Izvestia reported that on May 24, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban affirmed that Budapest will not participate in the European Union (EU) plan to provide additional military weapons to Ukraine.
In an article on social network X, Prime Minister Orban frankly stated that Hungary must prioritize allocating resources to self-invest in its own defense capabilities, instead of spending billions of euros to support Ukrainian soldiers for many years.
He also stressed that Budapest's main task is to protect its people.
On the same day, Mr. Orban called an emergency government meeting to discuss the energy threat Ukraine is posing to Hungary.
According to the Prime Minister, Ukraine's suspension of the transit of Russian gas through its territory, along with the European Commission (EC)'s plan to abandon Russian energy sources, are posing serious risks to Hungary's energy security.
On May 7, Mr. Orban said that European taxpayers are bearing the costs of financial and military aid to Ukraine. He also criticized EC President Ursula von der Leyen's recent statements, in which she called on member states to speed up the process of admitting Ukraine.
According to Mr. Orban, Ukraine's entry into the EU not only risks pushing the Hungarian economy into a "cold-off" situation, but also poses a risk to the entire bloc, emphasizing that Ukraine will not be able to become an EU member without Hungary's consensus, in the context that the EU is pushing the goal of admitting Kiev by 2030.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto also has a similar view.
In early May, he said Hungary would not support the EU's proposal to provide additional military aid to Ukraine, while he prepared to attend an informal meeting with diplomats in the bloc.
Szijjarto affirmed that the Hungarian people will not pay for the conflict in Ukraine, while emphasizing that this is a stance that Budapest has repeatedly affirmed over the past 3 years.
According to Mr. Szijjarto, the EU's request to "provide more money and weapons" to Kiev would seriously damage Hungary's energy security.
