Car trunk's opening. Inside is simply a tied young man who ineptly pretends to conflict and throw. In front of the trunk stands Alexandra Szentkiralyi, a erstwhile spokesperson for the Hungarian government, and now the most celebrated propagandist of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on social media.
"I don't think you want this to happen to you, too, due to the fact that with Ukraine's fast accession to the EU there have been organ dealers, arms dealers, drug dealers and human traffickers," says the woman.
It takes 10 seconds to rotation on Facebook and TikToku. People in Hungary were virtually flooded for more than 2 months, both online and in pro-government Hungarian tv stations. Anti-Ukrainian advertisements were besides constantly aired in radio stations, and public space in Hungary was full of posters with angry and threatening-looking Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenski.
This was not just another of Viktor Orbán's many hatred campaigns and sensitivities – but the first, which was mostly targeted against the full Ukraine and referred to the country as "a mafia state".
It was besides Orbán's first campaign, in which citizens and citizens of this country were collectively dehumanized and maligned as dangerous, ruthless criminals who allegedly wanted to destruct Hungary – through organ, human trafficking, drugs and arms trafficking, through genetically modified food, as well as by receiving Hungarian jobs, income, pensions and health.
Unverifiable result
The aim of the run called "Voting 2025" was for the Hungarians to vote against Ukrainian membership in the European Union. The vote ended last Saturday (21 June 2025). On Thursday (26 June 2025) shortly before the start of the EU Summit in Brussels, Viktor Orban personally announced the outcome.
2.27 million Hungarians (equivalent to about 1 3rd of Hungarian voters) took part in the vote and 95 percent voted against Ukrainian membership in the EU. Orban said he came to Brussels "with a strong mandate". "With more than 2 million Hungarians" he will be able to say that he does not support Ukraine's accession to the EU.
As with all erstwhile Orban campaigns, specified as those against migrants or against American stock billionaire Hungarian-Jewish origin George Soros, there is no way to verify whether the results are actual or not. The Hungarian government does not let independent reflection of the electoral process or independent public vote counting.
In a akin survey, which was late conducted by the TISZA organization (Evaluation and Freedom), the largest Hungarian opposition party, 58 percent of the Hungarians surveyed advocated Ukrainian membership in the European Union.
Letter to the Ukrainian People
Numerous reactions from the Hungarian public propose that a large part of Hungarians consider Orban's run to be an exaggerated, false, lying or a distraction. any films, in peculiar the video from the car trunk by Alexandra Szentkiralya, have become the basis of hundreds of ironic or sarcastic memes on social media, in which they mock propaganda or corruption scandals of the Orban system.
Also many posts on social media, including critical comments on Viktor Orban's Facebook and TikTok channels, besides show that many Hungarians consider the anti-Ukrainian Prime Minister's run morally reprehensible or lying.
A fewer days ago, 50 well-known Hungarian personalities – scientists, artists, journalists and erstwhile politicians and high-ranking government officials, specified as erstwhile Conservative abroad Minister Geza Jeszenszky and erstwhile president of the National Bank Peter Akos Bod – published a "Letter to the Ukrainian people" in which they condemned Orban's propaganda and declared solidarity with Ukraine.
Probably without a chance to change.
Despite specified voices, however, it seems almost impossible for Orban and his government to change their anti-Ukrainian policy so far. Even the fact that Orban's apparatus of power and propaganda will soften his speech or abandon certain narratives, specified as those that war crimes in Buczy were orchestrated by the Ukrainian army, seems hard to imagine. For Ukraine became a key issue in the electoral run before the parliamentary elections to be held in the spring of 2026.
The opposition TISZA party, which is now far ahead of Fidesz Orban's organization in the polls, is slandered by the ruling majority as a political force paid by Ukraine and Brussels. Its aim is to take power in Hungary, sale the country and plunge it into war with Russia. TISZ-a leader Peter Magyar is usually called "Ukrainian Petim" in Orban's propaganda.
Without any evidence, the Hungarian government accused another prominent TISZ politician, erstwhile head of the Hungarian General Staff of Romulus Rushin-Szendi, of being a Ukrainian spy. According to media loyal to Orban in the TISZA organization itself, the Ukrainian salute "Slava Ukraine!" became a organization slogan.
Unrepairable Relations
It is certain that this policy of Orban irreparably ruined Hungarian-Ukrainian relations as long as it remained in power. Until recently, the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenski and the Ukrainian government remained silent on politics Orbana or they only commented on her in a cautious, diplomatic way. But that's changed.
In his first interview to the Hungarian independent conservative portal ValaszOnline, Zelenski criticized Orban's usage of Ukraine in his election run in early June.
"He does not realize that it will have much more serious and dangerous consequences: radicalization and anti-Ukrainianity of Hungarian society," said Zelenski. Without backing Ukraine, Orban does a favour to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, which is "a serious historical error," stated the Ukrainian president.
For the first time, the Ukrainian Ministry of abroad Affairs besides expressed itself unequivocally critical. On Tuesday (24.06.2025) the ministry published a message in which the run "Vote 2025" described as being driven by "the intent of manipulation".
As part of the run that lasted for months, Hungarian government officials "imagined non-existent threats allegedly coming from Ukraine to intimidate Hungarian citizens," we read in the text. The goal of "anti-Ukrainian hysteria" is to distract attention from its own failures. However, "we are convinced that the vast majority of Hungarian citizens are able to admit this primitive manipulation".
