‘Ternopil is no longer merely a city in western Ukraine. It has become an unexpected and dramatic frontline in this brutal conflict. This tragedy is a stark reminder that civilian infrastructure is vulnerable and that civilians bear the brunt of war…War is never far from everyday life.’
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán praised US President Donald Trump’s newly unveiled 28-point peace plan for ending the war in Ukraine, calling it proof of Trump’s determination to secure a settlement. Orbán contrasted Washington’s diplomatic push with Brussels’ renewed efforts to secure additional funding for Kyiv.
How long can Russia finance its war against Ukraine? Why hasn’t Russia won this war decisively? What is the most realistic outcome? We asked the French economist and Russia expert at the School of Economic Warfare in Paris about the state of the Russian war economy.
Slovenia under fire after parliament approved the Šutar Law, granting sweeping police powers in designated high-risk zones. NGOs and EU officials warn the law may unfairly single out Roma communities, introduced shortly after a Roma suspect fatally assaulted Aleš Šutar—an incident that triggered mass protests and ministerial resignations.
The first terracotta warriors have arrived in Budapest for the Museum of Fine Arts’ major new exhibition, Guardians of Eternity, opening in late November. The large-scale show, unprecedented in Central Europe in 25 years, will feature original artefacts from China’s First Emperor.
‘I applaud Hungary’s efforts to pursue peace and to offer its good offices here in Budapest, or at least to serve as a venue for American–Russian dialogue. Beyond that, I think what’s key here is that this war is about the future of Europe’s security order.’
‘Even in 2015, when the PiS government came to power, individuals with communist pedigrees were still numerous within the less visible but essential layers of state administration, the judiciary, the economy, NGOs, and the media. Today these networks are returning…The goal is clear: to maintain control over social and state institutions regardless of electoral outcomes.’
‘An increasingly uncomfortable truth is emerging for Europe: its economic fate now depends largely on the balance of power between the United States and China…One of the big questions for the coming years will therefore be whether Europe, and Hungary within it, will be able to move beyond its role as a passive victim of other countries’ trade wars and instead build its own industrial and climate policies.’
The Hungarian Institute of International Affairs’ first EastSec Forum examined Europe’s shifting security landscape amid the Russo–Ukrainian war. Speakers, including HIIA President Gladden J Pappin and Zachary Paikin of the Quincy Institute, stressed Hungary’s growing mediating role, the collapse of post–Cold War security structures, and the need to rebuild guarantees for lasting peace.
‘Since the masses are easily manipulated, democracy is the natural breeding ground for demagogues, and a straight path leads from it to totalitarianism.’