Ukraine has ‘no chance’ of winning war, Hungary’s Orbán says

Ukraine has “no chance” of winning against Russia’s ongoing invasion, and the EU’s continued financial support for the country is “just crazy,” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said.

Orbán’s comments come as hopes fade for a ceasefire anytime soon and Europe scrambles to shore up Kyiv’s finances ahead of a budget cliff-edge next year.

In an interview with the CEO of German media group Axel Springer, which owns POLITICO, Orbán said financial support for Ukraine “kills” the EU “economically, financially” and is “just crazy.”

Hungary has previously blocked the prolongation of EU sanctions against Russia and financial support for Ukraine, and has lobbied for an exemption from U.S. oil sanctions on Moscow.

“We have burned already €185 billion, and … our intention is to to burn even more. So we finance a country which has no chance to win the war,” Orbán said.

Peace talks

Orbán accused EU leaders of intentionally prolonging the Ukraine conflict in hopes of a getting a better negotiating position for a peace deal.

“They would like to continue the war,” Orbán said. “They think … that we have to continue the war to support Ukraine more” — a position the prime minister said is “wrong, totally wrong.”

“The situation and the time is better for the Russians than for us. Don’t continue; stop it as soon as we can,” Orbán said.

As for peace negotiations, Orbán said he expects “a deal between the Russians and the Americans on the war and on other issues, trade, world trade, energy and other issues.”

He also said that the Europeans should “open an independent communication channel to Russia.”

“Let the Americans negotiate with the Russians, and then the Europeans should also negotiate with the Russians and then see whether we can unify the position of the Americans and Europeans,” Orbán said.

The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. moved last month to sanction Russian energy giants Lukoil and Rosneft, and canceled a planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest.

Hungary has claimed it secured an indefinite exemption from the U.S. sanctions on oil and gas imported from Russia, after Orbán met with Trump at the White House earlier this month. But the U.S. administration says the exemption is just for one year.

In the interview, Orbán said the agreed exemption will last as long as he is in office. A national election is expected in April next year.

Security guarantees

Europe should take an approach on Ukraine “based on the European interest,” Orbán said, adding that he is “not interested” in whether Moscow is winning or losing.

Orbán said he is “interested in the future of the European people, among them, the future of the Hungarians,” and “a new security system.”

A postwar security arrangement for Ukraine should involve “a peace arrangement which stabilize[s] the borders, whether internationally recognized or not,” and “definitely a kind of demilitarized zone,” Orbán said.

Unless a “miracle” happens, Russia will continue occupying the eastern Ukrainian territory of Donetsk after the war, Orbán said. “This is the reality, whether you like it or not,” he stressed.

But he poured cold water on fears of an emboldened Russia attacking another European or NATO country. “I think it’s ridiculous to say that the Russians will attack the European Union or NATO, simply because they are not strong enough. We are far stronger,” he said.