Hungary has lifted restrictions on Ukrainian media, with the new government describing the ban introduced by the previous administration as a mistake. Ukrainian residents and refugees will once again have unrestricted access to news in their native language.
The announcement was made by Hungary’s Minister of Social Relations and Culture, Zoltán Tarr, who said the decision had been coordinated with the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Tarr recalled that the restrictions were imposed in 2025 in response to Ukraine’s decision to limit the activities of certain Hungarian media outlets accused of violating journalistic standards, spreading Russian propaganda, and fueling public panic.
“One must not confuse media outlets spreading Russian propaganda with genuine independent journalism, either in Hungary or internationally. The previous government constantly sought to deepen divisions, and blocking these publications served no other purpose,” the minister said.
According to Tarr, the new government is focused on improving relations with Ukraine and strengthening the position of ethnic Hungarians living abroad.
“Our task is to build good-neighborly relations, which will improve the situation of Hungarians living abroad — this is a shared national interest. Thanks to our previous historic agreement, we have achieved more in just a few weeks than the former government did in 16 years,” Tarr added.
The decision was coordinated with Liliána Grexa, the representative of Ukraine’s national minority in Hungary, who stressed that access to news in Ukrainian is essential for both the Ukrainian community and refugees living in the country.
Following the election victory of the Tisza Party, Hungary’s new government launched a review of several decisions adopted under Viktor Orbán’s administration. One of its priorities is reforming the media sector by strengthening the independence of public broadcasters and reducing political influence over editorial policy.
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