🧵1/♾ So, I woke up early to watch a two-hour interview with Putin, and I was astounded by the river of lies.
Putin claimed there was a coup (which there wasn't) and that he had to annex Crimea to protect it. But protect it from what?

Crimea was annexed two days BEFORE the Verkhovna Rada voted for Yanukovych's removal on the 22nd of February 2014.

Moreover, Ukraine didn't start the war in 2014, or at any other time. The conflict actually began on April 12, 2014, when a fifty-man commando unit led by Russian citizen Igor Girkin seized Sloviansk in Donetsk Oblast. 🧵2/♾ Here is one of the videos where Igor Girkin is admitting to starting the war.

🇭🇺🇺🇦🇪🇺🧵Viktor Orban's stance towards Ukraine and his insistence on the EU first signing a strategic partnership agreement with Ukraine, instead of beginning membership talks, can be understood in the context of various historical and geopolitical factors, especially his relationship with Russia and domestic political considerations. ⬇️


Historical Context and Domestic Politics:

Orban was initially supportive of a democratic Ukraine with Euro-Atlantic ambitions, but his tone changed after becoming prime minister in 2010. The Hungarian minority in the western Ukrainian region of Transcarpathia has been a point of contention, especially regarding issues like language laws perceived to target this minority. Orban has even called for autonomy and dual citizenship for this minority, leading to accusations of separatism.
Domestically, Orban targets far-right voters in Hungary who dream of a "Greater Hungary" and its pre-1918 boundaries. His statements often resonate with these voters.

🇭🇺🧵1/16 I've put together a 15-point summary of the OSCE's report on Hungary's 2022 election. This is particularly pertinent in light of the numerous comments about 'your country voting for Orbán' that I've come across. The following are the key points summarized: 2/16

Absence of a Level Playing Field: The elections and referendum were marked by an absence of a level playing field, with overlap between the ruling coalition and the government, and a highly negative campaign tone (Section: "In its Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions").

🇭🇺🧵1/8

The activities of the Israeli private intelligence firm Black Cube in Hungary, as reported by Politico and other sources, revolve around a campaign to discredit non-governmental organizations (NGOs) ahead of Hungary’s April election: 2/8

Operation Details:

Black Cube was involved in a campaign between December 2017 and March 2018 targeting Hungarian NGOs and individuals connected to American-Hungarian businessman George Soros. Agents used false identities to secretly record these individuals, and the recordings were later used by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to attack independent civil society organizations. These activities marked the first time Black Cube’s work was allegedly used in the run-up to an election.

This morning I came across this under the tweet of @NAFO_Hungary. NAFO Hungary was expressing how outraged fair-minded Hungarians are about Orbán's recent statements, in which he basically stated that Ukraine is not a sovereign state and that he doesn't consider Putin a war… https://t.co/RlLYWELRZBtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…
I'll start with this for those who haven't seen it yet. It gives a big picture of what kind of media conditions prevail. It greatly contributes to what information reaches people and what does not. In public media, it is NEVER possible for the corruption of the governing party to… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Kirill Patriarch wished Viktor Orbán a happy birthday and awarded him with the Order of Glory and Honor, 1st Class.

Translation below in tweets.

444.hu/2023/06/02/kir… 1. Although a bit late, Patriarch Kirill, leader of the Russian Orthodox Church and a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, congratulated Viktor Orbán on his 60th birthday and awarded him the Order of "Glory and Honor" First Class. The good relationship may be based on… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

PM Orbán Viktor gave a live interview on the Kossuth Radio morning show from 8:30 am. He discussed the budget, inflation, the war between Russia and Ukraine, and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's election victory.

Translation below in Tweets:

telex.hu/belfold/2023/0… 1 "The real losers of the Russian-Ukrainian war are those whose family members die because the front line 'spares neither God nor man,' said Viktor Orbán in his usual Friday statement on Kossuth Radio."

I was watching the debate between @jacksonhinklle and @DrewPavlou, and in this thread, I'm going to elaborate on the false statements. I'll start off with this one. According to Hinkle, the Verkhovna Rada says that in order to impeach the President, a 3/4 majority is required,… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

"BURNT ALIVE IN #ODESSA "
"Ukrainian nationalists locked communist trade union members and protesters in Odesa's TUH and set the building on fire."
"...terrible tragedy, when Ukrainian nationalists burned dozens of their fellow citizens alive in the House of Trade Unions in… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… I would like to direct your focus to two specific aspects of the Council of Europe's investigation:

1. "Other than the fire in the lobby, the fires could only have been started by the acts of those inside the building."

2. "However, there is also footage showing pro-unity… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Hungary's hunger.

A 26-minute report film by Russia Today, in which seemingly ordinary people explain what the average Hungarian's viewpoint is.

BUT! 🧵⬇️ Let's put aside the first couple of minutes for now, about why the entrepreneur doesn't understand in the context of a great deal why the utility bills are seven times higher than before, despite the fact that Hungary is exempt from sanctions (for pipeline gas and crude oil).

Well, Jez, since you are this stupid, let me take the liberty of reacting to that this way, in a long enough 🧵

👇🏻

https://twitter.com/roguebarbarian/status/1651542622110875648

So let's kick shit off with the "14.000 innocent people."

In short, it's Russian bullshit propaganda.

"14,200-14,400 killed (at least 3,404 civilians, estimated 4,400 Ukrainian forces, and estimated 6,500 members of armed groups"

Including deaths resulting from imprudent handling of ammunition or weapons, road incidents, diseases, killings and suicides while on service in the conflict zone