European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and European Council President Charles Michel pose following a press conference during the informal EU Summit at the Puskas Arena, in Budapest, Hungary, November 8, 2024.
Europe alone cannot shoulder the financial strain of supporting Ukraine against the ongoing Russian invasion, Hungarian leader Viktor Orban said Friday, warning that closely allied President-elect Donald Trump will likely steer Washington out of the conflict.
“Europe alone cannot finance this war. Some people still want to, they still want to send enormous amounts of money to this otherwise lost war, but there is a growing number of people who remain silent, even though they used to be loud,” Orban told national radio, in Google-translated comments reported by state-owned media outlet Magyar Tavirati Iroda.
Speaking a day after hosting European leaders at the European Political Community summit in Budapest, Hungary, Orban stressed that a “peace budget” must be prepared — and that this step could now be taken, with Trump due to assume leadership of the White House, after defeating Democrat contender Kamala Harris in national elections earlier this week.
“The Americans will get out of the war in Ukraine, they will not encourage it, they will not say that the war is a good thing,” Orban predicted, adding: “Many things are said about Donald Trump, but no one questions one thing, that he does not start a war. He is a person who hates war, a real businessman who thinks that life and things go well when there is no war.”
Ukraine has historically depended on foreign humanitarian and military aid to resist Russia’s two-year invasion, with the U.S. and the EU providing the lion’s share of this assistance.
