The Hungarian armed forces have begun moving troops to the Ukrainian border, Defense Minister Tibor Benkő announced on Tuesday.
“We must be prepared for all situations along the eastern border, for humanitarian tasks, for border protection, which is why we are redeploying soldiers and military equipment to the eastern part of the country,” Benkő said during a press conference in Szentendre, just north of Budapest.
The Hungarian defense minister revealed that at the morning meeting of the National Security Cabinet, the Ministry of Defense was given the task by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of preventing any armed group from entering Hungary and carrying out maneuvers in the country.
“People in Hungary do not have to be afraid, but they have to be careful. The Hungarian Armed Forces must be prepared for any eventuality,” Benkő said.
“In the coming days, the Hungarian population will also be able to see military equipment and marching columns depart from different parts of the country to the eastern part of the country. In the western part of the country — also together with NATO forces — trainings and exercises are held,” he explained.
According to Benkő, should the situation in Ukraine escalate, there will be war activities not only in the eastern part of Ukraine, but also in the direction of Kiev and Transcarpathia, and soldiers will need to be prepared for the arrival of refugees at the border, as well as for humanitarian tasks.
Hungary has a 136 kilometer border with Ukraine to the east and has a sizeable ethnic Hungarian minority in the country. Unlike other regional countries, Hungary — along with Bulgaria — did not receive additional NATO troops in the past few months.
