Hungary's Orbán predicts Trump will end US support for Ukraine

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Friday predicted that once President-elect Trump enters the White House next year he will halt aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

Orbán, who this week hosted a two-day summit of the European Union’s 27 leaders in Budapest, is a known fan of Trump who has actively sought to undermine European support for Ukraine. The nationalist Hungarian leader has tried to block or delay the EU’s attempts to provide weapons and funding for Kyiv as well as its attempts to sanction Moscow for its incursion. 

Speaking to a state radio ahead of Friday’s summit, Orbán repeated his stance that the two sides should declare an immediate cease-fire, suggesting that Ukraine has lost the war.

“The situation on the front is obvious, there’s been a military defeat. The Americans are going to pull out of this war,” Orbán said, as reported by The Associated Press.

He also said Trump’s reelection had created a “new situation” for Europe, which “cannot finance this war alone.”

Orbán, who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as Trump, openly endorsed his candidacy for president, even visiting him at Mar-a-Lago in Florida in July.

His comments are likely to aggravate worry among Western allies as to the future of U.S. support for Ukraine, as Washington leads the world in providing the most lethal aid for the embattled country. 

The White House reportedly plans to rush billions of dollars in security assistance to Kyiv before Trump takes office on Jan. 20, 2025. But Trump, who has repeatedly criticized the U.S. aid, claims that he could bring the war quickly to a close, sparking uncertainty as to the future of the assistance.

EU leaders, meanwhile, have indicated they would continue their support to Ukraine.

“We cannot outsource our capacity of action. Whatever happens in the U.S., we have our interests, we have our values,” said Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat.