- Stay updated on the latest news from Hungary by signing up for the free InsightHungary newsletter.
Orban is making a 'historic mistake', Zelensky says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave an exclusive interview to Válasz Online. He criticized Viktor Orbán, accusing him of undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty and using the war for domestic political gain. Zelensky said Orbán’s stance was " anti-Ukrainian " and “anti-European,” and warned that Budapest’s pro-Kremlin shift was isolating Hungary from its NATO and EU allies. “Hungary is a member of the EU and NATO. It shouldn't behave as if it hated both,” he said.
Zelensky suggested Orbán is spreading misinformation about the war to the Hungarian public, for political advantage ahead of elections. “He wants to use the war in Ukraine to his advantage in the elections. This is dishonorable,” he said.
The Ukrainian president said he had consistently sought constructive dialogue with Orbán, but accused the Hungarian leader of “overstepping the boundaries of Ukraine's sovereignty.” He says Orbán had placed his bets on Russia. “He thinks he has bet on the right horse, but I am convinced he will lose.”
Zelensky also noted that the Orbán government used his image in a billboard campaign on Ukraine’s EU accession. He called the move “unethical” and accused Orban of using Ukraine as a political tool to cater to Moscow. “In doing so, he is committing a serious, historic mistake,” he said.
He also touched on the recent spying allegations. Zelensky said Ukraine had collected extensive evidence of Hungarian intelligence activities. “We have additional photos and videos of various meetings organised by the Hungarian Military National Security Service on Hungarian territory... We have documented it all,” he said, claiming Budapest had gathered military intelligence on Ukraine independently of NATO. "I do not mean to threaten anyone, but we have everything," the Ukrainian president added.
Orbán: Pride is banned because it is not a demonstration, but a parade
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán made a speech on Tuesday at the Parliamentary Salon's event. The text of his speech was also posted on a right-wing WhatsApp group called the Fight Club, 444 reports.
After Fidesz politicians did not present a united front on the reasoning behind the ban on Pride in recent weeks, Orbán came up with a new explanation, saying that Pride is banned because it is "not a demonstration, but a parade".
"In Hungary, it is not forbidden for people of different sexual orientation to come together and express their common opinion. No one can ban it. If someone wants to assemble with similar people at a public event and stand up for their rights, they are free to do so. But Pride is not a gathering to demonstrate freedom of expression; it is, as the name says, a parade, a Pride parade. It shames everything we think about life and is a threat to our children. It has nothing to do with freedom! It's a parade, which cannot happen in Hungary. Orbán: Pride is banned because it is not a demonstration; it is a parade," the Hungarian leader said.
Orbán to Ben Shapiro: "It is naive to believe the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations will lead to peace"
Viktor Orbán gave an interview to American right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro. Shapiro asked Orbán how peace can be achieved if only Volodymyr Zelensky accepts Donald Trump's terms. Orbán replied that it was naive to believe that Russian-Ukrainian negotiations would lead to peace. "If only Zelensky and Putin were left to their own devices, there would never be peace. And how to involve the Ukrainians in this process is a question of detail."
Orbán also says that the problem is that only Donald Trump thinks that the war cannot be won on the front line. Ukraine, Russia, and Europe still believe the opposite. The most important thing, according to Orban, would be for Europe to unite behind Trump. But instead, the Europeans are "supporting the war, persuading the Ukrainians not to negotiate, and trying to pull Trump back from his peace position."
Hungarians have more confidence in Donald Trump than other Europeans.
The Pew Research Center asked more than 28,000 people in 24 countries around the world in a large-scale survey to find out what they think about the United States and its president, Donald Trump.
The main question of the survey was whether people around the world see Trump as capable of leading the United States and how confident they are in his ability to tackle the world's most pressing challenges. In most of the 24 countries surveyed, most people did not trust the US president's ability to do the right thing on global matters.
The only European exception to this was Hungary, the only one of the 10 countries surveyed on the continent where the majority trusts Trump. It was also clear that Hungarian public opinion is rather divided on this issue, with 53% trusting the US president and 46% not. The results showed that 28 percent of Hungarian respondents had “some, some” confidence in Trump's global leadership abilities, while 24 percent had a lot.
There was a strong correlation between respondents' perceptions of Trump and their political orientation, with those who identified themselves as more right-wing being more likely to perceive Trump as a capable leader. This was particularly true in Hungary, where 88% of Fidesz supporters trust Trump, compared to only 27% of opposition supporters.