Orbán on Russia's war against Ukraine: "It is not clear who attacked whom"

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said "it's not clear who attacked whom" regarding Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in remarks criticising the EU's decision to provide a €90 billion loan to Ukraine.

As reported by Hungarian outlet HVG.hu, Orbán reiterated that the use of frozen Russian assets would be tantamount to a "declaration of war" on Russia.

He went on to describe as deception the idea that Western countries supposedly believe that "this war" can be fought without spending a penny and that, at the end of the war, the costs will be covered by Russia in the form of war compensation.

"They calmly have breakfast at home, drink their coffee and think how morally right it is to help a small country that has been attacked, though it's not so small, and it's not clear who attacked whom, but in any case, we are now helping a country that has been subjected to violence, and it costs us nothing. But in the end, they will pay," Orbán said, speaking to journalists on Friday after a meeting of the European Council.

Earlier, Orbán called the EU loan for Ukraine an "extremely bad" decision and a waste of money.

The European Council agreed to provide Ukraine with a €90 billion loan for 2026-2027, based on EU borrowing on capital markets and backed by EU budget reserves. However, Hungary, Slovakia and Czechia refused to take part in the scheme.