How thousands of Hungarians helped Ukraine's army despite Orbán's regime
After 12 April 2026, when Viktor Orbán’s party suffered a crushing election defeat, relations between Ukraine and Hungary were given a chance, though not a guarantee, for a full reset.
For years, Orbán’s propaganda portrayed an imagined "Ukrainian threat" and tried to artificially paint Ukrainians as enemies.
Yet while some people believed the government’s messaging, there was also "another Hungary", where thousands of Hungarians raised money for the Ukrainian military.
During a trip to Budapest, European Pravda met with the country’s best-known volunteer initiative supporting Ukraine – Kárpátaljai Sárkányellátó or "Transcarpathian Dragon Supply". The initiative was originally created to support a specific Ukrainian military unit bearing that name.
Read more about Hungary’s best-known pro-Ukrainian aid fund, little known in Ukraine itself, in the article by European Pravda editor Sergiy Sydorenko: Hungary’s "Dragon Helpers": How activists supported Ukraine's army despite Orbán’s regime.
European Pravda had heard about the work of the "Dragons" many times before. Initially, it came from Hungarian colleagues concerned about Ukraine. Earlier this year, their contribution also received official recognition: Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met with the group’s leader, Balázs Trautmann, and presented him with the special "Amber Heart" award.
The idea of fundraising for Ukrainians emerged on 23 October 2022 – the anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. The uprising was crushed by Soviet authorities, but it remains a source of national pride in Hungary and later became the country’s main national holiday.
Ironically, the person who inspired the initiative, without intending to, was Ukraine’s current ambassador to Hungary, Fedir Shandor, who at the time was a sergeant in the 68th Territorial Defence Battalion known as the "Transcarpathian Dragons".
That day, during Ukraine’s Kharkiv counteroffensive, his battalion became the first to enter the small village of Ambarne near the Ukrainian-Russian border. Shandor then posted a short five-second video in which three Ukrainian soldiers of ethnic Hungarian background say: "Forward, Hungarians!" ("Hajrá, magyarok!").
"In Hungary, that video went absolutely viral," Balázs Trautmann recalled.
It was the first year of the war, and many online communities were closely following events in Ukraine, including a Facebook group that included Trautmann and his friend, Budapest history teacher Mihály Oláh.
Mihály, a man of action, immediately messaged Shandor on Facebook after watching the video from the Kharkiv region: We are Hungarians, we are ready to help – what do you need?
Shandor replied with a single word: "chargers".
Mihály then posted an appeal in the Facebook group to raise money for several EcoFlow power stations. By the next day, 2,500 euros had already been donated. Shandor’s viral popularity clearly played a role.
By the time the fundraiser closed, they had enough money for three power stations with some funds left over.
Neither Balázs Trautmann nor Mihály Oláh had any prior experience working with Ukraine, so they had to learn logistics from scratch. Trautmann still speaks enthusiastically and repeatedly with gratitude about his experience with Nova Poshta.
"Just imagine," he said, "in the middle of a war, they delivered 500 kg of cargo from Uzhhorod to Mykolaiv in two days and for only 100 euros. I still can’t believe it."
In 2024, the "Dragons" decided to formalise their work by establishing an official foundation under Hungarian law. They also made a principled decision to "cross the Carpathians", meaning they would help not only ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine.
Support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine remains the foundation of their work.
Balázs Trautmann estimates that between 40,000 and 50,000 Hungarians have contributed to their fundraising campaigns at least once through online donations.
Of course, not everyone in Hungary supports aid to Ukraine. But representatives of the "Dragons" insist that the influence of Orbán’s propaganda is greatly exaggerated and exists mostly online.
According to them, despite Orbán’s rhetoric, the Hungarian state in practice did not obstruct the foundation’s work and in some cases even facilitated it.