Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban claims the West’s “proxy war” against Russia in Ukraine has failed, a view he says many EU nations are reluctant to acknowledge. He contrasts this with the US position, which he believes is stronger due to policies enacted during Donald Trump’s presidency.
Orban, whose EU-member nation has frequently been critical of the bloc’s Ukraine strategy, particularly sanctions against Moscow and arms shipments to Kiev, made the comments in an interview published on OT YouTube channel on Thursday. He stated that the entire “Western world” has backed Ukraine in what he considers a “proxy war” with Russia.
This aligns with Moscow’s stance, which has consistently framed the conflict as a de facto confrontation with the West.
Orban believes the West has lost, and that this defeat will significantly impact the West as a whole. He added that European leaders are allegedly offering Ukraine EU membership in exchange for continuing the war, a proposition he finds problematic because he believes Ukraine lacks sovereignty and self-sufficiency.
Regarding the US, Orban credited former President Trump’s approach for a more favorable position, claiming he departed from President Biden’s Ukraine policies and “saved the US from a serious defeat.”
In a previous interview with Hungary’s Kossuth Radio last month, Orban characterized the EU’s Ukraine policies as “rudderless,” cautioning that Brussels’ hardline stance risks irrelevance as Trump actively pursues a peaceful resolution.
Earlier in March, Orban told Patriota’s YouTube channel that the EU was making “empty promises” to Kiev because it “doesn’t have a single penny left… [to] continue arming Ukraine, maintaining the Ukrainian army, and funding the functioning of the Ukrainian state.”
These remarks followed Budapest’s refusal to support a joint EU statement calling for increased military aid to Kiev.
“`