Mastodawn

MISKOLC & #BUDAPEST, #HUNGARY—“I really hope that I will be surprised as hell tomorrow. But yeah, as a #Roma, as a queer person, I don’t see any kind of representation either in the Fidesz party or even in the TISZA party,” said Hungarian Norbert Horvath, shaking his head.

In the center of his hometown, Miskolc, it’s impossible to take a step without eyes staring back at you. Every meter here and across #Hungary, where #elections are being held today, is covered with posters, stickers, and billboards bearing the faces of parliamentary candidates.

For Hungary, these are historic #elections. Yet for most Hungarians, including Norbert himself, it is hard to imagine anyone other than Viktor #Orbán coming to power.

No one has managed to do that for 16 years.

In the final days before the election, tension and polarization in #Hungarian society have reached a peak.

The main contenders — current Prime Minister Viktor #Orbán and his Fidesz party, and Péter #Magyar with his TISZA party — held their final rallies across the country in a last effort to convince #voters.

To read more about the experiences of marginalized voices like Norbert Horvath and the high-stakes battle between Viktor #Orban and Péter
#Magyar, click the link! https://www.counteroffensive.news/p/for-hungarian-minorities-no-good

For Hungarian minorities, no good election choice

Although Péter Magyar can be a better option as a Hungarian Prime Minister for Kyiv, Hungarian minorities do not expect fundamental shifts in human rights if he wins.

The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak

#NEWS OF THE DAY:

RUSSIA BREAKS EASTER TRUCE: As of 7 a.m., April 12, #Russia has breached the Easter ceasefire 2,299 times, the #Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff said. https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02YTtGFZaLwpVMXqDstycSd9sYocRZcaMVaMt1Yh6YNyh4xW2LaFeMxULDrtxmSeFTl

Генеральний штаб ЗСУ / General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Оперативна інформація станом на 08:00 12.04.2026 щодо російського вторгнення Слава Україні! Розпочалася 1509-та доба широкомасштабної збройної агресії рф проти України. Загалом протягом минулої...

UKRAINE AND RUSSIA EXCHANGED 182 PRISONERS: Yesterday, #Russia and Ukraine exchanged 175 servicemen and 7 civilians each. According to #Zelenskyy, most of the #Ukrainians involved in the swap have been held in captivity since 2022. https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-russia-swap-175-servicemen-each-ahead-easter-ceasefire-2026-04-11/

UKRAINIAN POWS SHOT: The DeepState OSINT project shared a video of 4 #Ukrainian POWs being shot by #Russian troops in the Kharkiv region. Most likely, the video was filmed on April 11. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/cde5x17191yo

Порушення великоднього перемир'я: розстріл поранених і атака на швидку допомогу - BBC News Україна

За даними української влади, Росія майже 500 разів порушила режим припинення вогню лише за вечір суботи 11 квітня

BBC News Україна

Tim Mak

UKRAINE’S EXPERTISE COULD HELP OPEN STRAIT OF #HORMUZ: Britain’s armed services minister, Al Carns, said that Ukraine’s experience on the battlefield, including its #drone interception capabilities, might be useful for reopening the Strait of #Hormuz. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/ukraine-can-play-useful-role-strait-hormuz-britain-says-2026-04-11/

Check out our previous story on why Zelenskyy's photo is all over #Hungary via the link! https://www.counteroffensive.news/p/why-zelenskyys-photo-is-all-over

Why Zelenskyy’s photo is all over Hungary

Orbán put Ukraine at the сenter of his election campaign, rallying Hungarians against an external enemy. For a Ukrainian Hungarian man, the cost was personal: he became an enemy of a relative.

The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak

Tim Mak 23h ago

#CAT OF CONFLICT:

Sasha saw this cat in the bomb shelter where she recently went to sit out a morning missile attack on Kyiv.

Tim Mak 23h ago

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A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the war in Ukraine, and elsewhere on the frontlines for democracy. Issues 3x a week! Click to read The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, a Substack publication with hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

Tim Zee 22h ago

@timkmak
Orbán should be putting up pictures of Putin:

ORBÁN-PUTIN 2026!

Putin is effectively Orbán's campaign manager - if not his running mate.

@timkmak I fully acknowledge that Ukraine has more expertise in practical drone interception than anybody else, I still don't think that this results in a viable opening of the gulf to oil and gas cargos, which are by their nature highly volatile. Ukraine has been able to achieve something like 85 to 90% intercept rates against Russia on a shoestring budget.

@timkmak The US doesn't appear to have done any better using extremely expensive counter missiles and advanced radar systems costing in the billions of dollars, many of which have now been destroyed by Iran.

@timkmak The problem is that remaining 10% which get through matters a lot when you're talking something like a LNG hauler. Some of these ships cost in the realm of 100 plus million dollars and are carrying hundreds of millions of dollars in cargo and the ability to produce such ships and the crews willing to man them in such a threat environment on an ongoing basis as ships are destroyed doesn't make me optimistic.

@timkmak And it's not just the
strait itself which would need to be defended, It's everywhere they'd take on and offload cargo, anchorages and in transit, not just in the Gulf but outside past Oman. Iran has considerably more coastline to work with than the Houthis and the combined Western navies were never able to completely suppress them.

@timkmak You can't be everywhere all at once and escorting vessels directly would greatly limit the number of passages per day, even if you grouped them up into some sort of defensible convoys. Hormuz used to transit about 135 ships per day. The US can allocate maybe at most about a dozen missile destroyers to the task if we went all in but that means robbing Peter to pay Paul.