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Dom Nicholls
The telegraph. I'm Dom Nicholls and this is Ukraine the latest today as Ukraine and the
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Francis Darnley
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Dom Nicholls
ACAST helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.world reacts to the overwhelming rejection of Viktor Orban's illiberal democracy. We ask first, who is Peter Magyar? Then as Hungarians meet the new boss, Will he be the same as the old boss? And if they're not to be fooled again, how will the EU approach the tricky unsolved issue of the 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine? We examine how much fire actually ceased over the Orthodox Easter weekend, and we assess whether Putin is a net winner or loser from the global attacks on oil infrastructure. And later we have an audio postcard from our Europe editor James Crisp. On the ground in Budapest, Bravery takes you through the most unimaginable hardships to
James Crisp
finally reward you with Victory.
Francis Darnley
The Russia does not want fees.
Dom Nicholls
If I'm president, I will have that war settled in one day, 24 hours. We are with you. Not just today or tomorrow, but for a hundred years. Nobody's going to break us.
James Crisp
We're strong, we're Ukrainians.
Dom Nicholls
It's Monday 13 April, four years and 48 days since the full scale invasion began. And today I'm joined by my colleague Francis Darnley and the Telegraph's Europe editor, James Crisp. So the big news over the weekend obviously was the end of Viktor Orban's 16 years of his self described illiberal democracy. President Zelenskyy congratulated Hungary's opposition leader on his historic election victory, saying, I congratulate Peter Magyar and the Tisa party on their convincing victory. It's important when a constructive approach prevails. Ukraine has always sought good neighborly relations with everyone in Europe and we are ready to develop cooperation with Hungary.
Francis Darnley
He must be breathing a sigh of relief, let's put it that way, among among many.
Dom Nicholls
But I think his joy was evident in his social media posts. He said Kyiv is ready for meetings and joint constructive work with the new Hungarian government, which we're told could take about a month to form. But you probably know more about that. More on the whole thing later from Francis and Europe editor James Crisp. Now then into Ukraine and the theatre. Wide ceasefire over the Orthodox Easter holiday. You'll remember this was the 32 hours from 4pm Saturday to midnight Sunday. Over that time both sides accused the other of multiple ceasefire violations, although the Ukrainian army said it had recorded no long range shahed drone attacks, guided aerial bombs or missile strikes. I think that was only for Saturday because I've seen some reports of shaheds on Sunday. Anyway, on Friday's episode, you may remember, I went through why ceasefires need huge amount of preparation time to make clear what kind of activities are permitted and what activities are certainly not and how much hard work and perhaps willingness is required ahead of any ceasefire going into effect. You'll remember President Zelenskyy offered days in advance. Putin didn't want to be seen to be accepting his idea. So there's no pre planning at all. They just went straight for this ceasefire. Have a look at Friday's episode again to see me talk through a few examples of why a ceasefire is very shaky unless you absolutely bottom out all these issues now it's difficult to active the front was over the weekend, but we can turn to Ukraine's general staff for statistics. That as I say over the Years have been shown to be pretty reasonable. There were 960 Russian casualties on Sunday, 1070 the day before. Obviously on Saturday. Some of that day, most of the day was not covered by the ceasefire. And as an example of what's been happening recently, there were 1,440 Friday into Saturday. So a slight dip, let's say 1400 Friday, no ceasefire. 960 on Sunday when apparently there was a ceasefire. So it shows how active the front was. But if you don't believe Ukraine's General Staff statistics or you don't want to take them with a pinch of salt for a better idea, let's have a look at actually what happened on the ground yesterday Sunday in Ukraine. Two people were killed and six injured across Ukraine yesterday. Obviously that's the first full day or the only full day of the ceasefire, which as I say, makes it monitoring it slightly easier, perhaps. 98 drones were launched at Ukraine, 87 of which were brought down. The two people were killed were in the Donbass cities of Kramatorsk and Kushki. There were injuries there as well as Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblast. Then last night, Sunday night, there was an attack on the Chernhiv oblast in the north of the country. Damaged an energy facility there, left 12,000 people without power in the region. Bit of a prelude from last Friday. But, you know, does an attack on a power station, does that constitute a violation of the ceasefire? Anyway, unsurprisingly, President Zelensky's suggestion that the truce could carry on was not taken up by Russia. And also unsurprisingly, the Kremlin blamed that on Kyiv, saying yesterday that it would not extend the truce unless Mr. Zelenskyy accepted his terms. Which is not kind of anyway, never mind. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, said sustainable peace can come when we secure our interests and achieve the goals we set from the very start. You can see he's going to this in good faith. He carried on. This can be done literally today. But Zelenskyy must accept these well known solutions. So, okay, great, fine. State news agency Tass reported yesterday that Peskov had said that Russian troops still needed to take control of 17 to 18% of Ukraine's Donetsk region. That's all they're after.
