1 day ago
EASTERN UKRAINE (AP) — The commander leading Ukraine's drone war says his country's recent strikes in Crimea are the first phase of a campaign aimed at rendering the peninsula — illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 — unusable as a staging ground for Russian forces.
Maj. Robert "Magyar" Brovdi, one of Ukraine's most prominent commanders among a new generation of soldiers, said his forces could strike seven times more military targets in Crimea if the money pledged by Western allies came faster.
"Crimea falls within the key conceptual pillars on the path to ending the war," Brovdi told The ****** ociated Press in an interview.
Despite that shortfall, Ukraine's summer campaign in Crimea has already inflicted significant damage: striking rail bridges, oil depots and power infrastructure to disrupt supply lines and blind Russian air defenses as drones fly in.
Brovdi said his forces are equipped at just 14% of what they would need to carry out the Crimea campaign at full capacity.
#russian #eastern #magyar
Maj. Robert "Magyar" Brovdi, one of Ukraine's most prominent commanders among a new generation of soldiers, said his forces could strike seven times more military targets in Crimea if the money pledged by Western allies came faster.
"Crimea falls within the key conceptual pillars on the path to ending the war," Brovdi told The ****** ociated Press in an interview.
Despite that shortfall, Ukraine's summer campaign in Crimea has already inflicted significant damage: striking rail bridges, oil depots and power infrastructure to disrupt supply lines and blind Russian air defenses as drones fly in.
Brovdi said his forces are equipped at just 14% of what they would need to carry out the Crimea campaign at full capacity.
#russian #eastern #magyar
22 days ago
BUDAPEST, July 19 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Sunday that he would ask Judit Polgar, widely regarded as the greatest female chess player of all time, to take up the largely ceremonial role of Hungary's next President.
Magyar said in a Facebook post that Polgar, 49, could represent the nation's unity, and that on Monday he would meet Polgar and ask her if she would accept the nomination.
The move comes a day after President Tamas Sulyok signed a constitutional amendment passed by Magyar's ruling Tisza party that ends his term as head of state.
The legislation was part of Magyar's drive to dismantle former Prime Minister Viktor Orban's bastions of power, for which Magyar says he received a strong mandate from voters after ousting the right-wing leader in an April election landslide.
Parliament, where Magyar's party has a two-thirds majority that allows it to change any laws, will elect a new president who will be in office until a planned new constitution takes effect, or for a maximum of five years.
Magyar said in a Facebook post that Polgar, 49, could represent the nation's unity, and that on Monday he would meet Polgar and ask her if she would accept the nomination.
The move comes a day after President Tamas Sulyok signed a constitutional amendment passed by Magyar's ruling Tisza party that ends his term as head of state.
The legislation was part of Magyar's drive to dismantle former Prime Minister Viktor Orban's bastions of power, for which Magyar says he received a strong mandate from voters after ousting the right-wing leader in an April election landslide.
Parliament, where Magyar's party has a two-thirds majority that allows it to change any laws, will elect a new president who will be in office until a planned new constitution takes effect, or for a maximum of five years.
24 days ago
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary's president signed a constitutional amendment into law on Saturday that ends his term in office, bringing to a close a dispute between him and the country's new government that was seeking to oust him as part of a purge of officials appointed during the reign of Viktor Orbán.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who defeated the long-serving Orbán in a blowout election in April, had repeatedly called on the Orbán-appointed president, Tamás Sulyok, to resign, arguing he had failed to live up to his role as president by neglecting to stand in the way of antidemocratic steps by Orbán's government.
When Sulyok refused, lawmakers with Magyar's pro-European, center-right Tisza party passed a constitutional amendment this week that called for an immediate end to his term. Sulyok had five days to sign the amendment into law, which he did on the final day before the deadline.
In a video posted to Facebook Saturday evening, Sulyok — whom Magyar had frequently referred to as Orbán's "puppet" — said that being made to sign the amendment was "lasting proof that the fundamental values of a free society, the rule of law, democracy, the principle of power-sharing, have been trampled on in the interest of power."
Sulyok's term will officially end at midnight on Monday, when speaker of Parliament, Ágnes Forsthoffer, will automatically ***** ume his duties until lawmakers elect a new president, a task which has a 30-day deadline.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar, who defeated the long-serving Orbán in a blowout election in April, had repeatedly called on the Orbán-appointed president, Tamás Sulyok, to resign, arguing he had failed to live up to his role as president by neglecting to stand in the way of antidemocratic steps by Orbán's government.
When Sulyok refused, lawmakers with Magyar's pro-European, center-right Tisza party passed a constitutional amendment this week that called for an immediate end to his term. Sulyok had five days to sign the amendment into law, which he did on the final day before the deadline.
In a video posted to Facebook Saturday evening, Sulyok — whom Magyar had frequently referred to as Orbán's "puppet" — said that being made to sign the amendment was "lasting proof that the fundamental values of a free society, the rule of law, democracy, the principle of power-sharing, have been trampled on in the interest of power."
Sulyok's term will officially end at midnight on Monday, when speaker of Parliament, Ágnes Forsthoffer, will automatically ***** ume his duties until lawmakers elect a new president, a task which has a 30-day deadline.
1 month ago
By Gergely Szakacs and Fedja Grulovic
BUDAPEST, June 27 (Reuters) - More than 10,000 Hungarians on Saturday joined Budapest's first annual Pride march since right-wing leader Viktor Orban's election defeat in April, braving record heat in the city to walk with huge rainbow and European Union flags.
Last year's march, which Orban tried to ban as part of his wider policies targeting LGBTQ+ rights, turned into a mass anti-government demonstration that attracted tens of thousands of people.
This year, after Orban's defeat to Peter Magyar's centre-right Tisza party, the ban was lifted and the march cleared to go ahead.
Fanni Fajth, an 18-year-old student, said the mood was much more optimistic after the political change in the country, and due to hopes for new rights related to adoption, and marriage in the future.
BUDAPEST, June 27 (Reuters) - More than 10,000 Hungarians on Saturday joined Budapest's first annual Pride march since right-wing leader Viktor Orban's election defeat in April, braving record heat in the city to walk with huge rainbow and European Union flags.
Last year's march, which Orban tried to ban as part of his wider policies targeting LGBTQ+ rights, turned into a mass anti-government demonstration that attracted tens of thousands of people.
This year, after Orban's defeat to Peter Magyar's centre-right Tisza party, the ban was lifted and the march cleared to go ahead.
Fanni Fajth, an 18-year-old student, said the mood was much more optimistic after the political change in the country, and due to hopes for new rights related to adoption, and marriage in the future.
2 months ago
BUDAPEST, June 15 (Reuters) - Hungary's parliament approved a constitutional amendment on Monday that allows prime ministers to serve for a maximum of eight years, effectively barring former premier Viktor Orban from holding the role again.
Prime Minister Peter Magyar ousted Orban in an election in April after 16 years, gaining a two-thirds majority in parliament that allows his party to roll back or change legislation passed by Orban's Fidesz, including the constitution.
• The amendment says that those who had previously held the role of prime minister for at least eight years "cannot be elected prime minister." This applies to prime ministerial terms held after the date of May 2, 1990.
• Prime ministers will have to leave office after a total of eight years, or two terms.
• The constitutional amendment also paves the way for the dissolution of the Sovereignty Protection Office, set up by Orban's government, that stigmatised opposition figures and journalists for serving "foreign interests."
Prime Minister Peter Magyar ousted Orban in an election in April after 16 years, gaining a two-thirds majority in parliament that allows his party to roll back or change legislation passed by Orban's Fidesz, including the constitution.
• The amendment says that those who had previously held the role of prime minister for at least eight years "cannot be elected prime minister." This applies to prime ministerial terms held after the date of May 2, 1990.
• Prime ministers will have to leave office after a total of eight years, or two terms.
• The constitutional amendment also paves the way for the dissolution of the Sovereignty Protection Office, set up by Orban's government, that stigmatised opposition figures and journalists for serving "foreign interests."
2 months ago
BUDAPEST, June 5 (Reuters) - Hungary's government will stop issuing worker visas to employees from the Philippines, Georgia and Armenia from Friday, a government spokeswoman said, calling the move a first step towards regulating the inflow of guest workers.
• Prime Minister Peter Magyar's Tisza party, which ended right-wing leader Viktor Orban's 16-year rule in an April 12 election landslide, has said it would stop issuing visas to workers from outside the European Union from June.
• Government to tighten employment opportunities for guest workers over what it says are concerns they are pushing down local salaries, spokeswoman Vanda Szondi told a media briefing.
• Foreign workers account for just 2% of Hungary's workforce based on official statistics, but some sectors, like services and manufacturing, are heavily reliant on foreign workers.
• Government to change decree allowing manpower companies to import workers in a simplified procedure from the Philippines, Georgia and Armenia as of Friday.
• Prime Minister Peter Magyar's Tisza party, which ended right-wing leader Viktor Orban's 16-year rule in an April 12 election landslide, has said it would stop issuing visas to workers from outside the European Union from June.
• Government to tighten employment opportunities for guest workers over what it says are concerns they are pushing down local salaries, spokeswoman Vanda Szondi told a media briefing.
• Foreign workers account for just 2% of Hungary's workforce based on official statistics, but some sectors, like services and manufacturing, are heavily reliant on foreign workers.
• Government to change decree allowing manpower companies to import workers in a simplified procedure from the Philippines, Georgia and Armenia as of Friday.
2 months ago
BUDAPEST, June 1 (Reuters) - Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar said on Monday his government would launch legal proceedings to dismiss President Tamas Sulyok, an appointee of the previous nationalist administration, if he sticks by his refusal to resign.
Magyar's centre-right Tisza party ousted Prime Minister Viktor Orban in an April election and pledged to remove several figures appointed by Orban to key public positions over the past 16 years, including the largely ceremonial head of state.
Magyar has repeatedly called on Sulyok — elected in early 2024 by lawmakers from Orban's Fidesz party — to step down, accusing him of failing to represent national unity on major issues and of serving the interests of Orban and his government. Sulyok has consistently refused to resign.
"I have told the president that if he maintains his stance and does not resign, I will inform... Tisza's lawmakers about our legislative proposals today and we will immediately start the necessary procedures," Magyar said after meeting Sulyok.
The legislative process would take about a month and would involve "removing all the puppets" who took part in "dismantling the rule of law and democracy" under Orban's rule, Magyar said.
Magyar's centre-right Tisza party ousted Prime Minister Viktor Orban in an April election and pledged to remove several figures appointed by Orban to key public positions over the past 16 years, including the largely ceremonial head of state.
Magyar has repeatedly called on Sulyok — elected in early 2024 by lawmakers from Orban's Fidesz party — to step down, accusing him of failing to represent national unity on major issues and of serving the interests of Orban and his government. Sulyok has consistently refused to resign.
"I have told the president that if he maintains his stance and does not resign, I will inform... Tisza's lawmakers about our legislative proposals today and we will immediately start the necessary procedures," Magyar said after meeting Sulyok.
The legislative process would take about a month and would involve "removing all the puppets" who took part in "dismantling the rule of law and democracy" under Orban's rule, Magyar said.
