In reality, the tanks in the video were moving through Budapest.
“Something is happening,” the Russians cryptically comment on a video purporting to show Hungarian tanks and armored vehicles heading toward the Ukrainian border. Propagandists claim that the military equipment has been seen at five key border checkpoints.
However, this video was actually shot in Budapest. We found the original post, shared on the social network X by the user SzabadonMagyarul 🇬🇧🇭🇺🇺🇦🇪🇺, with the caption: “Very unusual army movements were reported from Hungary”. The video gained significant attention – the original post alone had over 800 shares – and many assumed that the appearance of military vehicles signalled an escalation in Russian aggression or rising tensions between Budapest and Kyiv. The user later clarified that the footage was taken in Budapest on the evening of 11 May.
This was also confirmed by OSINT researchers on X (specialists in collecting and analysing information from open sources). One user named Andy even pinpointed the exact location in Budapest where the video was filmed. Using Google Maps, he identified the same street pole and low white fence opposite a yellow brick building with an advertisement reading ‘Kabel’. He also speculated that the military vehicles were probably returning from an exhibition.
This assumption was confirmed by military historian Dániel Bernényi, who commented on the situation: “The smallest independent military unit is the company, consisting of three platoons, with an average of 100 men. That, broken down to a tank unit, means 9–10 vehicles, including the command tank, the support personnel, and their vehicles. As there were not that many vehicles present in the case here, the pictures suggest that the tanks were retreating from some kind of demonstration or recruitment event“. From 8 to 10 May, a festival was indeed held on the campus of the National University of Public Service in Budapest, which included an exhibition of military equipment. The video caused a stir in Hungary, although it was later clarified that the tanks were returning from a military exhibition. Russian propagandists, however, took advantage of the situation and circulated the footage without mentioning that the military equipment had actually been spotted in Budapest.Back in 2022, we debunked similar claims that Romania, Hungary and Poland were planning to “take territory from Ukraine”.
