by Shaumik Samar Ghosh
Eastern Europe has changed. Being bordered by Russia from the north east, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland in the west and Hungary to the West – to the south Ukraine has the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.
Its history is rich, yet complicated due to periods of independence and stints of foreign domination. In the role of neighbours; Hungary isn’t a major military or economic actor in the Russia-Ukraine war, and what makes its role significant strategically is the fact it can slow or speedup EU decision-making.
Earlier by blocking sanctions, aid, and accession talks; Hungary got into Russia’s good books that made collective EU action difficult. This stance drew criticism from other EU leaders, who viewed Hungary’s actions as undermining both Ukraine’s war effort and EU credibility.
Under the leadership of Viktor Orbán, Hungary positioned itself as a critic of EU support for Ukraine, and the pro Russian leader is out of office after 16 years of rule. Though it did express disapproval of Russia’s invasion in principle, Hungary was one EU country that blamed Ukraine, Western countries, and internal opposition for prolonging the conflict and the subsequent economic consequences.
According to reports, Budapest had blocked EU aid packages, including a $103 billion loan which was mutually agreed upon in December 2025, pointing to disputes over infrastructure damaged by war, like the Druzhba pipeline. Hungary had also vetoed and obstructed Ukraine’s EU accession talks and opposed sanctions extensions against Russia, leveraging EU’s unanimity requirement to halt decisions.
Now, Hungary has new leadership and Peter Magyar is concerned about the safety of Hungarians living in Ukraine. As per reports, EU officials have attempted to persuade Magyar to sway away from the stand Orbán had taken, which consistently blocked the opening of Ukraine's membership negotiations.
Magyar and his Government have myriad dilemmas to deal with and in a bid to make a positive start, Hungary has put forth conditions that largely mirror the 11 demands put forward in 2024 by Orban.
These requirements primarily focus on protecting the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. Magyar has been wading through tumultuous shockwaves with a series of agreements and disagreements over key problems.
Zelenskyy had expressed hope that the new Hungarian administration will maintain a constructive position towards Ukraine, which practices unicameral governance and can act fast to make any amends in relations, if required.
For Hungary, Energy Security worries remain key, as the country is depends highly on Russian oil. Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy infrastructure disrupted this supply. Hungary framed these attacks as threats to European energy security. Budapest has even issued entry bans against Ukrainian commanders involved in such operations, reflecting heightened tensions over energy vulnerabilities.
Despite ongoing disputes, it is clearly visible that Ukraine’s actions are designed to target Russia’s war economy, and not Hungary directly. After meeting Zoltán Babják, the Mayor of Berehove, Magyar stated : "We agreed that it is in the interest of Hungarians living in Zakarpattya to place relations between Hungary and Ukraine on a new foundation."
NATO’s support to Ukraine, albeit there is getting more of conditional nature. In April 2026, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte declared to provide Ukraine with around $60 billion in military and security assistance for the rest of the year. Rutte said the assistance shall be disposed in addition to the the 90 billion Euro loan package agreed upon by the European Union and would focus on priority needs, which are air defence, drones and extended-range ammunition.
The announcement was made during the meeting in Berlin of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, also called ‘Ramstein,’ a coordination group for military support to Ukraine from NATO members and partner countries.
So, does it imply that Viktor Orbán’ or now Peter Magyar now have been being pushed to the wall?
The problem may be in conflicting policies and politics itself. Orbán’s expression toward Ukraine had intensified in the context of domestic elections. He deemed EU support for Ukraine as a risk of escalation, portraying himself as a proponent of “peace” while calling Ukraine a threat to Hungary. This might have been more an act of desperation, as it gave him a chance to transfer all blame for economic difficulties to external powers – powers that contain narratives Moscow promulgates.
Hungary’s opposition parties condemned their leaders oscillating stance, highlighting the inconsistency between Hungary’s UN votes condemning Russia and its EU obstruction. Magyar is trying the balancing act as he emphasizes that his goal is to help Zakarpattya’s Hungarians stay on their native land but also stating that while the Ukraine’s 2025 concessions regarding education are promising, they remain inadequate.
Hungary’s stand looks more pragmatic, in contrast to EU’s proposition, knowing that as o March 2026, the war has killed approximately between 400,000 and 550,000 people. Though there no one fixed figure, as Russia is believed to not disclose its losses, Ukraine reports some figures selectively, and international bodies like the UN can only verify what they can independently document.
But, a majority of western media outlets have claimed that Russia has suffered losses on a scale not seen since the Second World War. CSIS (The Center for Strategic and International Studies), has deduced that Russia lost more soldiers in the first year of this war than in all its conflicts since 1945 combined — also including Chechnya & Afghanistan.
As the ceasefire ended, earlier this week Russian forces launched brand new attacks in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, killing at least six people, as the regional officials told the media. Ukraine claims that Russia launched more than 200 drones overnight, putting an end to hopes that the three-day ceasefire that ended May 11, 2026 would extend anymore.
Peter Magyar has now openly signalled a shift away from Kremlin after the attack. Magyar said that his government has summoned the Russian ambassador over the ghastly drone attack near Hungary’s border to ask when Vladimir Putin plans to finally end this war. “The Hungarian government strongly condemns the Russian attack on Transcarpathia,” Magyar told the media.
He assured that the Hungarian foreign minister will speak with the Russian ambassador within a few days. It’s noteworthy that under the outgoing government voted out of office this month, Hungary blocked aid for Ukraine and attempted to slow its efforts to join the EU.
Will Hungary be able to hold itself firm in its ideals, policy and strategy is what the world has to see now, but for now it seems that Peter Magyar and Volodymyr Zelenskyy are appreciative of each other’s work and politics.
A testament of newfound trust came to highlight earlier this month when Hungary returned to Ukraine a shipment of cash and gold worth around $82 million that had been confiscated by the former earlier this year.
Shaumik Samar Ghosh is a writer and keen political and geopolitical analyst. This essay reflects author's opinions alone
