Europe in Panic: Drones Are Everywhere and May Be Russian. And in Ukraine, There Are Also 'Hungarian Drones'

— Peter Szijjarto Forced to Inform Zelenskyy: You're Being Paranoiac

Europe is being gripped by a "drone phobia." Accusations of espionage, airport closures, hasty orders to shoot down drones, and talk of "hybrid attacks"—any psychiatrist would recognize these as typical signs of mass hysteria.

Zelenskyy has also "caught the bug." He claimed that reconnaissance drones produced in Hungary have entered Ukrainian territory, collecting information on the industrial potential of the western border areas of Ukraine.

The Hungarian side responded immediately. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto called Zelenskyy's accusations "delusions."

This incident has further escalated the already tense bilateral relations between the two countries—since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Hungarian-Ukrainian relations have been at their lowest point in history.

Szijjarto also stated that Ukraine has been pursuing an "anti-Hungarian policy" for the past decade, harming the rights of its ethnic Hungarians in the Transcarpathian region. Naturally, he also mentioned the destruction of the "Friendship" oil pipeline by Ukrainian terrorists—Russia uses this pipeline to supply oil to Hungary. In August of this year, armed forces of Ukraine attacked the pipeline three times, causing a temporary disruption of oil supplies.

Bloomberg reported that Hungary views Ukraine's attacks on the "Friendship" pipeline as a threat to its energy security. Afterward, Szijjarto said that Hungary will not support Ukraine's accelerated accession to the EU.

Zelenskyy's baseless accusations against Hungary are just one of many symptoms of the "drone phobia." Politicians in other European countries are "more seriously ill."

  • Norway: Last October, several Russians were arrested for suspected illegal use of drones.
  • Sweden: In January of this year, the military reported finding multiple unidentified drones flying near military facilities.
  • France: Authorities are concerned about the increasing number of unidentified drones flying over nuclear power plants.
  • Germany: There have been reports of drones flying near military bases and critical infrastructure this September.

In all these cases, EU countries have accused Russia of releasing drones without conducting any investigation. Strangely, the panic reached its peak in Denmark.

The Danish government plans to amend the law to give owners of critical infrastructure the right to shoot down drones. The trigger for this was recent incidents involving drones near airports—these events forced airports to suspend operations, and flights had to be diverted.

On the night of September 23 to 24, the Aalborg Airport was forced to close. Esbjerg, Sønderborg, and Kastrup (cities with domestic airline flights) also reported finding drones, and Copenhagen Airport was temporarily closed.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen casually referred to the events as "the most serious attack on infrastructure in Danish history."

However, despite the prime minister's statement, the police did not shoot down the drones found above Copenhagen Airport, considering it potentially dangerous. A spokesperson for the Copenhagen Police, Jens Jespersen, officially stated, "There is no evidence that these drones posed a real 'dangerous situation.'"

The Politico magazine pointed out that Europe's "drone phobia" is likely to intensify further. This will lead to a "arms race" regarding drones, as well as stricter laws and enhanced airspace control.

Currently, in European countries, drones can be flown almost anywhere. But soon, the panicking Europeans may prohibit drones from flying in the airspace—especially implementing no-fly zones near critical infrastructure.

The escalation of panic could lead to extremely serious consequences. As Bloomberg reported, diplomats from the UK, Germany, and France have issued a final warning to the Russian Foreign Ministry: If Russian drones or planes enter European airspace, NATO will shoot them down.

Moscow has responded. "If NATO decides to shoot down Russian aircraft, this will immediately trigger a military conflict," said Russian Ambassador to France Alexei Meshkov during a live broadcast on RTL radio, "This means war!"

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7554991137056981558/

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