Orbán describes Mukachevo attack as 'Russian' in post

On Thursday afternoon Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also addressed Thursday's Russian air strike on Mukachevo. He wrote that the cabinet had reviewed the consequences of the drone attack, which targeted a local factory called Flex and left 19 people injured. Unlike President Tamás Sulyok, Orbán used the term "Russian" when describing the attack.

Viktor Orbán also announced on Facebook that he had instructed Interior Minister Sándor Pintér to ensure that hospitals in Debrecen and Nyíregyháza were ready to receive the wounded, but this was not necessary in the end. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó “consulted with representatives of the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia, to whom we also offered the Hungarian government’s assistance,” the PM wrote. Finally, in line with the government's main narrative, Orbán said: “Efforts towards peace and the negotiation process initiated by President Trump must continue. Nothing but peace!”

In the early hours of Thursday morning, an electronics factory in the Ukrainian town of Mukachevo, about 30 kilometres from the Hungarian border was hit by a Russian missile strike. A fire burned at the site into the morning hours. Nearly 20 people were injured in the attack, 12 of whom are being treated in hospital. Some are seriously injured, but there are no reports of fatalities. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the plant was “an ordinary civilian enterprise supported by American investment, producing everyday goods such as coffee machines.”

The Hungarian head of state reacted to the Russian attack by expressing his "deep sympathy for the victims of the Russian missile strike on Mukachevo," but he later removed the word "Russian" from his statement. Analyst Gábor Török described it as "digital illiteracy," DK president Klára Dobrev called it "shameful," while Momentum labeled Sulyok's move a "cowardly and pro-Russian act." Péter Magyar of the Tisza Party wrote that the "puppet president" should be ashamed of himself, while Momentum's Márton Tompos called Sulyok a “cowardly piece of shit.”

We asked the President's Office in the morning why the text had been modified, and the answer arrived seven hours later.

"The text of the post was modified because the Office of the President was still awaiting the official, detailed information and confirmation regarding the circumstances of the missile attack against Mukachevo, as well as information on the identity of those responsible for the attack,"

the Communications Directorate of the Sándor Palace wrote to Telex, adding that the President of the Republic nevertheless considered it important to be among the first to express his deep sympathy for the injured.

Fidesz's communications director, Tamás Menczer chose a similar course of action as the president earlier in the day and he also omitted the Russians from his statement: "Last night's events are not evidence that there is no need for peace talks. On the contrary, they prove that peace talks are needed now more than ever." Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also failed to mention that the bombing was done by Russians when commenting on the attack: "This morning's news from Ukraine proves once again that peace is needed as soon as possible!" – he wrote.