Do not allow arms to cross into Ukraine
Hungary strengthens its interests with Russia in defiance of its European partners
Orban met Putin several times.
archival
European leaders fear that Hungary is the weakest link in Western countries' conduct of the war in Ukraine.
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Across Europe, capitals are transferring weapons to Ukraine to fuel a decisive counterattack, and they are widely insisting that Ukraine will decide when it is time to start peace negotiations.
All capitals except Hungary.
Although Hungary is a member of both NATO and the European Union, it has refused to join other Western allies in providing Kyiv with military support.
Instead, it prevented arms shipments from crossing through Hungary into neighboring Ukraine.
While Budapest signed the European Union's sanctions against Moscow, it initially insisted on easing some of them.
Even as fighting raged in eastern Ukraine this summer, Hungarian officials traveled to Moscow to negotiate a deal for additional gas supplies.
And President Viktor Orban himself called for a change of course in Ukraine, saying in a speech in July that the West’s focus “should not be on winning the war, but on negotiating peace and making a good peace offer.” the side of the Russians or the Ukrainians, but rather standing between Russia and Ukraine,” he argued, arguing that Western aid only prolongs the conflict. “Sanctions and arms deliveries will not produce results,” the Hungarian president added to local radio in August. “When one rushes to put out a fire, one does not bring He has a flamethrower.”
Meanwhile, Orban's stance on Ukraine - which comes with European leaders concerned about war fatigue and a winter clouded by high energy prices and inflation - has raised concerns in Kyiv and beyond that Hungary may prove to be the weakest link in the West, which seeks to manage Europe's largest military crisis. Since World War II.
Officials concede that Budapest does not always stand alone, with other capitals sometimes sharing at least some of Hungary's concerns, but as EU and NATO allies seek new ways to support Ukraine in a protracted conflict, Budapest's hesitation will be a thorn Fixed in the flank of the Western Alliance.
The former Hungarian ambassador to NATO and the United States, Andras Simonyi, said Orbán "does not care about Ukraine", adding that Hungary's position on the war "is not just a nuisance - it is a threat." Seriously, I think it's wrong.”
Hungary and Ukraine may share a border, but Budapest has long focused on its relationship with Moscow.
"Hungary's policy in Ukraine has always been to some extent subordinated to Hungary's policy toward Russia," said Andras Rach, a fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations, citing energy dependence and investments in Russia as the driver of Budapest's calculations.
Orban began his political career as an anti-Soviet liberal, but since taking power in 2010, he has cultivated closer ties with the Kremlin, held frequent meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and struck a controversial deal with a Russian state-owned company to expand an existing nuclear power plant. On August 26, more than six months after Russia's all-out attack on Ukraine, Hungary announced that it was going ahead with the project.
But the Russian attack in February has changed the calculus for now, and with the West rallied behind Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Orban has no choice but to line up.
And when EU leaders agreed to grant Ukraine candidate status and eventually opened the door to EU membership, the Hungarian leader did not stand in their way.
Although Hungary does not allow arms transit to Ukraine, it does allow them to cross to other NATO countries, where they can continue their journey to the front line.
Budapest has also quietly supported the use of the EU fund to compensate countries sending military equipment to Kiev.
Hungarian officials say that their country is on the same page with the Western alliance, and a high-ranking Hungarian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “There are many myths about the Hungarian position,” and described Budapest’s position on sanctions, especially when it comes to energy, as a reflection of “reality.” geographical and economic” in the country.
The head of the Ukrainian parliament's commission on EU integration, Ivana Klimbusch, said the Hungarian leadership had put its "internal political agenda and its agenda with its Russian friends, as a top priority, rather than unity and values - unfortunately".
Klimbusch pointed out that "there are political forces in European countries and various NATO countries, which are also working to undermine unity," adding that these forces in Hungary are in power.
Orban's stance on Ukraine has raised concerns in Kyiv and beyond that Hungary may prove to be the weakest link in the West.
"Budapest's position on sanctions, especially when it comes to energy, is a reflection of the country's geographical and economic reality."
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