Fake news from Europe: EU "ignores persecution" of Hungarians and Poles in Ukraine

Propagandists spread false claims from an author of the Brussels Signal outlet linked to Viktor Orban

Russian Telegram channels have circulated an article from Brussels Signal titled "EU ignores persecution of Hungarians and Poles who are not Ukrainian." The article claims that about 150,000 ethnic Hungarians living in the Zakarpattia region and 140,000 ethnic Poles in the Volyn region "suffer" from oppression by the Ukrainian authorities.

As "evidence," the author cites historical arguments and the supposed lack of schools teaching exclusively in Hungarian and Polish. The article also alleges that ethnic Russians face persecution in Ukraine, which it attributes to the Ukrainian government's "Nazism" and nationalism. The author concludes that, due to this alleged treatment of minorities, Ukraine supposedly has no place in the European Union.

This is false. The article provides no concrete evidence of any "persecution" of national minorities in Ukraine. It merely repeats the classic cliches of Russian propaganda about "Nazis" in Ukraine. The information presented is solely the opinion of the author, Rafael Pinto Borges.

Borges is a right-wing Portuguese nationalist who openly admires Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and the last Russian emperor, Nicholas II. His account on X features reposts of portraits and icons of the tsar, as well as flattering memes about Putin.

Borges's article was published by Brussels Signal, a media outlet that occasionally runs openly anti-Ukrainian content and even praises Russia. For instance, the site includes a sympathetic piece about Russian general and "Akhmat" commander Apti Alaudinov.

The outlet was founded in 2023 by Remedia Corp., a company established in 2022 by American Patrick Egan. According to Politico, Egan invested EUR 275,000 in the project, sourced from an undisclosed funder.

This is not his first media venture. Another one, Remix News, covers events in Central and Eastern Europe and, according to Hungarian investigative journalists, promotes a worldview favorable to Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his government.

The Hungarian investigative media group Atlatszo reports that Remix News is partially funded by Orban's government, and that Egan has had ties to the Hungarian prime minister's Fidesz party for over a decade.

Brussels Signal is not the only outlet linked to Viktor Orban where Borges publishes his articles. Among others is the English-language site The European Conservative, which is also associated with Hungary's prime minister.

Russian state propaganda media eagerly cite Borges and the aforementioned outlets.

Claims that Polish or Hungarian schools no longer exist in Ukraine are completely false. In the 2024-2025 academic year, Ukraine had 189 schools offering classes for national minority students, attended by over 30,000 children, including more than 13,000 studying in Hungarian.

Thus, media connected to Viktor Orban are spreading disinformation aimed at discrediting Ukraine in the eyes of Western audiences – to undermine its European integration and international support.

Russian propagandists had earlier circulated another fake news, claiming that Ukraine was "sending 17-year-old boys" to fight near Pokrovsk.

Andriy Olenin