Viktor Orbán aide suggests Hungary would not have fought a Russian invasion

Budapest, Hungary: Hungary has always defended itself against foreign attacks and will always do so, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday after one of his close aides sparked controversy by suggesting that Hungary would not have fought a Russian invasion as Ukraine has done.

On state radio, Orbán tried to play down the comments made by his political director, Balázs Orbán, sparking outrage among many in Hungary and leading to calls for his resignation.

Balázs Orbán, who is not related to the prime minister, said in a podcast on Wednesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had made an “irresponsible” decision by choosing to defend his country militarily after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Hungary, he said, has learned that “precious Hungarian lives” should be treated with caution rather than “sacrificing” them in defense.

Prime Minister Orbán called the comment “an ambiguous statement, which in this context is a mistake.”

He stressed that Hungary “has always defended itself, that it will defend itself today and that it will continue to defend itself in the future by all possible means.”

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Hungary, a NATO member, has taken a hostile position towards its neighbor and tried to block the European Union’s efforts to provide financial and military support to Kiev and impose sanctions on Moscow blocking, postponing or weakening. about his war.

Such efforts have led to accusations from many European leaders that Hungary is acting to divide the EU and advance Russian interests.

Balázs Orbán’s statements angered many in Hungary, who saw them as a suggestion that Hungarian fighters during an anti-Soviet uprising in 1956 had made a mistake by resisting Soviet occupation.