Orbán Questions Who Started Russia-Ukraine War
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Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán questions the origins of the Russia-Ukraine war and criticizes Western leaders' support for Ukraine. Putin blames Kyiv.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán cast doubt on who initiated the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on Friday. He also voiced criticism of Western leaders for their backing of Kyiv.
Orbán stated that EU leaders are attempting to justify their support by portraying Ukraine as a small, victimized nation. He then added, “Of course, it’s not that small. And it’s not even clear who attacked whom. In any case, it is a country that has been subjected to violence.”
These remarks follow Russian President Vladimir Putin's defense of what the Kremlin refers to as a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Putin, during his annual press conference on Friday, claimed that Russia is not responsible for the deaths, arguing that Russia didn't start the war. He attributed the conflict to a “coup d’etat” by the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. When launching the invasion in February 2022, Putin cited goals of liberating Donbas and demilitarizing/denazifying Ukraine.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha responded to Orbán's statements on social media, drawing a parallel to Hungary's leadership in 1939.
Orbán's comments came after the European Council summit, where EU leaders agreed to jointly borrow €90 billion to provide financial assistance to Ukraine. Hungary, along with Slovakia and Czechia, opted out of the program to fund Kyiv, reinforcing their skeptical stance on Ukraine and further straining EU unity after leaders failed to reach an agreement on utilizing over €200 billion in frozen Russian state assets to aid Ukraine.
Prior to the EU summit, Orbán also revealed that Putin had warned him of potential countermeasures from Moscow if the EU were to use Russian assets to support Ukraine. According to Orbán, Putin stated there would be “a strong response using all the instruments of international law, and they will take into account the position of each individual member state of the union.” Orbán concluded, “So we Hungarians have protected ourselves.”
