Joseph Sexton

Just the most lovely gesture. The other night I was presented with this photo of Rápido de Bouzas from the 1964/65 season by Moncho, a lively old chap in his 80s who frequents my neighbourhood bar here in Vigo.

I'm in a Xinjiang, specifically Uyghur, restaurant which consciously is branding everything as "Northwestern Chinese" 🤔 It's politcal correctness gone mad, I tells ya 😡

"If you do not take urgent financial, economic, and other measures, we will face the same situation this fall that we did in 1917. We cannot allow to let that happen again." — Gennady Zyuganov, leader of the Communist Party of Russian Federation. Wait, wut

Hello everyone: friends, followers, readers! I am preparing for a very productive 2026-2027 where my quite unique experience of being a blend of a diplomat, academic researcher, lecturer, tear-gas-dodger, one-person media platform and OSINT-gatherer can be of use for the common good of freedom and good governance: not just in Georgia, but for the broader region of Eastern Partnership, Western Balkans, Black Sea, EU enlargement, etc. I am thus actively looking for projects such as: — policy papers; — non-resident fellowships (or, in some cases, I could consider resident fellowships); — consultancy and expertise; I would be doing this in parallel to the full-time Georgia diplomacy and writing a book on personal transformation and democratic resistance. I know my channel is followed by European and American politicians, Embassies, international journalists, political experts, etc. — and I am very proud, humbled, and grateful for your attention. So, I hope to be useful to you or your colleagues in a role closer to my current interests. What I can offer: — Timely news and analysis of events in this broader EU enlargement and Black Sea-Adriatic Sea region, as well as Central Asia; — Hybrid threats, election integrity, democratization, governance, security, strategic connectivity, political and electoral expertise; — Comparative analysis of all the above; — Ability to quickly absorb virtually any adjacent topic, which are too many to list due to the interconnected nature of social and political sciences; — Excellence under stress (I grew my platform from scratch while posting from under tear gases and running from the police, literally; did a 10-visit sprint in October and November 2025, taking a flight on every third day for two months, on average); — Travel flexibility; — Fluency in Georgian, English, Russian. French is a work in progress, but I have successfully enlightened all taxi drivers I’ve met in France about the details of the political situation in Georgia; — Strong morals, ethics, and personal accountability; — And no draconian Georgian legislative limitations in working with me. I also have MLitt with distinction from the University of St Andrews and I enrolled for a PhD program at Tbilisi State University, but it was disrupted due to the developments in Georgia. If you have projects or roles in mind, please do get in touch. Thank you very much for all your support! ✊🏻 I would like to kindly ask my friends and supporters to amplify the post too 🙏🏻 LinkedIn link in comments. 📷 Goran Srdanov / Radar

@twain_mat @Tendar So, what's already happened under 16 years of Orbánomics and kleptocracy?

@Tendar All these young men shouting they probably still living with their parents. Reality will kick in soon when prices will soar 🤦‍♂️

People in the Budapest Metro, Hungary, shouting: “Russians, go home!”

YOU'RE NOT BLOCKING THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ, I'M BLOCKING THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ 😡

Vance killed the couch, he killed the Pope, he killed the Iran deal and he killed Orbán Khan 🥲 Quadrifecta.

@panyiszabolcs Keep fighting the good fight!

