Putin Ally Hints at NATO's Plan for 'Military Mission' in Ukraine

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that the NATO member country will not participate in the Western bloc's activities to support Ukraine in its defense against Russia's invasion, as part of an agreement he allegedly made with NATO's leader.

The remarks were made during a live interview with the Hungarian radio station Radio Kossuth. The interview was conducted in Orbán's native Hungarian language and Newsweek is not able to immediately corroborate the accuracy of the translation.

"I have agreed with the NATO secretary general: NATO will have a military mission in Ukraine, but Hungary will not participate in it, not even with money," Orbán said, according to a Google translation of an audio segment of the interview.

Newsweek reached out to Orbán's office and NATO for comment via email.

Other outlets, including Russian and Ukrainian media, have also published translations of Orban's comments that largely match Newsweek's version.

"We have achieved the minimum goal, I agreed with the NATO Secretary General, Hungary will get off the train. NATO will have a military mission in Ukraine, but Hungary will not take part in it. The driver could not be convinced, and now only Trump can stop the train," he said, according to a translation by Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti, which Newsweek cannot immediately corroborate.

Several Hungarian-language outlets, including Blikk and Portfolio, have cited Orbán's NATO comments to that effect, though mostly paraphrasing.

"NATO will have a Ukrainian military mission, but Hungary will not participate in it," the Portfolio article cites the prime minister as saying.

"We agreed not only with the outgoing Secretary General, but also with the new incoming NATO Secretary General. Nobody from NATO will put pressure on Hungary."

Since Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, NATO has been resolute in denouncing Moscow's "brutal and unlawful war of aggression." But the bloc has repeatedly denied claims of direct involvement in the conflict, or of harboring plans for any such involvement.

Orbán, a rare ally for Russian President Vladimir Putin among member nations of NATO, has been a staunch opponent of providing Western military aid to Ukraine and blamed "pro-war" politicians in NATO countries for escalating tensions with Russia after it launched its invasion.

He has also spoken out against Ukraine becoming a member of NATO.

But in May he issued a rare critique of the Russian army and its prospects in Ukraine. During a radio interview on May 24, Orbán admitted that Putin may be in way over his head as the Russia-Ukraine war rages on.

"If the Russians were strong enough to defeat the Ukrainians in one go, they would have done it [already], but that's not what we're seeing," Orbán said.

Orbán is also known to be among former US President Donald Trump's biggest supporters in Europe and has even borrowed his "Make America Great Again" slogan. His ruling Fidesz party announced this week that its upcoming presidency of the European Union will be held under the motto "Make Europe Great Again."