Further controversy over the war in Ukraine
February 20th, 2023A pro-government commentator hopes that Russia will win the war in Ukraine, because he fears that a Russian defeat would further increase US dominance in the world. His left-wing counterpart accuses him of promoting Russian propaganda.
Magyar Demokrata editor-in-chief András Bencsik elaborates on his statement earlier this week in which he said that he “is rooting for Russia in the Ukraine war”. The right-wing pundit explains that the victory of the ‘West’ in Ukraine would be a blow for Hungary. Bencsik accuses the US of running amok and turning into a monster interested only in destruction. By way of example, he accuses the US of sabotaging the two Nord Stream pipelines to “destroy the economy of Germany, its most important European ally”. Bencsik goes on to speculate that if the US defeats Russia in Ukraine, Washington will force China into submission. He believes that in a European Union ‘occupied and humiliated by the US’, Hungary could not remain a free country. Bencsik also writes that his views are shared by many.
On Hírklikk, Péter S. Föld accuses András Bencsik of spreading Putin’s propaganda. The left-wing commentator recalls that in the late 1980s, András Bencsik praised Soviet-Hungarian friendship. Föld goes so far as to suggest that Prime Minister Orbán shares Bencsik’s views on the war in Ukraine, but does not dare to say so openly. Those who call for an armistice and oppose sanctions on Russia or arms deliveries to Ukraine, are supporters of President Putin and his war in Ukraine Föld believes.
In Magyar Hírlap, Zsolt Sütő-Nagy sees Western military support for Ukraine as a pathetic stunt. The conservative columnist writes that many of the weapons offered to Ukraine by European countries are old, obsolete and barely operational. Sütő-Nagy contends that Ukraine’s supporters are motivated primarily by self-interest. As an example, he mentions Norway, and claims that the help they have offered is worth only a tiny fraction of the profit Norway has made on surplus gas exports made possible by the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline. Sütő-Nagy also finds it nauseating that the IMF and the US have started to discuss their involvement in the reconstruction of Ukraine which, Sütő-Nagy predicts, will create an opportunity for US companies to buy Ukrainian businesses.