states within their respective regions.’
‘The defence of Ukraine is not the defence of the alliance, not the community, not NATO. Ukraine is currently the threat,’ Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó warned on Thursday. The minister firmly rejected accusations from his Polish counterpart, accusing him of aligning with Kyiv in what he described as a disinformation campaign against Hungary.
HDF György Klapka 1st Armoured Brigade held its annual open day on 11 April, an event that attracted several thousand visitors. This significant turnout reflected public confidence in the armed forces and underlined their close connection with society.
A Hungarian Facebook user has shared a video of tanks driving across the streets of Budapest at night over the weekend. Many people picked up the footage, fearing it was a sign of military escalation. However, an expert from the Hungarian tabloid Blikk has cracked the case.
A spy war has erupted between Hungary and Ukraine, with both countries expelling diplomats amid allegations of espionage and political subversion. At home, Hungarian officials now suspect the opposition’s actions—including a controversial leak by Péter Magyar—may be tied to Ukrainian intelligence efforts to destabilize Prime Minister Orbán’s government.
Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar has published an audio recording—hyped as capable of toppling the government—featuring Defence Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky discussing the army’s need to prepare for potential conflict. While the recording falls far short of expectations, it reveals much about Magyar himself and how detached from reality he appears to be.
Hungarian Conservative is a quarterly magazine on contemporary political, philosophical and cultural issues from a conservative perspective.
