Hungary welcomes pro-Kremlin Night Wolves motorcyclists

Members of the Night Wolves, a Russian biker club decided to travel to Berlin to mark the 70th anniversary of the defeat of fascism. Their journey started in Moscow on April 25; they were heading west to the Polish border.

The Polish Foreign Ministry has banned the biker gang linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin from entering the country. Polish Prime Minister Ms. Ewa Kopacz called the convoy a “provocation.” Members of the group are subject to US sanctions for alleged active involvement in Crimea and for helping to recruit separatist fighters for Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The Night Wolves insisted that they still intend to make the trip, so they broke into smaller groups and crossed EU borders through “Putin friendly” countries, like Mr. Viktor Orbán’s Hungary. (Click here to see footage of bikers arriving to Hungary.)

Alexei Galitsky of Night Volwes is greeted by Vladimir Szemidetko First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in Budapest.

Alexei Galitsky of Night Volwes is greeted by Vladimir Szemidetko First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in Budapest.

The Hungarian Government did not protest, and the bikers were officially greeted by Mr. Vladimir Semidetko, First Secretary and Mr. Pavel Ilin First Counsellor of the Russian Embassy.

The symbolic gesture shows the cracks in the Visegrad Alliance, pro-Putin Hungary is on a different path than anti-Putin Poland.

According to Vladimir Socor’s analysis in the Wall Street Journal, the Kremlin’s real objectives lie beyond Ukraine. President Putin plans to establish a Russian sphere of influence directly opposite the European Union and NATO, as part of an overall effort to undo the status quo that has developed since the Cold War. It seems that Moscow has succeeded in splitting Central Europe into pro-Russian and anti-Russian camps, the Night Wolves incident is just another proof of that.

György Lázár

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