Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Tuesday that the Russians have won the war in Ukraine, just days before Donald Trump sits down with Vladimir Putin in a high-stakes meeting on Friday.
“We are talking now as if this were an open-ended war situation, but it is not. The Ukrainians have lost the war. Russia has won this war,” Orbán told the ‘Patriota’ YouTube channel, Reuters first reported.
It’s not the first time the Hungarian leader has written off Ukraine’s chances, but his latest remarks come as Moscow has made significant gains on the battlefield.
While Orbán casts the outcome as settled, other European leaders want the US president to harden his stance towards Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to travel to Berlin on Wednesday to join German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for a joint call with Trump, US Vice President Vance, and fellow European colleagues.
On Monday, EU foreign ministers met online and issued a statement, reiterating that any peace deal “that brings stability and security must respect international law, including the principles of independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and that international borders must not be changed by force.”
They doubled down on support for Kyiv’s EU ambitions, stressing that Brussels underlines “the inherent right of Ukraine to choose its own destiny” and “will continue supporting Ukraine on its path towards EU membership.” Hungary is the only EU country that refused to sign on.
Orbán defended his dissent on Tuesday, saying the joint text made Europe look “ridiculous and pathetic.”
“If you are not at the negotiating table, you are on the menu.”
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