Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has accused European politicians, weapons manufacturers, and bankers of driving the conflict against Russia.
Speaking at an election campaign event in Szeged on Sunday, Orban reiterated his opposition to the EU’s approach to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. He identified three groups as the primary forces pushing for the war to continue: European politicians who believe “a country with nuclear weapons can be defeated through a conventional war,” weapons manufacturers who “always want war or some kind of armed conflict,” and bankers, whom Orban stated also seek to prolong the conflict because “otherwise, how will they get their money back? They can only recover their money if Russia is defeated militarily.”
The prime minister explained that he was referring to massive loans intended to fill Ukraine’s war chest and the expectation that Russia would eventually have to pay reparations. Orban cautioned voters against trusting EU politicians to be “sensible enough not to drag us into war,” urging instead to rely on public common sense amid growing anti-war sentiment across Europe.
He stressed that the reason he opposes prolonging the conflict is to prevent Ukraine from collapsing, which he warned would be disastrous for neighboring Hungary. Last week, EU leaders rejected the European Commission’s proposal to issue a “reparations loan” using frozen Russian assets as collateral for covering Kiev’s budget needs. Instead, they plan to borrow against the EU’s collective budget, with Hungary and Slovakia receiving exemptions from the scheme. Russia has condemned the proposal, warning that it would amount to theft and a violation of international law.