Francis Darnley
And then it will all be over. Will it?
Dom Nicholls
That's it. All right now. Also yesterday, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's office accused Russia of committing a war crime. They published footage allegedly showing Russian forces executing four Ukrainian prisoners of war on Saturday after taking Ukrainian positions north of Kharkiv city. So this comes from Ukraine's 14th Army Corps spokesperson Vitaly Sarantsev, who said there was an operation on Saturday near vetryini. That's about 30 K's north of Kharkiv. It's the western end of that sort of Vovachansk salient that Russia's been holding for well over a year now. It's right up on the border. This operation started before the ceasefire. We're told Russia took ground to took prisoners, but then four prisoners were shot after the 4pm local ceasefire went into effect. Now, I'm not in any way lessening the severity of the crime, but it's actually irrelevant. When these murders occurred, they were prisoners of war. They had protected status under the Geneva Conventions. They should not have been harmed in any way. But worth noting now just going back a little bit because it's been quite a busy weekend Thursday to Friday. We didn't see this in time for Friday's episode. Ukrainian special ops forces carried out deep strikes on two Lukoil offshore platforms in the Caspian Sea overnight Thursday into Friday. The strikes hit platforms at the Greyfer and Korchagin gas fields. It's about 1,000 km from the front line. And just on Ukraine's continued long range attacks on oil well, specifically oil infrastructure. I would point you to Philips. O', Brien, who's the professor at St. Andrews University, had him on the pod a few times in his weekend update. He did a quick calculation on how Donald Trump's decision to attack Iran has helped or hindered the Russian economic situation. So you got to put into context the rise in the oil price against how much Russia is actually able to get out and sell on the open market. So this is just for monthly a monthly income generator. Philips has worked out that with Brent crude at about or at $100 a barrel, he says Russia is benefiting from BY they're selling $7.8 billion worth. Okay. They're also benefiting by the sanctions relief. Trump has said he will allow some oil out into the open market, etc. Etc. That's another two and a half billion that will go directly to Russia. But then against that there are refinery repairs, which he calculates to be about 1.5 billion, and lost export revenue because the whole market is dipped of about 4.2 billion. These are rough figures because there's all sorts of other things about ships being hit and so on and so forth. But overall, he says the net monthly balance is $4.6 billion in favor of Russia. Okay. Now he says this is not stable. Needless to say, the Ukrainian campaign can do more damage going forward and the price of oil could continue to decline. However, Donald Trump did a major favor for Putin, which the Ukrainians are working hard to eliminate. I mean, he's a sensible bloke. Phillips, O'. Brien. And 4.6, it's billion. So, you know, big, big numbers. Even if he's got some of those numbers a bit wrong, I would suggest he's in the ballpark of saying that Russia is a net winner out of the country.
Francis Darnley
I remember us at the time when it all started talking about this being the most likely outcome if the war dragged on, which it has, and of course, if it wasn't successful from the American perspective in terms of creating a regime or situation in Iran that was more favorable to the west, which doesn't look like it's going to get. But as you say, like this is because of the failures in that campaign. In essence, it's been a beneficial one for Russia.
