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Translated by: Blerta Haxhiu
- 3 October 2025 14:00
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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday that he does not support Ukraine's membership in the European Union.
"Hungarians do not want Ukrainians to be in the European Union. I completely agree with that," he told the country's state broadcaster, the AP reports.
Orban, who has often blocked Ukraine's path to the EU, said that Ukraine's destiny is to live next to Russia, a destiny that Hungary does not want to share.
"We don't want a common fate with them. Their fate is to live next to Russia and be constantly at war with the Russians. We can't change that, and it doesn't help if we take on everything they suffer from. We want to save Hungary from the fact that, if the Ukrainians join the bloc, we too will be at war with the Russians. I say it again: if you are in the same system as another country, and it is attacked, sooner or later you will have to provide soldiers - and we don't want that. We don't want our young people to die for Ukraine."
He added that there is no need to concern himself with the opinions of other EU member states on Ukraine's possible membership.
While most EU countries have provided political, financial, and military support to Kiev since the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2022, Hungary has followed a completely different approach - refusing to send weapons to Ukraine or allow their passage through Hungarian territory, demanding the lifting of sanctions and rapprochement with Russia, as well as taking a conflicted stance towards Kiev and its supporters in the EU.
Instead of EU membership, Orban proposed a “strategic agreement” between the European bloc and Ukraine.
"I propose to sign a strategic agreement with the Ukrainians to help them. We need an agreement between the European Union and the Ukrainians. Such an agreement exists with the British and the Turks. It is not unprecedented. But let's not bring them into the EU. We have the right to say this, and no matter what others say, they cannot change our opinion, because the Hungarians, like any other nation, have the right to decide for themselves."
He said nothing will change his mind on the matter.