‼️Statement on the Orbán Government Accusing Me, an Investigative Journalist, of Espionage‼️ Today, the Hungarian government has filed a complaint against me for espionage. Accusing investigative journalists of espionage is virtually unprecedented in the 21st century for an EU member state. This is typical of Putin’s Russia, Belarus, and similar regimes. I have spent over a decade documenting how Russian spies and interests have penetrated Hungarian politics, so I am probably the least surprised by this. Despite growing signs that the Hungarian government acts as a Kremlin ally and copies the Russian model, I still trust that parts of the Hungarian state—and the judiciary—follow the Hungarian constitution, not that of the Russian Federation. I have never engaged in espionage. I see my work as journalistic counterintelligence—from exposing the hacking of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry by Russian actors to revealing the activities of Hungarian pro-Kremlin propagandists. Defending myself publicly would be easier if I were not bound by source protection. But that remains my top priority. I cannot reveal who provides me information or what I receive, including from within Hungarian state structures. If I were not a journalist, I could list many facts proving it is impossible for the Hungarian state to genuinely believe I am spying. Certain meetings, contacts, and information gathering could never have happened otherwise. This baseless accusation now forces me to share details of a specific investigation, including a conversation with a confidential source that appears to have been wiretapped. Normally, this would appear in a finished article or my upcoming book—not here. (It will appear there as well.) Since 2023, I have investigated whether the relationship between Péter Szijjártó and Russian officials exceeds legal limits. The published audio, where I’m heard talking to a source, mentions that communication between Szijjártó and Sergey Lavrov is recorded by EU intelligence services. Less attention has gone to my point that this relationship raises strong suspicion of political intelligence activity and influence operations in Russia’s interest. These are serious claims and hard to prove. As a journalist, I cannot force anyone to speak or hand over documents. That is why gathering this information has taken so long—and why I spoke to that sensitive source (while the conversation was secretly recorded). Serious claims require serious evidence, and I believe I have gathered some. I have not engaged in espionage. I have not cooperated with any foreign intelligence service in surveilling Szijjártó. Instead, I tried to verify earlier fragments of information about Szijjártó–Lavrov communication. I sought to identify the channels and phone numbers used, and whether a secret channel—possibly used by Russian intelligence—exists. In other words, whether Szijjártó uses a hidden device or number unknown even within the Hungarian Foreign Ministry. This was only one part of my research. The other, more serious topic is this: Since at least 2016–2017, EU and NATO intelligence services have had indications that large amounts of cash and precious stones may have been transported from Russia on Hungarian government aircraft or private jets used by government figures. Officials from at least six countries made such claims to me. These signals did not come from monitoring Hungarian targets, but, for example, from intercepting Russian officials discussing or preparing such shipments. Alongside Szijjártó–Lavrov communication, I examined how baggage screening and handling works on such flights, which officials travel with what luggage, whether more packages arrive from Moscow than depart, and how such shipments could be handled discreetly. I know how serious this is, and I would not have written even this much—but since I do not know what else may be taken from the edited recording, or what fabricated accusations (like, for example, that I was seeking such details to commit terrorism) may follow, I believe I must share this now. Why do I investigate all this? According to many sources familiar with the Hungarian state and counterintelligence, there is no independent body in the Orbán system able to investigate or act if a senior official is suspected of espionage. Government members direct intelligence services and set expectations. The services lack both tools and authority to investigate a government member. I knew this would be difficult when I chose to pursue it. But few people in Hungary can or dare to do this, so I felt it was my duty. We have now reached the point where the Orbán government—of which Szijjártó is still a member—aware of my reporting plans and the risk they pose, has preemptively accused me of espionage. I am a Hungarian patriot. I serve the public. As an investigative journalist, my job is to hold power accountable. Neither political theater nor legal threats will deter me.

Here we go, here we go, here we go!

Although, it's quite refreshing that they are so blunt about it — the regime wanted to jail Elene Khoshtaria and whatever she might (not) have done is just a trigger.

Russia is a mistake of nature and loving it is an inborn pathology.

Hi, been away for a few days whilst the world burns, have some OC, bye 👋

Russian TV from 4 years ago looks comical now. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. It’s delicious!

Last night at Belgrade Derby, extraordinary scenes. Never been at a match like it. If you ever get the chance, go!

Do you remember that very night -- the night before the day of all days, four years ago? How many of us didn’t sleep at all. We sat in the dark in silence, in front of our laptops, refreshing news feeds. Here was Blinken saying the invasion was inevitable within the next few hours. Here was Zelensky speaking in the middle of the night in Russian, pleading with all Russians to come to their senses at the last moment and not take a fatal step. Here was the news that the runways of Ukraine’s largest airports had been blocked with overturned vehicles. We sat with Flighradar24 open. Here at 1 a.m., over northern and eastern Ukraine, an American drone was making multiple circles, monitoring the massive Russian grouping on our border from Belarus to Crimea. A plane seemed to have taken off, evacuating Turkish diplomats. They must have been among the last ones... Russia had closed all airspace along its entire border with Ukraine later on. In journalists’ chats, hundreds of colleagues just as sleepless. “Guys, be ready… it seems like today.” But hope, of course, died last. Maybe today it would pass. Maybe it was still a bluff and blackmail, because that would be logical. They couldn’t possibly go through with such madness. It would be a catastrophe of biblical proportions and a bloody slaughter in which it would be impossible to win. They couldn’t fail to understand that. And then -- “live” on Russian TV (in reality, of course, everything had been recorded well in advance as part of a pre-invasion propaganda performance) -- Putin’s face, distorted with sadistic hatred and a smirk of gloating, announcing the “special military operation.” What is there to say, four years have passed since that night. If someone had told me then that four years later independent Ukraine would be at the forefront of the entire free world, fighting alone on equal terms against the full military power of Russia, with the Ukrainian flag over every regional capital that was free from occupation that night, with Ukrainian-made drones and cruise missiles that smash Russian oil refineries, airfields, and giant military factories every single night — I would never, ever have believed it. And yet, through unparalleled heroism and enormous sacrifice, fighting Ukraine has changed the course of history. She disproved all the arrogant skeptics who were burying her alive back then and giving her no chance, already ready to run and “negotiate” with yet another deranged maniac hungry for blood and territorial grabs. Glory to Ukraine!

Happy “three days to Kyiv day” to the “Second Army of the World” 💅

The currently ongoing court hearing on the “sabotage case” that prosecutes near-entirety of democratic leadership has been closed — no access to journalists, CSOs, or anyone.

March against Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine two days shy of of the four year anniversary in Barcelona, Sunday 22 February 2026.

@DenShtilierman Beautiful.

Ось невеличке відео. Без контексту. Контекст — згодом)