Dom Nicholls
And we reported last week, whilst you were off on your sunbed, that Adanov and President Zelensky said that they had received requests from Western partners. They didn't name them, but requests from Western partners for Ukraine not to hit Russian oil infrastructure, which the Ukrainians politely declined. Now, a couple more things for me. On Saturday, there was another prisoner exchange. Each side handed over 175 service personnel and seven civilians. I think the seven civilians only came back from Russia to Ukraine. I don't think Ukraine had any Russian civilians to hand over. Most of the Ukrainian service personnel had been in captivity since 2022. And then just finally for me, the SBU, the Security Service of Ukraine, along with Ukraine's national police over the weekend exposed 5 mobilization so called evasion schemes and detained a number of people. They're saying that some of these schemes offering for the price of US$20,000, the dealers would offer ways to avoid conscription through forged documents and help them escape abroad by avoiding checkpoints. Now, in the Kyiv region, the SPU and the National Police detained a couple who had offered inpatient treatment with supporting documentation following up detailing disabilities which meant they couldn't serve. Then there was a nurse from a general tuberculosis clinic together with her husband who had recruited doctors of various specialties to forge medical documentation. In the Chernihive region, a neurologist and a member of the military medical Commission was exposed for offering draft evaders fictitious hospitalization for money, followed by the diagnoses of various serious conditions. And finally, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, a taxi driver who was making a bit of a sideline in transporting evaders out of Ukraine. He was held as well. His package of services included instruction on the escape routes to get through the western border and remote escort while crossing the area on foot. I don't know what remote escorts are. Maybe you do, Francis. Anyway, the perpetrators face up to eight years in prison, along with confiscation of their property. Pretty serious stuff. Now they're in. Francis, As I say, at the start, the big, big news from the weekend was from Hungary. Huge turnout, especially from the young. No teenage wasteland in Hungarian politics, it seems. What have you been looking at and what was your reaction? You've just been out there, haven't you?
Francis Darnley
Yeah, well, it's extraordinary. I mean, I'm very glad we dedicated the amount of time that we did to Hungary in these last few weeks, because this result that we've seen is moment in many different respects, although I think there are important caveats to throw in there and which we'll get to shortly. First of all, the facts. Orban's out of power after 16 years, and not just by a narrow margin, but by a very substantial margin. And that matters because of the supermajority. It means that almost certainly the new leader of the country, old Magyar, will be able to make quite substantive changes to the institutions that Orban effectively installed for the last 16 years. And so this is going to be a very different Hungary. Potentially. It has the capacity, capacity to do that. Whereas if this had been a narrow majority, then his opportunities may well have been quite substantially reduced. But what does it mean? The big question for our purposes is what it means for the 90 billion euro loan. As you will have seen in our reporting on this, there was absolutely no desire among Orban's officials to unlock the 90 billion. Far from it. They saw this as an instrument that was essentially being in use to encourage Europeans, including Hungary, to get more and more invested in the war and indeed to be essentially financing the Ukrainians and prolonging the war. I think there is the potential for this to shift in order to unlock the 18 billion euros that is being withheld by the EU in terms of financing Hungary itself. And yet, Dom, I think it's very important to underscore here that there are important caveats. The idea that Madyar is some sort of liberal in the way that perhaps is being portrayed by some leaders. I saw Barack Obama said this is a victory for democracy. Donald Tusk's Posted a video of him on the phone with Magyar saying, welcome back to Europe and all of this. And yes, it's different from Orban, but his nickname in Brussels when he was the permanent representative for Hungary in Brussels was Baby Orban.
Dom Nicholls
Oh, really?
Francis Darnley
This is not a man who is of the European Union's way of thinking. And he also has voted against in the past the loans for Ukraine and for its military support. And yet, and yet, as I say, because he's given interviews and has said that he wants to see some movement with the dialogue with the EU that is believed that it's possible that he's going to want to make progress on this. And yet, as I say, important to underscore here that he is a man who has made his political bones by being part of Fides originally. Orban's party basically has fought against the idea of corruption within the ranks, but he is culturally conservative. He's still very pro the idea of Hungarian sovereignty, skeptical of aspects of the war. Is his first act as a new leader of a country to be seen as giving in to Brussels? I don't think so.
