Russian official: Moscow-Budapest direct flight used by the Russian army may be created soon
Igor Korotchenko, the chairman of the Public Council working under the umbrella of the defence ministry, shared details of a controversial plan concerning the launch of a direct Moscow-Budapest flight and “giving back” Hungarian soldiers to PM Viktor Orbán. Telex fact-checked his statement. Below, you may read their result.
Transcarpathian Hungarians should surrender?
The Hungarian Circle of Peace Association (Magyar Békekör Egyesület) wrote about a Russian plan to establish a direct flight between the two capitals. According to them, Putin’s army will use that to send back those Hungarian soldiers whom the Ukrainian military forcibly drafted from Transcarpathia and sent to fight against the invaders but chose to surrender. The incredible plan went viral on the Internet, so telex.hu decided to check it.
The source was a Russian journalist and security and defence expert, Igor Korotchenko. He is also the chairman of the Public Council, working under the umbrella of the defence ministry. He appears regularly on Russian propaganda TV channels like Rossija 1. He talked about such plans in a show on the channel titled ’60 minutes’.
He said the Ukrainian army forcibly drafts ethnic minorities, including Hungarians living in Transcarpathia. He told them not to fight because provided they surrendered, the Russian military would send them back to PM Viktor Orbán. Therefore, a direct flight will be established between the two capitals. Currently, you cannot fly from Budapest to Moscow without a transfer to Cairo, Belgrade or Dubai. But we assume the flight would not be used by civilians, only by the Russian military. Of course, Mr Korotchenko did not share such details in the show.
Putin and some flight attendants of the Russian Aeroflot:
Russian military to create direct Budapest-Moscow flight?
Considering that Hungary is a NATO member and the Orbán government expressed its loyalty towards the alliance multiple times, such a plan seems impossible. Of course, Orbán and his ministers and secretaries regularly slam the EU for the sanctions and talk about the importance of peace (meaning that the Ukrainians would have to give up considerable territories they currently hold). However, a military cooperation with the Russians seems to be utterly unrealistic.
It is true that Mr Korotchenko talked about such a possibility and praised Orbán in the show, saying that the Hungarian prime minister is not a harsh anti-Russian politician. But the Hungarian government considers the entire plan fake news. That is what Bertalan Havasi, Orbán’s press chief, said to Telex.
Thus, nobody will send Hungarian POWs to Budapest on direct flights between Budapest and Moscow.
Read alsoRussian official: Moscow-Budapest direct flight used by the Russian army may be created soon
Source: telex.hu