Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that Ukraine was a "financially non-existent country" and that without the support of its partners, the war would end immediately; his words have already provoked a positive reaction in Moscow.

Orbán lamented that public opinion in Europe is not yet ready to force leaders to reconsider the sanctions policy towards Russia, but "that time will come"; he complained about allegedly more bad news from Ukraine regarding the situation of the Hungarian community, and also referred to the fact that Europe is forced to finance many of Ukraine's needs.

"Ukraine is a non-existent country in the financial sense, it cannot finance itself. The question is whether we support Ukraine or not. As soon as we say no, the war will end," Orbán’s statement cited by Hungarian Radio Liberty and 24.hu.

He emphasised that Europe provides funds for Ukrainian pensions, salaries, education and healthcare needs, without giving these funds to its own budgets, and this "cannot go on forever."

Orbán's words have already been noticed by Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council.

"Well done, bold and accurate for a European politician. We can only add that as soon as Western funding ends, Ukraine itself will end," Medvedev reacted.

It has been reported that US Congress is preparing sanctions against leading politicians and government officials in Hungary.