this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2025
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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday questioned who began the Russia-Ukraine war and criticized Western leaders for supporting Kyiv.

Orbán said EU leaders are justifying their support by framing Ukraine as a small country that has been attacked.

“Of course, it’s not that small,” Orbán said, referring to Ukraine. “And it’s not even clear who attacked whom. In any case, it is a country that has been subjected to violence.”

When Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he said two of Moscow’s key goals were to “liberate Donbas from the Kyiv regime” and to “demilitarize and denazify” the country.

In his annual press conference on Friday, Putin defended what the Kremlin calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine. “We don’t consider ourselves responsible for people’s deaths because it wasn’t us who started the war,” Putin said in response to a question, blaming the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a “coup d’etat.”

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha responded to Orbán’s comments by posting on social media: “Just as ‘not clear’ as it was for Hungaryʼs leadership in 1939.”

Orbán was speaking to reporters after the European Council summit, where EU leaders agreed to jointly borrow €90 billion to send financial aid to Ukraine.

Hungary, Slovakia and Czechia chose not to participate in the program to fund Kyiv, cementing their Ukraine-skeptic alliance and delivering another blow to the EU’s unity after leaders failed to reach an agreement on using more than €200 billion in frozen Russian state assets to help Ukraine.

Orbán also revealed before Thursday’s EU summit that Putin had warned the Hungarian leader that Moscow would take countermeasures if the EU tapped Russian assets to help Ukraine.

According to Orbán, Putin told him there will 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.”

“So we Hungarians have protected ourselves,” Orbán said.

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[–] RottenHeads@lemmy.world 44 points 6 hours ago

For a stupid fuck, you're quite a mental acrobat Victor!

[–] AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.world 41 points 6 hours ago

Orbán also revealed before Thursday’s EU summit that Putin had warned the Hungarian leader that Moscow would take countermeasures if the EU tapped Russian assets to help Ukraine. [...] “So we Hungarians have protected ourselves,” Orbán said.

Submitting to extortion is a dubious policy; advertising your susceptibility to extortion is practically an invitation.

[–] cosmicrookie@lemmy.world 34 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Let's just trade Hungary for Ukraine already. Putin can have it instead and be over with it

[–] palordrolap@fedia.io 2 points 1 hour ago

On the one hand, Hungary has remained somewhat different from its neighbours because it's surrounded by mountains and hard to get in or out of by land so it would seem a safe bet for a swap, but on the other, it's the 21st century and mountains aren't so much of an obstacle any more. Would we really want to give Putin an airstrip in the middle of Europe?

It would be foolish to assume Putin's expansionist plans are limited to Ukraine. It's just that Ukraine is proving a bit more difficult than he expected and he's had to concentrate his efforts there.

[–] AstaKask@lemmy.cafe 26 points 6 hours ago (5 children)

I don't get what Hungarians see in this dude. Bloated, weak and stupid isn't usually what people look for in a leader.

[–] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 17 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 31 minutes ago)

He's apparently been in power for a long time, at least since 2010 according to wikipedia (uninterrupted?). By now he simply knows how to play the system, and tweaked it in his favor. There's not much democracy involved here.

People are right now again protesting his regime; even more than usually.

edit: hmm, I might have misread above comment, maybe jubilationtcornpone got it right.

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 10 points 4 hours ago

hes been in power for like decade+, and he has state controlled propaganda on his shoulders.

[–] ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 1 points 23 minutes ago

State controlled propaganda.

Sure it's bad, but have you considered if it was even worse?

— the state propaganda

[–] einkorn@feddit.org -3 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Don't call these sort of people stupid. They wouldn't be were they are if they were.

[–] AstaKask@lemmy.cafe 2 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Some of the dumbest people I know are very successful. It's apparently very profitable to not think things through, boast about your own excellence, and ignore how your actions affect others.

[–] einkorn@feddit.org 2 points 1 hour ago (2 children)

There is a slight difference between being stupid and having no respect for others. Orbán and friends very well know what they are doing. They just don't care about the consequences for others.

[–] snooggums@piefed.world 1 points 1 hour ago

There are multiple examples of stupid people getting into power through belligerence, although there tends to be a smart person in the background pulling the strings.

[–] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 1 points 27 minutes ago

There is a slight difference between being stupid and having no respect for others.

They are simply different things. The latter is required to become wealthy (and usually also to become powerful), the former isn't.

I assess them on a case-by-case basis: they are all heartless assholes but I'd say Trump is actively and harmfully stupid, while others are not. And it is often surprising how obviously dumb very rich people can be. No idea about Órban though.

[–] 5714@lemmy.dbzer0.com 23 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 children)

Unsure who voted for Orban

Unsure who let Orban in the EU

[–] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 2 points 33 minutes ago (1 children)

Unsure who voted for Orban

Valid.

Unsure who let Orban in the EU

That would be Hungary - they joined before Órban.

[–] 5714@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 29 minutes ago (1 children)

Unsure who let Orban in the EU

(Informal figurative speech) I meant: "Who let Orban join European politics as equal on the EU platform"

[–] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 1 points 25 minutes ago* (last edited 24 minutes ago) (1 children)

That would be the EU and its round robin rules.

Should they be changed to not allow things like that in the future? Done properly, yes.

[–] 5714@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 17 minutes ago* (last edited 16 minutes ago)

They already have rules in place to isolate him, they just choose not to, because they're afraid.

[–] WanderingThoughts@europe.pub 20 points 4 hours ago

They guy talks like the abused wife looking away and making up excuses while the husband is beating the children.

[–] Flipper@feddit.org 6 points 4 hours ago

Common, Russia didn't even try to cover it up with a false flag and a speech about shooting back since 5:45. It shouldn't be so hard to figure out who started it.

[–] gedaliyah@lemmy.world 3 points 5 hours ago

!nottheonion@lemmy.world ?

[–] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 3 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

Not straight up blaming Ukraine or "The West" for starting the war almost sounds like an improvement to me, coming from him.

[–] furzegulo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

I'm surprised he didn't blame Soros for starting the war.

[–] A_norny_mousse@feddit.org 5 points 4 hours ago

Or the Nazi Jews of Ukraine.