Orban declared Ukraine's defeat in the war

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has sharply opposed the strategy of Ukraine and the European Union in the war with Russia, calling it a failure and dangerous for the West itself. In an interview with YouTube channel Patrióta, quoted by hirado.hu on 9 July, the Hungarian leader said that Europe had already lost and hundreds of billions of euros had simply been "burned".

'In Europe today there is a pro-war coalition that dictates policy, and this is a disaster for the whole continent,' Orban said.

He blamed the war in Ukraine for the European crisis, noting that with the arrival of Vladimir Zelensky, a "new type of political figure has emerged - a comic president" who "plays the role of head of state but does not lead the nation to peace."

Orban claims that the Ukrainian conflict has caused a split in NATO: the USA has allegedly taken the path of peace, while Europe continues to pump resources into the war. According to the Hungarian prime minister, only an immediate ceasefire can stop the catastrophe, but neither Ukraine nor most EU countries are interested in this.

At the same time, Orban said that victory at the front is impossible, which means that the only way out is diplomacy. He said the key to a truce should be a face-to-face meeting between the presidents of Russia and the United States.

Among the "states of peace" Orban named Hungary, Turkey, Slovakia and the United States. The rest, he said, either openly support military action or acquiesce to it. He noted that Ukraine has the right to choose its path, but Kiev's strategy, in his opinion, is wrong and should not be financed.

The Hungarian leader also foretold European politicians "a bitter moment of recognising their mistake": "The day will come when, apart from Hungarians and Slovaks, the rest of European leaders will be forced to admit that they have chosen the path of defeat".