Ukraine's FM hints to Orbán about Hungary’s alliance with Nazis in World War II

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, has responded to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who recently questioned whether Russia was solely responsible for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Sybyha made his remarks on X, addressing Orbán’s comments, in which the Hungarian leader reflected on the moral aspects of aiding Ukraine and cast doubt on a clear-cut assessment of current events.

“Just as “not clear” as it was for Hungaryʼs leadership in 1939,” Sybyha wrote, drawing a historical parallel.

The statement alludes to the period during the Second World War when Hungary was allied with Nazi Germany. In 1940, Hungary joined the Axis powers, took part in the invasion of Yugoslavia, and fought against the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front, suffering heavy losses, including after the defeat at Stalingrad.

In 1944, the country was occupied by German forces before being liberated by the Red Army in 1945.

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has cast doubt on the narrative of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, saying “it's not clear who attacked whom,” while criticising the European Union’s decision to provide a €90 billion loan to Kyiv.

Speaking to journalists on December 20 after a European Council meeting, Orbán warned that using frozen Russian assets would amount to a “declaration of war” on Moscow.

“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,” he said, describing the idea that Western countries could fight the war without spending a penny as deceptive.

By Aghakazim Guliyev