Dom Nicholls
Yeah, I mean, I saw this and it's the old the enemy of my enemy is my friend type. Thing. Too many people immediately thought, oh, he's opposed Viktor Orban and won. He must be the diametric opposite. But as you say, there's, there are many areas where that's not the case. And some of his comments have not been full throated support for. Right, let's get the 90 billion sorted by Tuesday. So, yeah, it will be interesting. And I wonder how much he's gonna have to turn to domestic politics, because that's where the real pain seems to be before he can really start putting these, these other big sort of external issues issues to bed. Interestingly, the chants that were going around Budapest I've seen on social media from the wide rallies out in the streets, but also up and down the metro of people chanting Russians go home, which was a throwback to the 1956, you know, invasion by Russia. So I wonder if Hungarian society chanting Russia go home, then they've ticked the box, they've got rid of Orban and now they expect Maggar to turn to domestic stuff, cost of living, slow growth, et cetera, et cetera. And if he comes out the blocks too quickly with a sort of, if not pro Ukrainian, but concentrating too much on it, people might start going, hey, chum, you know, I thought you were going to look after us, first of all.
Francis Darnley
Exactly. I mean, the economy, stupid as the old phrase goes, and I think sometimes that's overplayed, but in this situation, clearly the economy and the corruption issues were the decisive factors here. This is not a pro Ukraine vote, predominantly. This is about domestic affairs. I think, to your point about the chance, I mean, this is, of course, a massive blow to Putin. Hungary has been the chief obstructor of the sanctions packages, including the current one, which is the 20th, and the 90 billion known. With them gone, there is a possibility, as I say, of progress. And yet there's also been a lot of reporting, not all of it necessarily public, that a lot of countries in the EU are hiding behind Hungary. They know they're going to object to it. So they can say, yes, we want to support Ukraine for as long as it takes because they know Hungary is going to block some of these initiatives. With Hungary gone, will Slovakia take on that mantle or will there be other countries who said that they supported the 90 billion loan? Will they actually say, well, things have changed from when we agreed that back in December we may want another vote, push it down the road. That is possible. I think the idea that everything is going to just suddenly lurch forward for Ukraine and Europe, for the birds, really. But I don't think we should underscore the fact that this will be something that Moscow will be very disappointed at. We know that they had very close relations, let's put it that way, with senior figures, including the foreign minister in Orban's government. They were trying desperately to support Hungary in any way that it could in terms of information operations. There was that reporting we were doing a couple of weeks ago about the FSB supposedly mooted the idea of some sort of fake assassination attempt on Orban. Of course, the other people it's a blow to as well, is, is the Americans. I mean, did you see J.D. vance and his remarks over the weekend? I mean, extraordinary.
Dom Nicholls
I don't know why. I mean, he didn't have to do it. No, the US administration didn't have to. Didn't have to do that. And yet in the space of, what, 72 hours, they've been shown back another loser. Yeah, I mean, it is extraordinary that they invested some, some, maybe not massive, but some political capital in. In that, and it didn't work. So what have they got out?
Francis Darnley
It's been a terrible few months for J.D. vance because he's just had this humiliation of saying, you must support Orban. And then, of course, it' decisive victory for the opponent. You've got him heading the negotiations in Iran, which is also just to collapse a war that he clearly didn't support. He's been invisible, more or less. This was the man who supposedly was going to be succeeding President Trump. And yet his star, it feels, is falling as a consequence of what's been going on.
Dom Nicholls
But as you say, still far too, far too early to tell on that. And it's far too easy to look for all the good news in this. We're not. Well, I'm not especially overly optimistic at the moment. An optimist skips into the bar and orders a glass half full of fizzy pop. I'm more kind of UTL pessimist, slouching into a bar and demanding a half empty glass of vodka right now. But that's just me. Well, now we're very lucky to have our Europe editor, James Crisp on the ground in Budapest. The comms are very creaky, so he's going to send us a postcard. But I asked him to describe where he was, what the mood is and quite what time the party in the hotel opposite him went on till in the early hours of this morning.
