Szabolcs Panyi
@szabolcspanyi.bsky.social
Journalist investigating Central Europe 🇭🇺🇵🇱🇸🇰🇨🇿 at VSquare.org and Direkt36.hu. Corruption, illiberalism, 🇷🇺 and 🇨🇳 meddling.
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💥🇺🇸🇷🇺 The White House says Trump only gave Hungary a one-year exemption from US sanctions on Russian fossil fuels. But Orbán and his allies insist it’s “indefinite” and call anyone saying otherwise a liar. This chart sums up what’s wrong with Orbán’s pro-Kremlin policies and Russian energy dependency.
November 10, 2025 at 3:56 PM
💥🇺🇸🇷🇺 The White House says Trump only gave Hungary a one-year exemption from US sanctions on Russian fossil fuels. But Orbán and his allies insist it’s “indefinite” and call anyone saying otherwise a liar. This chart sums up what’s wrong with Orbán’s pro-Kremlin policies and Russian energy dependency.
🙏🇨🇿 So that I also post some nice things sometimes: a Czech friend gifted me this vintage matchbox — original 1989 merch showing Václav Havel with the slogan “Guarantee of Free Elections.”
Wishing my Czech friends strength as their institutions face whatever challenges await.
Wishing my Czech friends strength as their institutions face whatever challenges await.
November 9, 2025 at 1:59 PM
🙏🇨🇿 So that I also post some nice things sometimes: a Czech friend gifted me this vintage matchbox — original 1989 merch showing Václav Havel with the slogan “Guarantee of Free Elections.”
Wishing my Czech friends strength as their institutions face whatever challenges await.
Wishing my Czech friends strength as their institutions face whatever challenges await.
Viktor Orbán flew to Washington DC for his meeting with Trump with a plane full of his Hungarian propagandists, whose poor performance shows in his sinking poll numbers. He then joked he'd like to hire White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to work for him for a few months.
November 7, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Viktor Orbán flew to Washington DC for his meeting with Trump with a plane full of his Hungarian propagandists, whose poor performance shows in his sinking poll numbers. He then joked he'd like to hire White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt to work for him for a few months.
–President Trump, sir, any chance you'll meet with Putin in Budapest at some point?
–Should Hungary be allowed to purchase Russian oil?
Good to see there's still journalists out there trying to ask real questions – Orbán only brought a pool of propagandists with himself to DC.
–Should Hungary be allowed to purchase Russian oil?
Good to see there's still journalists out there trying to ask real questions – Orbán only brought a pool of propagandists with himself to DC.
November 7, 2025 at 8:27 PM
–President Trump, sir, any chance you'll meet with Putin in Budapest at some point?
–Should Hungary be allowed to purchase Russian oil?
Good to see there's still journalists out there trying to ask real questions – Orbán only brought a pool of propagandists with himself to DC.
–Should Hungary be allowed to purchase Russian oil?
Good to see there's still journalists out there trying to ask real questions – Orbán only brought a pool of propagandists with himself to DC.
💥Today’s Trump-Orbán meeting will show if this administration is stupid enough to buy Orbán’s excuse that Hungary, as a “landlocked country,” must import Russian oil. For decades, the US has (unsuccessfully) urged Budapest to cut this corrupting tie through which the Kremlin captured its elite.
November 7, 2025 at 11:06 AM
💥Today’s Trump-Orbán meeting will show if this administration is stupid enough to buy Orbán’s excuse that Hungary, as a “landlocked country,” must import Russian oil. For decades, the US has (unsuccessfully) urged Budapest to cut this corrupting tie through which the Kremlin captured its elite.
💥🇷🇺 Russian Orthodox bishop Hilarion (Grigory Alfeyev), Patriarch Kirill’s ex–No. 2, is seen here harassing his young assistant George Suzuki — who shared the video with
@denikn.cz. Hilarion served in Budapest, cozying up to Viktor Orbán, now based in Karlovy Vary. More: denikn.cz/1880250/lezl...
