Hungary moves defence systems near Ukraine border as regional risks grow

Hungaryʼs military takes big steps to boost its north-eastern defences as nearby conflict shows new signs of heating up. Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky the defence minister made this clear in his social-media post yesterday

The move comes right after Moscow said Ukraine used US-made ATACMS missiles for first time; this happened alongside Putinʼs new rules about when Russia might use its nuclear weapons (which now include more cases than before)

“We still trust that there will be peace as soon as possible through diplomacy instead of a military solution“ > [[Statement from defence minister Szalay-Bobrovniczky in his social-media update]]

The country which shares its border with Ukraine is putting its newly-bought air-defence gear in place: these include high-tech systems from several sources. Hereʼs what Hungary got recently:

• French-made Mistral systems (bought with 4 other EU countries last yr)
• NASAMS defence units from Norway and US makers (deal made bout 4 yrs ago)

The defence minister – who spoke after a meeting with Viktor Orban the prime minister – says some military units are now on high-alert status; this comes as part of a wider plan to keep Hungaryʼs north-east safe in case things get worse

Being both NATO and EU member Hungary needs to keep its borders protected – the defence chief points out that risk of more fighting is now bigger than before: thats why theyre taking these stepʼs to be ready for anything that might happen