James Crisp
It's James Crisp, Europe editor here in Budapest. I've just ducked out of Peter Magyar, the victor in Hungary seismic elections victory press conference a day after a result that shook Europe, the West, Moscow and Kyiv, Peter Magyar was asked what he would do and what he would say to Vladimir Putin if he spoke to him on the phone. He said he would tell the Russian president to end the war in Ukraine. He admitted it would be a short conversation, but he also said that no sovereign country should be invaded, even made a point of singling out Viktor Orban and his ruling Fidesh party for suggesting that Ukrainians should sacrifice territory in order to get peace. He said anyone who would do that about a country was a traitor. He said he would ask Pradesh what they would do if Hungary was invaded by Russia, which counties would they be prepared to give up? But that shouldn't be mistaken for thinking that. But this will herald a step change, a huge difference in Hungary's relationship with Ukraine. Mr. Magyar said he would like it to improve, but he also said that he expected ethnic Hungarians to have linguistic rights respected. He was asked about Viktor Orban's veto of a 90 billion euro loan to Kyiv. He didn't say that he would lift the veto, but he said that Hungary should have an opt out from being on the hook for the loan because of its economic problem. Even so, that is a marked improvement from the policies that have been pursued by Viktor Orban over The last years, and especially since the invasion of Ukraine, he's railed against Western sanctions. He's blocked multiple Kyiv friendly policies and has vowed to stop Ukraine ever joining the eu. And that's without mentioning the vile propaganda, as Prince Magyar called it, that painted Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a puppet master of Mr. Magyar, plotting with the EU to drag Hungary into the war in Ukraine. Hungarians hadn't been tricked by that, said Mr. Magyar. They understood that the EU is first and foremost a peace project. He said that Hungary were proud members of the EU and NATO. Again, that will be a shift. For years, Hungary has been the bad boy of Brussels, both of the military alliance and in the European Union. The obstructionism has strained people's patience to almost breaking point. Now we have someone who promises to be a more reliable partner, a constructive partner. He insists he'll defend the Hungarian national interests as you'd expect him to. But he also says he's not going to come to Brussels just to pick fights so that he can put those fights on posters and tell people that Brussels is evil and they have to quit the eu. He did admit the EU had its flaws, however. It was too large, bureaucratic and stuffed with lobby interests. But all in all, the direction of travel is clear. Away from Moscow, away from Washington. It's worth remembering that Donald Trump had sent J.D. vance to endorse Viktor Orban in the final week of this election. That gamble backfired. Instead, Hungarians gave Mr. Magyar a super majority in Hungary's parliament, which will mean he has the power to enact sweeping reforms and clear out institutions that are stuffed with FIDEJ loyalists. Last night I was by the banks of the Danube where Teaza and Mr. Magyar's party was holding their election event. The moment that Viktor Orban conceded defeat, all hell broke loose. But it broke loose in a very good way. There was spontaneous celebration after Mr. Magyar's victory speech. Fireworks went up. There was a patriotic song and that changed. A segued into Queensway other champions. I saw people dancing on top of metro stations. I saw people crying, embracing, waving Hungarian flags, waving EU flags as they celebrated the end of 16 years of authoritarian and very pro Russian rule by Viktor Orban. At one point the crowd chanted, russians out. Russians out. Russians out. The party showed no sign of stopping when I left. And in fact, when I Woke up at 3:30 this morning, it was still going on on the other side of the river. People were absolutely filled with joy at the prospect of the end of Mr. Orban's 16 years of authoritarian rule. Now it's true, but this is in cosmopolitan Budapest where Fidej are very unpopular. However, Mr. Magyar in his election campaign was able to convince rural voters traditionally in the Fidesh heartlands to switch to him. Now that may mean that he is not going to be be some sort of woke liberal who will come out with loads and loads of progressive policies you might be more accustomed to seeing in Benevolence or Luxembourg. But it will be an improvement. And it is in this new world, a sort of sphere of influences telling that pulled between Washington and Moscow and Beijing, Hungary has chosen to nail its colors firmly to Europe's mask.
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Dom Nicholls
Let's go to final thoughts. I'll kick off. I'd like to point you to an article by our colleague in Kyiv, Antonia Langford. She's written an article called what it's like to Be Hunted by Drones in Ukraine. She followed or took part in a simulation exercise Hosted by the 2402 foundation, that's a Ukrainian frontline organization providing safety training to journalists, NGO workers and others. She was taken through her paces showing what it's like to see and hear a drone coming after you. She said we are not being taught how to survive, but how to try to survive. It's a pretty gloomy and rather nerve wracking article. We'll put a link in the episode Notes I thought it was very, very interesting. I've only Ever seen these things flying about or playing with them, what have you? And I've actually had one hunting me, so I can imagine it's not the best way to spend an afternoon. Anyway, put link in the episode notes. Francis, what have you got for final thoughts?
