“We must prepare for the defence of Hungary!”

“Hungary is witnessing a military exercise being conducted on a scale that is unprecedented in the last 30 years, with civil administration, allied cooperation and the Hungarian Defence Forces being put to the test. We have long been waiting for the moment when we can witness and participate in an exercise of such a scope and scale. We live in the age of threats, so we must do all we can in the interest of preparing for the defence of the homeland – this is what the citizens, too, rightly expect of us”, said Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, adding that among other things, the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian War and the increasing rate of illegal migration have fundamentally changed the security situation of Hungary. General Dr. Gábor Böröndi, Chief of HDF General Staff emphasized that more than 5000 troops have commenced moving in the framework of the exercise at 25 venues on land, in water and in the air.

“Besides live fire exercises and troop movements, we are tackling issues of logistic supply hour by hour, day by day, while concurrently continuously testing the system of command and control. This is a highly significant exercise, which sets the entire Hungarian Defence Forces in motion”, emphasized the general.

Róbert Rácz, Capital and County Government Commissioner, Hajdú-Bihar County drew attention to the fact that to a certain extent, the state administration forms the basis and platform of defence administration.

“Working at different levels of the state administration, we are tasked with assisting the task execution and the efforts made by the armed forces in the interest of defending our homeland when the Hungarian Defence Forces have tasks and commitments in a state of danger. We, too, are now being put to the test before ourselves, and also in cooperation with the military, as we are testing the quality, speed and depth of the cooperation” – said the capital and county government commissioner.

Following the press conference, the soldiers of the HDF 11th Motorised Infantry Brigade conducted a platoon-level life fire exercise.