@denikn.cz. Hilarion served in Budapest, cozying up to Viktor Orbán, now based in Karlovy Vary. More: denikn.cz/1880250/lezl...
November 6, 2025 at 11:38 AM
💥🇷🇺 Russian Orthodox bishop Hilarion (Grigory Alfeyev), Patriarch Kirill’s ex–No. 2, is seen here harassing his young assistant George Suzuki — who shared the video with
@denikn.cz. Hilarion served in Budapest, cozying up to Viktor Orbán, now based in Karlovy Vary. More: denikn.cz/1880250/lezl...
@denikn.cz. Hilarion served in Budapest, cozying up to Viktor Orbán, now based in Karlovy Vary. More: denikn.cz/1880250/lezl...
🖤🇭🇺 On this day in 1956, Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest to crush the Hungarian revolution. Prime Minister Imre Nagy gave his final radio address as KGB chief Ivan Serov oversaw the brutal invasion. Nagy and other leaders were later executed, while over 200,000 Hungarians fled to the West.
November 4, 2025 at 9:41 PM
🖤🇭🇺 On this day in 1956, Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest to crush the Hungarian revolution. Prime Minister Imre Nagy gave his final radio address as KGB chief Ivan Serov oversaw the brutal invasion. Nagy and other leaders were later executed, while over 200,000 Hungarians fled to the West.
💥Ex-deputy Hungarian intelligence chief András Telkes says a hoax claimed Ukraine would reassemble downed Russian drones, arm them and send them to Poland and Romania as a false-flag provocation—a story spread both by Orbán and Kremlin propaganda (and the SVR). More: militarnyi.com/en/news/russ...
November 4, 2025 at 7:50 PM
💥Ex-deputy Hungarian intelligence chief András Telkes says a hoax claimed Ukraine would reassemble downed Russian drones, arm them and send them to Poland and Romania as a false-flag provocation—a story spread both by Orbán and Kremlin propaganda (and the SVR). More: militarnyi.com/en/news/russ...
💥House of Cards stuff from Hungary: Rumors long said Viktor Orbán’s team hides real polls from him showing the opposition TISZA party far ahead. Now TISZA leader Péter Magyar claims Orbán recently learned the truth from his possible successor, Minister János Lázár—and realized he can’t win fairly.
November 4, 2025 at 7:46 AM
💥House of Cards stuff from Hungary: Rumors long said Viktor Orbán’s team hides real polls from him showing the opposition TISZA party far ahead. Now TISZA leader Péter Magyar claims Orbán recently learned the truth from his possible successor, Minister János Lázár—and realized he can’t win fairly.
💥Former deputy head of Hungary’s foreign intelligence, Andras Telkes, says that Viktor Orbán’s government cooperated politically with Russia’s SVR when Orbán adopted the Russian spy agency’s narrative claiming the EU was backing Hungary’s opposition leader. More on this: telex.hu/english/2025...
November 3, 2025 at 8:52 PM
💥Former deputy head of Hungary’s foreign intelligence, Andras Telkes, says that Viktor Orbán’s government cooperated politically with Russia’s SVR when Orbán adopted the Russian spy agency’s narrative claiming the EU was backing Hungary’s opposition leader. More on this: telex.hu/english/2025...
💥Breaking: Czech government wants to sanction local Russian Orthodox Church head Hilarion—with incoming PM Andrej Babiš backing the move. The decision follows a
@vsquare.bsky.social @denikn.cz video showing Hilarion firing a gun at the FSB’s Moscow HQ shooting range: denikn.cz/1882049/vlad...
@vsquare.bsky.social @denikn.cz video showing Hilarion firing a gun at the FSB’s Moscow HQ shooting range: denikn.cz/1882049/vlad...
