Russian embassy to Hungarian FM: There are no attacks against civilians in Ukraine

The Hungarian side has received the relevant clarifications—the Russian Embassy in Budapest announced in a statement, responding to a video in which Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orbán called for an end to Russian aggression against civilians in Ukraine. The new Hungarian Foreign Minister released a video message on Thursday in which she commented on Wednesday's Russian drone attacks on Transcarpathia, saying that the Hungarian government deeply condemns the attack and demands an immediate end to aggression against civilians.

“Anita Orbán was informed of the May 13 statement of the Russian Ministry of Defense, which emphasized that the strikes targeted exclusively Ukrainian energy and transportation infrastructure facilities used by the Ukrainian armed forces, as well as assembly, storage, and launch sites for unmanned aerial vehicles, and temporary deployment sites of the armed forces and foreign mercenaries in 147 areas,” the Russian Embassy wrote in its response. According to the statement,

“the actions of the Russian armed forces are not directed against Ukrainian civilians or civilian infrastructure, and do not constitute an escalation of the conflict,

but are a response to the extensive strikes carried out by Ukrainian armed forces deep inside Russian territory using unmanned aerial vehicles, which have resulted in civilian casualties and have damaged civilian infrastructure.”

After being summoned by Anita Orbán in relation to the attacks in Transcarpathia, Russian Ambassador to Budapest Yevgeny Stanislavov had a brief, half-hour meeting with the Hungarian Foreign Minister late Thursday morning, during which he outlined the Russian government’s position, as set forth in their official statement.