Hungary bans Ukrainian news portals, including European Pravda and Ukrainska Pravda
The Hungarian government has banned a number of Ukrainian media outlets, including Ukrainska Pravda and European Pravda.
In mid-September, Ukraine banned several foreign newspapers, including Hungarian outlets Origo and Demokrata, citing their regular dissemination of Russian propaganda.
Gergely Gulyás, Minister of the Office of the Prime Minister of Hungary claimed that Ukraine is concerned that these papers "dared to write critically about sanctions against Russia and military support for Ukraine" and depicted the EU and NATO as fragmented and ineffective.
"Following the principle of reciprocity, Hungary today introduces mirror measures against Ukrainian news portals, so they will not be accessible in Hungary.
I do not think many people read Ukrainska Pravda or even want to read it. However, a sovereign country must give a proportional response to an entirely unfounded attack," Gulyás said.
Gulyás elaborated that the following Ukrainian media outlets have been banned:
- tsn.ua
- oboz.ua
- anons-zak.com.ua
- ungvar.uz.ua
- zakarpattya.net.ua
- pravda.com.ua
- hromadske.ua
- nv.ua
- lb.ua
- insiderinfo.com.ua
- uaonline.com.ua
- eurointegration.com.ua
Hungarian portal Telex reported that Russia had taken similar steps before, such as last year, when it banned the 444.hu website, making it the only Hungarian media outlet barred in the country.
Last year, Gulyás said that he "would not have approved if 444 had been banned anywhere". The press service of the Hungarian prime minister, fearing Russian retaliation, chose not to respond to that ban. Those concerns, however, did not seem to apply to Ukraine's decision.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will face the greatest challenge to his 15-year rule in the Hungarian elections scheduled for April 2026.
Péter Magyar, a former member of Orbán's political circle, leads a party that has a chance to defeat Orbán's Fidesz in parliamentary elections for the first time since 2010.