November 3, 2025 at 9:29 AM
💥Breaking: Czech government wants to sanction local Russian Orthodox Church head Hilarion—with incoming PM Andrej Babiš backing the move. The decision follows a
@vsquare.bsky.social @denikn.cz video showing Hilarion firing a gun at the FSB’s Moscow HQ shooting range: denikn.cz/1882049/vlad...
@vsquare.bsky.social @denikn.cz video showing Hilarion firing a gun at the FSB’s Moscow HQ shooting range: denikn.cz/1882049/vlad...
💥As Orbán prepares to meet Trump in a few days, here's background on the next US Ambassador to Hungary: Benjamin Landa, a nursing home tycoon whose facilities have faced scrutiny and investigations—some stories are horrific.
🔗More in @vsquare.bsky.social's newsletter: vsquare.org/goulash-puti...
🔗More in @vsquare.bsky.social's newsletter: vsquare.org/goulash-puti...
November 2, 2025 at 6:26 PM
💥As Orbán prepares to meet Trump in a few days, here's background on the next US Ambassador to Hungary: Benjamin Landa, a nursing home tycoon whose facilities have faced scrutiny and investigations—some stories are horrific.
🔗More in @vsquare.bsky.social's newsletter: vsquare.org/goulash-puti...
🔗More in @vsquare.bsky.social's newsletter: vsquare.org/goulash-puti...
💥Russian Orthodox priest Hilarion (Grigory Alfeyev) – now heading the Czech branch, formerly Hungary’s – seen at the FSB HQ shooting range on Moscow’s Lubyanka Square, in the basement once used by the KGB for torture & executions.
📹 @vsquare.bsky.social @denikn.cz | More: vsquare.org/goulash-puti...
📹 @vsquare.bsky.social @denikn.cz | More: vsquare.org/goulash-puti...
October 31, 2025 at 10:06 PM
💥Russian Orthodox priest Hilarion (Grigory Alfeyev) – now heading the Czech branch, formerly Hungary’s – seen at the FSB HQ shooting range on Moscow’s Lubyanka Square, in the basement once used by the KGB for torture & executions.
📹 @vsquare.bsky.social @denikn.cz | More: vsquare.org/goulash-puti...
📹 @vsquare.bsky.social @denikn.cz | More: vsquare.org/goulash-puti...
💥SCOOP: According to my EU diplomatic sources, the Dutch government is weighing an Article 7 procedure against Slovakia over its constitutional changes and LGBTQ restrictions, following a Dutch parliamentary resolution.
🔗From @vsquare.bsky.social's 'Goulash' newsletter: vsquare.org/goulash-puti...
🔗From @vsquare.bsky.social's 'Goulash' newsletter: vsquare.org/goulash-puti...
October 31, 2025 at 8:41 PM
💥SCOOP: According to my EU diplomatic sources, the Dutch government is weighing an Article 7 procedure against Slovakia over its constitutional changes and LGBTQ restrictions, following a Dutch parliamentary resolution.
🔗From @vsquare.bsky.social's 'Goulash' newsletter: vsquare.org/goulash-puti...
🔗From @vsquare.bsky.social's 'Goulash' newsletter: vsquare.org/goulash-puti...
💥Viktor Orbán has asked the US for an exemption from sanctions on Russian oil, Trump confirms. "He has asked for an exemption. We haven't granted one... He's a friend of mine."
The two will meet next week in Washington, D.C. — friendship is friendship, but business is business.🤷♂️
The two will meet next week in Washington, D.C. — friendship is friendship, but business is business.🤷♂️
October 31, 2025 at 7:41 PM
💥Viktor Orbán has asked the US for an exemption from sanctions on Russian oil, Trump confirms. "He has asked for an exemption. We haven't granted one... He's a friend of mine."
