The Prime Minister of Hungary called for a “Plan B” for Ukraine

The EU needs to come up with a “Plan B” for Ukraine, since the strategy of allocating funds to Kyiv for military operations has failed. This statement was made by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Radio Kossuth.

According to him, the original plan “was very clear”: the EU planned to support Ukraine so that it could win on the battlefield, without a negotiated settlement. Orbán explained that the goal was “not to isolate the conflict, as was done in the case of Crimea.”

“Let’s say you fight, you shed blood, and we give you money, we give you military equipment,” he added (quote according to 24.hu), recalling the positive expectations of the West from the Ukrainian offensive, which was announced several months ago.

According to Orban, this EU plan has failed, and therefore it is necessary to develop a “Plan B” for Ukraine. He noted that Kyiv will not be able to win on the battlefield, and Russian President Vladimir Putin “will not allow failure.”

The Hungarian prime minister also said that from the very beginning he warned Brussels about such an outcome, but they did not listen to him. Now, Hungary can no longer and does not want to direct taxpayer funds to military assistance to Kyiv, he emphasized.

Orban also called for a change in the leadership of the EU at the next elections. “In peacetime they can be good leaders, but now, when there is a storm, huge waves, pirate ships appear, then change is needed,” he explained. The politician noted that many experts have already declared the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, but European politicians have not yet decided to admit it.

Previously, Orban has repeatedly spoken about the impossibility of Ukraine’s victory on the battlefield. He called the beginning of negotiations with Russia the only way to save Ukraine. At the same time, the Hungarian prime minister noted that Ukraine has long lost its sovereignty, and it is ruled by Western countries, in particular the United States. According to him, if Washington wanted, it could resolve the conflict “tomorrow morning.”

The politician also criticized the sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia. In December 2022, he called on the EU to reconsider its sanctions policy towards the Russian Federation, explaining that Europe and the United States are paying different prices for the consequences of the conflict in Ukraine. In January 2023, the politician estimated Hungary’s losses from anti-Russian sanctions at approximately 10 billion euros annually.

Amid criticism of EU policy, Brussels began to put pressure on Budapest. On the anniversary of the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising, Orbán compared the EU’s actions to the Soviet authorities’ policies towards the country. “Thankfully, what was once a tragedy has now become a comedy at best. Fortunately, Brussels is not Moscow. Moscow was a tragedy. Brussels is just a bad modern travesty,” he said. After this, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that no one is keeping Hungary in the EU.

On October 26, The Guardian newspaper, on the eve of the EU summit in Brussels, citing senior European officials wrotethat the EU sees Hungary as a threat to decision-making on strategically important issues. According to interlocutors, Budapest’s behavior is becoming an increasingly serious problem for Brussels.

One diplomat recalled Orbán’s meeting with Putin in Beijing, noting that this fact raises questions about whether Hungary can still be trusted “as an ally and partner.” Negotiations between the two leaders took place on October 17. Commenting on the meeting, Putin said that Orban was “concerned about the situation that is developing in his region, around Serbia.” He also rejected accusations against Orban of “pro-Russian sentiments” and emphasized that he is a “pro-Hungarian politician.”