After the elections, Hungary changes the protection of energy nodes. The military is pulling hundreds of troops away from critical infrastructure and operators are taking over.
A few days after parliamentary elections in Hungary, which resulted in the defeat of the ruling Fidesz party, there has been a significant change in the protection of the country’s critical energy infrastructure. The Chief of the General Staff of the Hungarian Armed Forces, Gábor Böröndi, ordered the withdrawal of the soldiers who were deployed to protect these strategic objects. The Hungarian news portal 444.hu brought the information.
The decision to withdraw the troops comes after operators of critical infrastructure reassessed their security measures and strengthened the protection of facilities with their own capacities. According to a statement from the General Staff, the military will begin to gradually withdraw from April 15, 2026, and this process will be carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the Department of Energy.
Deployment as part of a campaign?
The deployment of soldiers to protect energy facilities was originally announced on February 25 of this year as part of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s election campaign. At the time, Orbán warned in a video on Facebook about possible threats from Ukraine, which, according to him, could attack Hungarian energy systems after a possible blockade of the Druzhba pipeline. According to him, the military presence was supposed to be a guarantee of security.
However, the 444.hu portal pointed out that the images of soldiers deployed to protect the infrastructure could have been used as part of the propaganda of the governing Fidesz party. However, after the elections, which Fidesz lost, the situation changed and the army began to rationalize its deployment.
Gradual withdrawal of troops
According to data from the General Staff, approximately 600 soldiers were deployed to protect the energy infrastructure. They will gradually withdraw from places where the Ministry of Energy no longer considers their presence necessary. This step is supposed to be the result of cooperation between the army and infrastructure operators, who in the meantime have taken their own measures to protect their facilities.
The decision to withdraw the troops comes at a time when Hungary is in a period of political change following elections that have brought new challenges for the country.