The two will meet next week in Washington, D.C. — friendship is friendship, but business is business.🤷♂️
The two will meet next week in Washington, D.C. — friendship is friendship, but business is business.🤷♂️
💥European media giants have shamefully helped Viktor Orbán build his propaganda empire. After Deutsche Telekom and Axel Springer, Switzerland’s Ringier has now also sold its portfolio to Orbán’s proxies — who desperately need every outlet to secure victory in Hungary’s 2026 election. @reuters.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:52 PM
💥European media giants have shamefully helped Viktor Orbán build his propaganda empire. After Deutsche Telekom and Axel Springer, Switzerland’s Ringier has now also sold its portfolio to Orbán’s proxies — who desperately need every outlet to secure victory in Hungary’s 2026 election. @reuters.com
💥📹Leaked video: Metropolitan Hilarion—Patriarch Kirill’s former no. 2, later head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Hungarian branch, now posted in Karlovy Vary—seen at the FSB's Lubyanka Square HQ shooting range.
🔗More in @vsquare.bsky.social's newsletter: vsquare.org/goulash-puti...
🔗More in @vsquare.bsky.social's newsletter: vsquare.org/goulash-puti...
October 30, 2025 at 5:08 PM
💥📹Leaked video: Metropolitan Hilarion—Patriarch Kirill’s former no. 2, later head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Hungarian branch, now posted in Karlovy Vary—seen at the FSB's Lubyanka Square HQ shooting range.
🔗More in @vsquare.bsky.social's newsletter: vsquare.org/goulash-puti...
🔗More in @vsquare.bsky.social's newsletter: vsquare.org/goulash-puti...
👌🍲 Goulash is back this evening! Don’t miss our bi-weekly newsletter — this issue is going to be tasty, packed with fresh scoops and standout investigations from Central Europe’s top non-profit outlets.
📨 Subscribe: http://vsquare.org/n...
📨 Subscribe: http://vsquare.org/n...
October 30, 2025 at 7:11 AM
👌🍲 Goulash is back this evening! Don’t miss our bi-weekly newsletter — this issue is going to be tasty, packed with fresh scoops and standout investigations from Central Europe’s top non-profit outlets.
📨 Subscribe: http://vsquare.org/n...
📨 Subscribe: http://vsquare.org/n...
🔥🍲 I run a newsletter for @vsquare.bsky.social on Central Europe called Goulash — named after the dish we all love across the region. The next issue drops tomorrow with fresh stories and scoops from the Visegrád countries (🇨🇿🇭🇺🇵🇱🇸🇰) and beyond.
📨 Subscribe here: vsquare.org/newsletter/
📨 Subscribe here: vsquare.org/newsletter/
October 29, 2025 at 5:20 PM
🔥🍲 I run a newsletter for @vsquare.bsky.social on Central Europe called Goulash — named after the dish we all love across the region. The next issue drops tomorrow with fresh stories and scoops from the Visegrád countries (🇨🇿🇭🇺🇵🇱🇸🇰) and beyond.
📨 Subscribe here: vsquare.org/newsletter/
📨 Subscribe here: vsquare.org/newsletter/
💥Hungary’s energy purchases could’ve funded about one-tenth of Putin’s war in Ukraine, if all revenues were used for war, Hungarian daily Népszava reports.
💰Between Feb 2022–Sep 2025, Hungary bought €15B gas and €8B oil from Russia — €23B total. Russia’s war costs are estimated at €100–300B.
💰Between Feb 2022–Sep 2025, Hungary bought €15B gas and €8B oil from Russia — €23B total. Russia’s war costs are estimated at €100–300B.
October 29, 2025 at 7:46 AM
💥Hungary’s energy purchases could’ve funded about one-tenth of Putin’s war in Ukraine, if all revenues were used for war, Hungarian daily Népszava reports.
💰Between Feb 2022–Sep 2025, Hungary bought €15B gas and €8B oil from Russia — €23B total. Russia’s war costs are estimated at €100–300B.
💰Between Feb 2022–Sep 2025, Hungary bought €15B gas and €8B oil from Russia — €23B total. Russia’s war costs are estimated at €100–300B.