Francis Darnley
Yeah, just a very quick one in which to end today. There's a special fundraiser happening in London tomorrow related to Ukraine. Of course. These are becoming rarer these days, so always a pleasure to be able talk about some of the big ones that happened. This one is called the Light of Freedom, A Night for Ukraine. It's taking place at the Hurlam Club in Fulham, hosted by the UK Ukraine Resilience Alliance. There'll be art viewings of Ukraine related art and including some by Ukrainian artists. There's a fundraising auction which I'm told includes a flight in a Dakota aircraft. Did you ever fly one of those?
Dom Nicholls
No, I was in the back of one going over for D day.
Francis Darnley
What, in 1944?
Dom Nicholls
Not. Not in 1944. No, no, no. This was actually for the recent D Day commemorations. I was. Yeah. And Dax over Normandy was. The group had a load of Dakotas and I was in the back of one. It was very, very cheap and easy way to get into France.
Farnoosh Torabi
Yeah.
Francis Darnley
You've done a Spitfire as well, haven't you? You're taking them.
Dom Nicholls
I flew in a Spitfire for the Telegraph and I. Because I'm an idiot, I forgot to take my logbook. The logbook that, you know, I had in the Army Air Corps, where you log every flight and you get it signed off by the. The aircraft captain. All the rest of it. Anyway, I flew in a. So I've got one and a half hours Spitfire under my belt, but just no one knows about it because I forgot my logbook.
Francis Darnley
There is a picture, though. I've seen that picture. Got. You've got a beard. That's your Obi Wan Kenobi beard.
Dom Nicholls
It was. It was on the back end of COVID so I still had my Edwardian. Edwardian chic to see if we could
Francis Darnley
dig that out in time for the video version later.
Dom Nicholls
Yeah, hold your breath for that one. Yeah.
Francis Darnley
Just one thing to say on that as well, Alexandra. Matt Pachukar, old friend from center of Civil Liberties in Ukraine, Nobel Prize laureate in 2022. She's also dialing into the event as well. We'll have a link in the show notes to anyone who's in London tomorrow. I'd like to go to that.
Dom Nicholls
Brilliant. Thanks, Francis. Thanks, folks. We'll be back same time. Tomorrow, do hope you can join us, but from all of us here at the Telegraph Newsroom, I wish you a very good afternoon.
Francis Darnley
Thanks everyone. Ukraine the Latest is an original podcast from the Telegraph created by David Knowles. Every episode featuring us in the studio maps and battlefield footage is now available to watch on our YouTube channel. Subscribe@www.YouTube.com crane the latest there's a link in the description. If you appreciate our work, please consider following Ukraine the Latest on your preferred podcast app and leave us a review as it helps others find the show. Please also share it with those who may not be aware we exist. You can also get in touch directly to ask questions or give comments by emailing ukrainepodelegraph.co.uk uk we continue to read every message. You can also contact us directly on X. You'll find our handles in the description. As ever, we're especially interested to hear where you're listening from around the world. And finally, to support our work and stay on top of all of our Ukraine news, analysis and dispatches from the ground, please subscribe to the Telegraph. You can get one month for free, then two months for just pound one at www.telegraph.co.uk Ukraine the latest Ukraine the Latest was Today produced by Rachel Porter. Executive producers are Francis Dernley, Louisa Wells and David Knowles.
James Crisp
My name is David Knowles.
Dom Nicholls
Thank you all for listening.
James Crisp
Goodbye.
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Dom Nicholls
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Host: Dom Nicholls, with Francis Darnley and James Crisp
Date: April 13, 2026
Podcast: The Telegraph
In this episode, The Telegraph’s Ukraine: The Latest covers the seismic political shift in Hungary: Viktor Orbán's shock defeat after 16 years in power and its implications for Europe, Russia, and the ongoing Ukraine war. The team also analyzes the Orthodox Easter ceasefire (or lack thereof), Ukraine’s continued resilience amid Russian attacks, and recent battlefield and geopolitical developments—including the controversial role of the US and Donald Trump’s effect on Russia’s war finances. The episode features ground reporting from Budapest and dives into the mood and symbolism of Hungary’s election night.
