Orbán administration hints that Hungary would not defend itself like Ukraine in case of attack

Balázs Orbán, the political director and close adviser to the Hungarian prime minister, has caused a wave of outrage among Hungarians with his statement that Hungary would not have fought a defensive war in 1956 like Ukraine, as it would have been "irresponsible".

As reported by Telex, Viktor Orbán's associate said that if they recall the year 1956, when Soviet troops suppressed the uprising in Budapest, "we [Hungarians – ed.] probably would not have done what President Zelensky did two and a half years ago because it is irresponsible".

"He put his country in a defensive war, and so many people were killed, so many territories were lost," said Balázs Orbán.

He added that it was a sovereign decision of Ukrainians, to which they had every right. "But if we had been asked, we would not have advised it," he added.

"Because we realised that you have to be careful here, and you have to be careful with very valuable Hungarian lives. You can't just throw them away in front of others," said Viktor Orbán's political director.

Answering a journalist's question about what would have happened if the United States had helped Hungary in 1956, Balázs Orbán said that, in his opinion, it would have led to World War III.

"We might have won, or we might not have won; the neighbouring countries might have been with us or they might have been against us," he said.

Later, on his Facebook page, Balázs Orbán added that Hungary does not see the point of the Ukrainian-Russian war.

"Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of territory have been lost, and the country has been destroyed. Why is it so? No reason at all. The war should never have started or should have ended earlier through diplomatic means. Everyone would have been much better off," the Hungarian prime minister's adviser said.

Critics took Balázs Orbán's statements as a hint that Hungary would not fight a defensive war in the event of an attack.

The Hungarian government and Orbán, in particular, are open critics of military assistance to Ukraine and continue to maintain relations with Russia. In July, the Hungarian prime minister even went to Moscow to "negotiate peace".