Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban voted on April 22 in a national poll opposing Ukraine’s accession to the EU, publicly sharing photos of himself marking “against” on the ballot.
Every time Daryna Koryagina enters her Budapest flat rented to her by a Hungarian friend, she sees the same sticker on a wardrobe inside the entrance. "Sorry about our prime minister," it reads. The 33-year-old refugee and PhD student is one of tens of thousands of Ukrainians who fled Russia's
The EU sanctions consist of two documents adopted one after another: a decision and a regulation. While a regulation must by extended by all 27 members every six months, a decision remains in force until a qualified majority repeals it, RFE/RL reported.
Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski criticized Hungary on April 14 for being the only EU member state lacking "moral clarity" on Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Hungary's opposition leader, Peter Magyar, has positioned himself in contrast to Prime Minister Viktor Orban's policies, promising to reset Hungary's foreign relations and end what he calls the government's isolation from the West.
The results come despite Hungary being seen as one of the most Russian-friendly members of the EU.
Stripping Hungary of its voting power in the EU "is getting closer and closer," Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said on April 5.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban sent an invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last November, the day after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for him over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
The incoming German government wants the EU to adopt harsher measures to punish countries violating the bloc's core principles, an apparent reference to Hungary, Politico reported on March 31, citing an obtained coalition agreement.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto visited Moscow on March 26 to discuss continued economic cooperation between the two countries, Bloomberg reported.
"We do not see the security of Europe in the integration of Ukraine into defense systems, but we see the need for a buffer zone between Russia and European defense structures, which serves the interests of both Russia and Europe," Hungary's Europen Affairs Minister Janos Boka told the Financial Times.
This marks Ukraine's first Grand Prix victory in fencing since 2020, when Olha Kharlan won gold in saber in Montreal.
Budapest had initially planned to veto the sanctions renewal, citing U.S. President Donald Trump's return to the White House and the possibility of a shift in U.S. policy toward Russia.
"We won't be dragged into this; we will not allow Hungarian taxpayers' money to be used to finance arms shipments to Ukraine," Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.
Orban named 12 demands, the last of which reads: "A Union, but without Ukraine." His other demands include banning "the unnatural re-education of our children" and protecting "Europe’s Christian heritage."
The European Union has reached a deal with Hungary to renew sanctions on more than 2,400 primarily Russian entities and individuals hours before they were set to expire on March 15, an EU official with knowledge of the negotiations told the Kyiv independent. The EU had been braced for
Hungary’s ambassador to the EU demanded that Mikhail Fridman be removed from the sanctions list, threatening to block the extension of EU sanctions imposed on about 2,000 Russians otherwise, the Financial Times reported, citing officials familiar with the matter.
Ukrainian forces reportedly struck the Druzhba pipeline in Russia's Oryol Oblast on March 11. Following the attack, Peter Szijjarto said that the oil supply was halted.
The European Union is bracing for a potential Hungarian veto on extending sanctions against Russia, which are set to expire on March 15, Euractiv reported on March 10, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Since 2010, Orban’s government has held over a dozen national consultations on issues like migration and LGBTQ+ rights, which critics condemn as propaganda tools due to their leading questions and low participation.
Twenty-six EU member states denounced Russian aggression and pledged continued support for Ukraine in a joint resolution issued at an emergency summit on March 6, despite Hungary dissenting.
In a letter obtained by Reuters, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban reportedly urged the EU to abandon plans for a joint declaration and resume direction communication with Moscow like Washington did.
Several European politicians that are considered pro-Russian expressed their approval for the U.S. President Donald Trump after he clashed in a heated argument with President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
"It will destroy us. First of all, it will destroy Hungarian farmers and Hungarian agriculture; secondly, it will destroy the entire Hungarian national economy, and I have no idea how we will control the crime that will flood into Hungary with this," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
Hungary is demanding the removal of eight individuals from the EU's Russia sanctions list and guarantees on Ukraine's gas transit talks before agreeing to renew restrictions, Reuters reported on Feb. 25, citing sources familiar with the matter.
"I know that there are people from this Hungarian leader who have contact with people in President Trump's orbit, and are constantly raising questions... in regards to not expanding NATO into eastern Europe," President Volodymyr Zelensky said, criticizing Kremlin talking points that NATO was at fault for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"Hungary also blocked sanctions against 27 individuals and organizations, including Patriarch Kirill, arguing that targeting religious leaders undermines peace efforts," a Hungarian government spokesperson said.
"If the U.S. president comes and creates peace, there is a deal, I think Russia will be reintegrated into the world economy." Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
Hungarian Deputy Foreign Minister Levente Magyar criticized Ukrainian officials for a so-called "slanderous campaign" against Hungary in a visit to Kyiv on Feb. 11.
"Let's leave the judgment to the historians. I am a politician, and we have an EU decision. It obliges me to speak of 'Russian aggression,'" Prime Minister Viktor Orban told Neue Zurcher Zeitung.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski believes Trump's recent threats of sanctions against Moscow played a role in Hungary's decision to withdraw its veto.
"The (European) Commission is ready to continue discussions with Ukraine on the supply to Europe through the gas pipeline system in Ukraine," the statement said.
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