[03:19, 13:31, 20:39]
“I congratulate Peter Magyar and the Tisza party on their convincing victory. It’s important when a constructive approach prevails… We are ready to develop cooperation with Hungary.” (Dom Nicholls, 03:19)
“Orban’s out of power after sixteen years, and not just by a narrow margin but by a very substantial margin… This is going to be a very different Hungary. Potentially.” (Francis Darnley, 13:31)
“His nickname in Brussels when he was the permanent representative for Hungary in Brussels was ‘Baby Orban.’ This is not a man who is of the European Union’s way of thinking.” (Francis Darnley, 15:29)
“Far from it [unlocking the loan], they saw this as an instrument…to get more and more invested in the war and prolonging the war.” (Francis Darnley, 13:31)
“Will Slovakia take on that mantle [of opposition], or will others block further initiatives?” (Francis Darnley, 17:30)
[17:30, 19:33, 20:39, 25:54]
“This is, of course, a massive blow to Putin. Hungary has been the chief obstructor of the sanctions packages…with them gone, there is a possibility of progress.” (Francis Darnley, 17:30)
“They invested some…political capital in [backing Orbán], and it didn’t work. So what have they got out?” (Dom Nicholls, 19:13)
James Crisp, on-the-ground in Budapest [20:39]
“All hell broke loose…in a very good way. There was spontaneous celebration…people dancing on top of metro stations…waving EU flags as they celebrated the end of sixteen years of authoritarian and very pro-Russian rule.” (James Crisp, 24:49)
“The crowd chanted ‘Russians out. Russians out. Russians out.’ The party showed no sign of stopping…absolutely filled with joy at the prospect of the end of Mr. Orban’s 16 years.” (James Crisp, 25:00)
[04:00, 07:41, 11:15]
“98 drones were launched at Ukraine, 87 of which were brought down. Two people were killed…energy facility hit leaving 12,000 without power. Does that constitute a violation of the ceasefire?” (Dom Nicholls, 04:00)
"Sustainable peace can come when we secure our interests and achieve the goals we set from the very start. This can be done literally today. But Zelenskyy must accept these well known solutions." (06:15)
“Donald Trump did a major favor for Putin…Even if O'Brien’s numbers are off, Russia is a net winner out of the current situation.” (Dom Nicholls, 10:15)
[27:11 – 29:31]
“We are not being taught how to survive, but how to try to survive.” (Dom Nicholls shares article by Antonia Langford, 27:11)
“It’s the economy, stupid…In this situation, the economy and the corruption issues were the decisive factors here. This is not a pro-Ukraine vote, predominantly. This is about domestic affairs.” (Francis Darnley, 17:30)
“With Hungary gone, will Slovakia take on that mantle or will there be other countries hiding behind Hungary?… It is possible everything won’t just suddenly lurch forward for Ukraine.” (Francis Darnley, 17:30)
“No sovereign country should be invaded… I would ask which counties would [Orban’s party] be prepared to give up?” (James Crisp, 21:00)
“He’s not going to come to Brussels just to pick fights so he can put those fights on posters and tell people Brussels is evil…” (James Crisp, 23:00)
"There was spontaneous celebration… waving Hungarian flags, waving EU flags as they celebrated the end of 16 years of authoritarian and very pro-Russian rule by Viktor Orban." (James Crisp, 24:49)
“Russians out! Russians out! Russians out!” (James Crisp, 25:00)
“An optimist skips into the bar and orders a glass half full of fizzy pop. I’m more kind of UTL pessimist, slouching into a bar and demanding a half empty glass of vodka right now.” (Dom Nicholls, 19:58)
This episode offers the most detailed early English-language analysis of Hungary’s watershed election, underlining the complexity beneath the victory for “liberal democracy” in Europe. The hosts walk listeners through practical constraints, regional reactions, and the persistent uncertainties that surround the Russia-Ukraine war—even as political landscapes shift rapidly. With expert battlefield and geopolitical insight, plus unique reporting from the heart of Budapest, the podcast paints a vivid, realistic, and at times skeptical picture of what Hungary’s transformation could mean for Ukraine, Russia, and the European Union.