💥🛢️Trump’s NATO envoy isn’t buying Viktor Orbán’s “landlocked country” excuse:
🚫🇷🇺“Hungary, unlike many of its neighbours, has not made any plans or taken any active steps... That pipeline is most likely to be shut off in the coming years... We’re going to help them get off Russian oil and gas.”
🚫🇷🇺“Hungary, unlike many of its neighbours, has not made any plans or taken any active steps... That pipeline is most likely to be shut off in the coming years... We’re going to help them get off Russian oil and gas.”
October 27, 2025 at 9:27 AM
💥🛢️Trump’s NATO envoy isn’t buying Viktor Orbán’s “landlocked country” excuse:
🚫🇷🇺“Hungary, unlike many of its neighbours, has not made any plans or taken any active steps... That pipeline is most likely to be shut off in the coming years... We’re going to help them get off Russian oil and gas.”
🚫🇷🇺“Hungary, unlike many of its neighbours, has not made any plans or taken any active steps... That pipeline is most likely to be shut off in the coming years... We’re going to help them get off Russian oil and gas.”
🤯🇷🇺Sergey Lavrov claims Russia once recognized a “very different Ukraine” than today’s, which he calls an “openly Nazist regime.” He says this in an interview arranged by Hungary’s FM Péter Szijjártó (yes, really) with a pro-Kremlin 🇭🇺 propagandist.
🇬🇧 audio available: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfAj...
🇬🇧 audio available: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfAj...
October 26, 2025 at 7:53 PM
🤯🇷🇺Sergey Lavrov claims Russia once recognized a “very different Ukraine” than today’s, which he calls an “openly Nazist regime.” He says this in an interview arranged by Hungary’s FM Péter Szijjártó (yes, really) with a pro-Kremlin 🇭🇺 propagandist.
🇬🇧 audio available: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfAj...
🇬🇧 audio available: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfAj...
‼️"The peoples of Central Europe have a duty to speak out when an independent country is under military aggression." Orbán said this in 2008 after Russia attacked Georgia, adding it’s especially Hungarians’ duty after 1956. Now he’s doing the opposite by undermining Ukraine in the EU and the US. Why?
October 25, 2025 at 5:26 PM
‼️"The peoples of Central Europe have a duty to speak out when an independent country is under military aggression." Orbán said this in 2008 after Russia attacked Georgia, adding it’s especially Hungarians’ duty after 1956. Now he’s doing the opposite by undermining Ukraine in the EU and the US. Why?
📸 There's a story behind this breathtaking shot of Hungary’s opposition rally marking the 1956 revolution: Orbán’s government banned drones to try conceal the crowd’s size. Yet a passenger on a landing plane caught the scene in Budapest from above — the photo hit Reddit and went viral instantly.
October 24, 2025 at 6:49 PM
📸 There's a story behind this breathtaking shot of Hungary’s opposition rally marking the 1956 revolution: Orbán’s government banned drones to try conceal the crowd’s size. Yet a passenger on a landing plane caught the scene in Budapest from above — the photo hit Reddit and went viral instantly.
💰Documents obtained by Direkt36 indicate that Orbán's luxury dacha worth tens of millions of euros received financial assistance by oligarch Lőrinc Mészáros (“Orbán’s wallet”) who amassed his fortune through state contracts.
Oh, did I mention the zebras?
Full story: www.direkt36.hu/en/itt-egy-e...
Oh, did I mention the zebras?
Full story: www.direkt36.hu/en/itt-egy-e...
October 24, 2025 at 3:43 PM
💰Documents obtained by Direkt36 indicate that Orbán's luxury dacha worth tens of millions of euros received financial assistance by oligarch Lőrinc Mészáros (“Orbán’s wallet”) who amassed his fortune through state contracts.
Oh, did I mention the zebras?
Full story: www.direkt36.hu/en/itt-egy-e...
Oh, did I mention the zebras?
Full story: www.direkt36.hu/en/itt-egy-e...