Russia Orban in Kiev for the first time since the start of the war

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has traveled to Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia, for the first time since the start of the war.

"Viktor Orban arrived in Kiev this morning to discuss European peace with President Volodymyr Zelensky," Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs wrote on Platform X on Tuesday. According to media reports, Orban's convoy first drove to the Hungarian embassy. Relations between Kiev and Budapest are considered tense.

Hungary has just taken over the EU Council Presidency for six months. He wants to take steps towards peace, Orban announced in an interview shortly before his trip to Kiev.

Aid for Ukraine delayed several times

In the past, Orban has delayed aid for Ukraine, which is under attack from Russia, and has repeatedly tried to prevent sanctions against Moscow. Hungary is still heavily dependent on Russian gas supplies, some of which flow through Ukraine despite the war. However, Kiev does not want to extend the contract, which expires at the end of the year.

Another point of contention is the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, whose patron saint Orban has presented himself as for years. At a football match, the 61-year-old also provoked the crowd by wearing a scarf with the outline of Great Hungary from 1920. At that time, Transcarpathia, which is now part of Ukraine, belonged to Hungary.

The last time Orban was in Ukraine was in 2015, when Viktor Yanukovych, who was elected in 2010 and later fled to Russia, was still in office as president - and Crimea had not yet been annexed by Russia.

SDA